INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Green Bay men's basketball team is looking to get back in the win column tomorrow afternoon when they'll travel to IUPUI for an 11 a.m. contest against the Jaguars. Following, the Phoenix will return home to host Cleveland State at the Resch Center on Sunday, Jan. 14 at noon.
  
Wednesday, Jan. 10 – INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Indiana Farmers Coliseum
IUPUI (5-12, 1-5 HL) at Green Bay (9-8, 4-2 HL)
11:00 AM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats | History
  
Sunday, Jan. 14 – GREEN BAY, Wis. – Resch Center
Cleveland State (11-6, 4-2 HL) at Green Bay (9-8, 4-2 HL)
12:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats | History | Tickets
  
ABOUT THE JAGUARS
IUPUI has started the year 5-12 (1-5 HL) in Matt Crenshaw's third year as the head coach of the program. The Jaguars have lost three straight, but beat Detroit Mercy 67-55 before that. GB will have to work to keep IUPUI off the free throw line, as the Jaguars shoot a league-best 74.9 percent from the stripe.

IUPUI is led by dynamic scoring guard, Jlynn Counter. Counter averages 14.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He is dangerous as a shooter, making 48.4 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from three. Bryce Monroe is the other Jaguar averaging double figures, putting up 11.1 points per game.

ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Coming off of a Horizon League Tournament Championship appearance a season ago, the Cleveland State Vikings have started the 2023-24 season strong, sitting at 11-6 overall and 4-2 in the Horizon League. CSU is coming into this week off the back of an 88-85 overtime win against Northern Kentucky on Sunday, Jan. 7. The Vikings will make a stop in Milwaukee on Friday to take on the Panthers before heading up to Green Bay on Sunday.

Cleveland State is solid across the board in many statistical categories compared to their HL peers, but where they shine is offensive rebounding and turnover margin. The Vikings lead the league with 14.4 offensive rebounds per game, and are second in the league with a 4.29 turnover margin. Individually, the Vikings are led by Tristan Enaruna, who averages 17.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.

HISTORY VS IUPUI
Green Bay has played IUPUI just 15 times throughout the two program's histories, with the Jaguars leading 9-6. IUPUI won the last matchup, 68-53, but the Phoenix took the last four before then. Green Bay is 2-4 on the road against IUPUI.
 
HISTORY VS CLEVELAND STATE           
Green Bay has an extensive history against Cleveland State, leading the all-time series, 51-36. Green Bay will look to snap CSU's six-game win streak in the series on Sunday. GB is an impressive 29-13 at home against Cleveland State.
  
LAST TIME OUT
The Green Bay men's basketball team's win streak came to an end Saturday afternoon after a hard-fought loss at Oakland. The Phoenix trailed by as many as 13 in the second half before battling back and grabbing the lead with under two minutes remaining. However, Oakland outscored GB down the stretch and took the game 79-73. The Phoenix (9-8, 4-2) had five players score in double figures, led by career-highs from David Douglas Jr. and Preston Ruedinger, who finished with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
 
REYNOLDS REAPING REWARDS
Last Tuesday, the Horizon League announced the Under Armour Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week, Green Bay guard Noah Reynolds. Reynolds led the Phoenix to a 2-0 weekend with wins over Wright State and Robert Morris. He scored a career-high 39 points on 14-of-19 shooting to go with six assists against the Raiders on Friday, Dec. 29. That 39-point performance is the most points scored by a player across Division I in a regulation game this season and is the sixth-most in a single game in program history. The Peoria, Ill., native backed that performance up with a game-high 27 points in GB's 78-61 win over Robert Morris on Sunday, Dec. 31. Across the two games, Reynolds averaged 33.0 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent from three.
 
The Player of the Week award is the first since JayQuan McCloud on Dec. 23, 2019. 
 
OFFENSIVE UPTICK
Green Bay is 4-1 in its last five in large part to an offensive uptick the team has seen. Over the last five games, Green Bay is averaging 77.4 points per game while allowing opponents to score just 62.8 points per game. GB has shot over 50.0 percent in three of the past five games.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
In six conference games this season, Green Bay has had six players averaging over 7.0 points per game. Noah Reynolds leads the way at 20.0 points per game, while Preston Ruedinger (9.0), Foster Wonders (8.8), Elijah Jones (8.7), Rich Byhre (8.5), and Clarence Cummings III (7.0) have also made an impact. GB is outscoring their opponents 74.9 to 66.9 in HL play.
 
GREEN BAY GRIT
The Phoenix has prided itself on the defensive side of the ball all year long. GB allows the fewest points per game at 66.2. They also rank near the top of the HL in opponent FG% (T-1st, 41.4%), opponent 3FG% (4th, 31.3%), and combined opponent rebounds (2nd, 32.1).
  
DJ MAKING NOISE
Green Bay Freshman David Douglas Jr. matched his career-high 15 points against Oakland this past Saturday. Douglas shot 5-for-10 from deep in 24 minutes of play.
  
REYNOLDS SQUARED
Green Bay is one of two schools in the country that have a brother duo as a coach and a player. Assistant coach Nic Reynolds and Phoenix lead guard Noah Reynolds are brothers. UConn's Mamadou Diarra (Director of Player Development) and Hassan Diarra (senior guard) are the other duo.
  
EFFICIENT ELIJAH
Another standout for Green Bay this season has been Elijah Jones, who is eighth in the HL in rebounding at 6.4 rebounds per game and second in scoring on GB's roster at 8.7 points per game. Jones is one of the most efficient players on GB's roster, shooting 62.8 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from three.
 
OFFSEASON RECAP
A lot happened during the 2023 offseason, let's get you caught up:
   
March 14 - Sundance Wicks was named the ninth head coach in Green Bay men's basketball history.
March 30 - The rest of the coaching staff is announced. Pat Monaghan, Zach Malvik, and Nic Reynolds are added as assistant coaches and Adam Owens is retained as the Director of Basketball Operations.
April 19 – Will Eames, David Douglas Jr., Preston Ruedinger, and Rich Byhre are added to the roster.
May 1 – Noah Reynolds, Elijah Jones, and Foster Wonders join Green Bay.
June 2 – Rahmon Fletcher joins the staff as the Director of Player Development.
   
IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN GB
Green Bay hired Sundance Wicks as the program's next head coach on March 14, 2023. Wicks comes to the Phoenix after three seasons as an assistant coach at Wyoming. In his first season with the Cowboys, Wicks helped revamp an offense that led the Mountain West in scoring at 76.5 points per game. Prior to his time with the Cowboys, he spent two highly successful years as the head coach at NCAA DII Missouri Western State in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Gillette, Wyo., native led the Griffons to 18 wins in 2019-20, which was the most by the program in 10 years. In his first season at the helm of the program, his team doubled their win total from the year before. In his two seasons, Wicks mentored six All-MIAA players and an NABC All-District selection. Coach Wicks' first win at Green Bay came on Thursday, Nov. 9 against St. Francis (Ill.).
   
NEW LOOK ROSTER
The Phoenix underwent a roster transformation this past offseason. Of GB's 15 rostered players, three are returners, six are transfers, and six are incoming freshmen.
   
FAMILIAR FACES
Two of Green Bay's six transfers have played for coach Wicks prior to his time in GB. Will Eames played under coach Wicks at Missouri Western State in 2019-20 when he was the MIAA Freshman of the Year and All-MIAA honorable mention. Another Phoenix that has played for coach Wicks is Wyoming transfer Noah Reynolds. Reynolds was the second leading scorer on Wyoming last year, averaging 14.5 points per game in 19 games played. 
   
 PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
 PL. Team (1st-place votes) – PTS.
   1. Northern Kentucky (18) - 435
   2. Milwaukee (10) - 397
   3. Wright State (12) - 392
   4. Cleveland State (1) - 362
   5. Youngstown State (3) -342
   6. Oakland - 280
   7. Robert Morris- 186
   8. Purdue Fort Wayne- 166
   9. Detroit Mercy- 132
   10. IUPUI - 116
   11. Green Bay – 96
  
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