GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's basketball team will return home on Valentine's Day to defend their five-game winning streak as they seek to split the season series against Northern Kentucky on Wednesday.
 
Wednesday, Feb. 14 – GREEN BAY, Wis. – Resch Center 
Northern Kentucky (13-12, 8-6 HL) at Green Bay (17-9, 12-3 HL)
6:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats 
 
ABOUT THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky sits in sixth place in the Horizon League, winning five of their last eight games. NKU has a record of 3-9 on the road, besting IUPUI and Detroit Mercy in conference play. Marques Warrick leads the Norse and is fifth in the Horizon League in scoring, with 19.2 points per game, and has scored at least 20 points in his last three games. Trey Robinson is the top rebounder with 6.3 per game and has additionally reached double-digit point totals in his last four games. The Norse are eighth in scoring with 74.1 points scored per game and fourth in points allowed per game with 72.6.
 
HISTORY VS NORTHERN KENTUCKY
Green Bay is 5-13 all-time against NKU, dating back to when the Norse first entered the Horizon League in the 2015-16 season. The Norse have defeated the Phoenix in six straight games, including their matchup earlier this season that GB lost 74-52. Warrick led the way for the Norse in that game, scoring 21 points to go with three rebounds and three assists.
 
Green Bay's last victory against the Norse came at the Resch Center in overtime by a score of 86-82 on February 12, 2021.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Preston Ruedinger and the Green Bay men's basketball team stood toe to toe with a Youngstown State team that was 12-1 at home this season on Saturday. Ruedinger had a career night with the Phoenix (17-9, 12-3) scoring 26 points in the absence of Noah Reynolds, including ten free throws on 11 attempts. The game came down to the final second, where sophomore sharpshooter Foster Wonders hit the dagger shot from three to win 84-83 and handed the Penguins just their second home loss of the season in thrilling fashion. 
 
The freshman duo of David Douglas Jr. and Marcus Hall once again impressed in a critical matchup, with Douglas scoring 16, and Hall pouring in a new career-high 13 points, as Douglas set a new career-high in rebounds, grabbing eight total.
 
It was the Phoenix's success from deep that shifted the game, as the Phoenix shot 48.3 percent from beyond the arc, while Youngstown State only shot 31 percent from distance.
 
NOAH'S NUMBERS 
Green Bay is led by Horizon League Player of the Year candidate Noah Reynolds. In Horizon League games, Reynolds leads the league in scoring, at 21.6 points per game and is second with 4.8 assists per game. Reynolds is one of three players in the HL to receive the Horizon League Player of the Week honor twice this season the Peoria, Ill., native is the lone HL player to score 30+ points six times this season in all games, the Phoenix guard averages 19.8 points per game. If the season ended today, that would be the eighth-most points per game a Phoenix player has scored in a season.
 
'RUDY'
In the absence of Green Bay's leading scorer Noah Reynolds, Preston Ruedinger stepped up and had the best game of his career. 'Rudy' ended the evening with 26 points, including 10-11 from the free throw line, to accompany his team-high four assists. Ruedinger was awarded the Horizon League Player of the Week for his play. In road wins at Robert Morris and Youngstown State, Ruedinger averaged 21.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 48.0 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from three.
 
GO DJ
David Douglas Jr. has earned the Horizon League Freshman of the Week honor in three of the past five weeks. Since Jan. 6, Douglas is averaging 14.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. The Horizon League's leading scorer among freshmen, and Green Bay's second-highest-scoring player appears to be a key piece to GB's championship chase.
 
WINNER WONDERS
Foster Wonders has emerged as a top scorer for the Phoenix, and the sophomore is one of the Horizon League leaders from beyond the arc, ranking sixth in three-point makes per game with 2.3. Wonders has nine double-digit scoring outings, and the Phoenix boasts a record of 8-1 in those games. Wonders connected on a clutch game-winning three against Youngstown State to give the Phoenix a 84-83 victory. Wonders is hitting on 41.2 percent of his shots from deep, just .04 percent behind PFW's Quinton Morton-Robertson for the league lead.
 
RISING UP THE RANKS
After ending last season as #362 out of 363 teams in the NCAA NET rankings, the Phoenix now sits at #174 with a 15-9 record against Division I opponents and also sits 19th in the College Inside Mid-Major top 25 rankings.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
In 14 conference games this season, Green Bay has four players averaging over 9.0 points per game. Noah Reynolds leads the way averaging 21.6 points per game, while David Douglas Jr. (9.8), Foster Wonders (9.3), and Preston Ruedinger (9.0) round out the top scorers for the Phoenix. GB is outscoring their opponents 75.1 to 68.2 in HL play. 
 
GREEN BAY GRIT
The Phoenix allows the fewest points per game in the Horizon League at 67.2. Green Bay is also first in opponents' 3FG% at 29.7 percent and combined opponent rebounds at 31.6 per game. The Phoenix is second in opponent field goal percentage at 42.8 percent.
 
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 10 in the HL in rebounding at 6.2 rebounds per game and is tied for third in scoring on GB's roster at 8.2 points per game. Jones is one of the most efficient players on GB's roster, shooting 61.9 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from three. Jones is shooting 67.2 percent from the field in HL games.
 
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. Before 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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