GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay men's basketball is set to host its final two home games of the regular season on Friday and Sunday against Purdue Fort Wayne and Youngstown State at the Kress Center.
Friday, Feb. 23 – GREEN BAY, Wis. – Kress Center
Purdue Fort Wayne (17-10, 8-8 HL) at Green Bay (17-10, 12-4 HL)
6:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 25 – GREEN BAY, Wis. – Kress Center
Youngstown State at Green Bay
2:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats
ABOUT THE MASTODONS
Purdue Fort Wayne is currently eighth in the Horizon League with a conference record of 8-8 and is 17-10 overall. Purdue Fort Wayne has four scorers averaging at least 12 points per game: Jalen Jackson (16.0), Rasheed Bello (15.2), Quinton Morton-Robertson (13.6), and Anthony Roberts (12.7).
Despite sitting in eighth, the Mastodons have the fourth-best offense in HL games (79.7 ppg) and fifth-best defense (74.9 ppg). PFW shoots 47.2 percent from the field, the second-highest mark in the league, and shoots 37.0 percent from deep, the third-best in the HL.
HISTORY VS PURDUE FORT WAYNE
Green Bay is 2-6 all-time against PFW. The Mastodons defeated the Phoenix 75-71 in GB's first HL game this season (11/29/23). Noah Reynolds scored 16 points and dished out eight assists. Clarence Cummings had 12 points, as Elijah Jones added 11 points and seven rebounds. Jalen Jackson led Purdue Fort Wayne with 19 points. Appleton North alum Maximus Nelson had 17 points.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State is one of the top teams in the HL, sitting in third place with an 11-6 conference record. The Penguins are led by Ziggy Reid, who averages 14.9 points per game. DJ Burns and Brett Thompson are not far behind, sitting at 13.0 points per game and 12.9 points per game respectively. Burns also averages 10.4 rebounds per game, first in the Horizon League. Thompson is fifth in the HL, averaging 4.0 assists per game.
The Penguins are strong on both sides of the ball, scoring the second-most points per game in the conference at 82.3 and allowing just 71.2, which is the third-best in the Horizon League. YSU has the best margin in HL games, outscoring their opponents by an average of 11.1 points per game.
HISTORY VS YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Green Bay is 37-18 all-time vs Youngstown State. The Phoenix are 23-4 at home against YSU. Green Bay took down Youngstown State, 84-83 in their first matchup this season (2/10/24). Preston Ruedinger led the Phoenix with 26 points. Foster Wonders hit a game-winning three with two seconds left in regulation. DJ Burns had a game-high 32 points and 16 rebounds for the Penguins.
LAST TIME OUT
Northern Kentucky defeated Green Bay 58-57 last Wednesday at the Resch Center. The two teams traded baskets for the majority of the game until NKU's Marques Warrick hit a tough layup with five seconds to go to give the Norse a 58-57 lead. GB had a look late to win the game, but it was no good, and the Phoenix dropped to 12-4 in the HL on the season. Noah Reynolds led Green Bay with 18 points and four assists. Elijah Jones hauled in 14 rebounds.
NOAH'S NUMBERS
Green Bay is led by Horizon League Player of the Year candidate Noah Reynolds. In Horizon League games, Reynolds is second in the league in scoring, at 21.4 points per game, and is third with 4.7 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 19.7 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 against Youngstown State, Preston Ruedinger stepped up and had the best game of his career. 'Rudy' ended the evening with a career-high 26 points, including 10-for-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. is one of two freshmen in the Horizon League, with his most recent coming on February 5. Since Jan. 6, Douglas is averaging 13.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 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 one of the top offensive threats for the Phoenix. 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.
RISING UP THE RANKS
After ending last season as #362 out of 363 teams in the NCAA NET rankings, the Phoenix now sits at #185 with a 15-10 record against Division I opponents and also sits 22nd in the College Inside Mid-Major top 25 rankings.
BALANCED ATTACK
In 16 conference games this season, Green Bay has four players averaging over 9.0 points per game. Noah Reynolds leads the way averaging 21.4 points per game, while David Douglas Jr. (9.5), Foster Wonders (9.3), and Preston Ruedinger (9.1) round out the top scorers for the Phoenix. GB is outscoring their opponents 74.0 to 67.6 in HL play.
GREEN BAY GRIT
The Phoenix allows the fewest points per game in the Horizon League at 66.9. Purdue Fort Wayne, the second-best defense, allows 71.1 points per game. Green Bay is also first in opponents' 3FG% at 29.6 percent and combined opponent rebounds at 31.7 per game. The Phoenix is second in opponent field goal percentage at 42.6 percent.
EFFICIENT ELIJAH
Another standout for Green Bay this season has been Elijah Jones, who is sixth in the HL in rebounding at 6.5 rebounds per game and is fourth in scoring on GB's roster at 8.0 points per game. Jones is one of the most efficient players on GB's roster, shooting 61.7 percent from the floor and 52.0 percent from three.
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.
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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