GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's basketball team will hit the road once again following their 3-0 home stand the past two weeks. The Phoenix will take on Robert Morris on Thursday before heading to Youngstown State on Saturday.
 
Thursday, Feb. 8 – MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – UPMC Events Center 
Robert Morris (9-14, 5-7 HL) at Green Bay (15-9, 10-3 HL)
6:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats 
 
Saturday, Feb. 10 – YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Beeghly Center 
Youngstown State (17-7, 9-4 HL) at Green Bay (15-9, 10-3 HL)
12:30 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris currently sits in ninth place in the Horizon League but has won four of their last six conference matchups. The Colonials are led by Markeese Hastings, who tallies 15.1 points per game with a team-high 52.5% field goal percentage. Hastings also leads the team in rebounds with 8.5 per game, good for second in the HL, and leads Robert Morris in blocks with 0.9 per game. Senior Josh Corbin is second in scoring with 13.2 per game, and the leader in assists for RMU with 3.1 per game. The Colonials break even on their scoring averages, scoring 75.2 per game, and allowed 75.2 points per game
 
ABOUT THE PENGUINS
The Penguins sit in third place, one game back from the conference lead with a 9-4 HL record. Youngstown's four-game win streak came to an end on the road against Purdue Fort Wayne, evening their road record at 6-6. Youngstown State is not only second highest in the HL in offensive scoring with 81.8 points per game but also allows the second-fewest points per game with 69.4, only trailing Green Bay's 69.1 per game. The Penguins are led in scoring by Ziggy Reid who scores 14.3 points per game, however, Youngstown is one of two teams with four players averaging scoring of double digits. Brandon Rush (12.5), DJ Burns(11.8), and Brett Thompson(11.6) all rank in the top 25 in scoring in the HL.
 
HISTORY VS ROBERT MORRIS
Green Bay is 2-3 all-time against RMU dating back to when the Colonials first entered the Horizon League in the 2021-22 season. The Phoenix was able to snap a Robert Morris three-game winning streak against Green Bay on December 31, scoring a 78-61 victory. Green Bay has yet to capture its first road win against Robert Morris but is 2-0 against RMU when the Phoenix can score over 60 points.
 
HISTORY VS YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Despite the Penguins sweeping the Phoenix the last two seasons, Green Bay still leads the all-time series 36 wins to 18 losses. This upcoming matchup is the first time the two squads have met this season. On the road, Green Bay is 12-14 all-time against Youngstown State dating back to the 1992-93 season, and has lost the last two road contests against the Penguins.
 
LAST TIME OUT
David Douglas Jr. and the Green Bay men's basketball team put on a show for over 3,500 Green Bay area elementary students at the Resch Center Thursday afternoon. Douglas led the Phoenix (15-9, 10-3) on the offensive end, going for 20 points, with 17 of those coming in the second half en route to a 79-56 - win over IUPUI to maintain first place in the Horizon League. The official attendance at the game was 5,490, which is the largest since 6,019 people came to watch the Phoenix take on Oakland on February 28, 2015. 
 
Noah Reynolds was just behind Douglas with 19 points and four assists, and Rich Byhre helped out with 13 points. 

Led by Marcus Hall's four offensive rebounds, Green Bay did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 12 boards that resulted in 15 second-chance points.
 
The Green Bay defense was effective at taking away the ball in Thursday's game, forcing 21 IUPUI turnovers while committing just eight of their own. Those takeaways turned into 25 points on the other end of the floor.
 
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 20.8 points per game, and is second with 5.1 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 five times this season.

In all games, the Phoenix guard averages 19.3 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. 

FRESH DJ
Following his return from injury, freshman DJ Douglas Jr has earned Freshman of the Week honors for the fourth time this season, and the third time in the last four weeks. Douglas tallied his third 20-piece in four games shooting a staggering 16-20 from three and 10-12 from the free throw line in that stretch. 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 the Horizon League leader from beyond the arc, shooting a league-best 45.7 percent from deep. Wonders has eight double-digit scoring outings, and the Phoenix boasts a record of 7-1 in those games.
 
MOVING UP THE RANKS
After ending last season as #362 in the NCAA NET rankings, the Phoenix now sits at #187 with a 13-9 record against Division I opponents. 
 
BALANCED ATTACK
In 13 conference games this season, Green Bay has four players averaging over 8.0 points per game. Noah Reynolds leads the way averaging 20.8 points per game, while David Douglas Jr. (10.0), Foster Wonders (9.8), and Elijah Jones (8.1) round out the top scorers for the Phoenix. GB is outscoring their opponents 74.0 to 66.5 in HL play. 
 
GREEN BAY GRIT
The Phoenix allows the fewest points per game in the Horizon League at 66.2. Green Bay is also first in opponents' 3FG% at 29.7 percent and combined opponent rebounds at 31.5 per game.
 
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 ninth in the HL in rebounding at 6.2 rebounds per game and is tied for third in scoring on GB's roster at 8.4 points per game. Jones is one of the most efficient players on GB's roster, shooting 62.7 percent from the floor and 47.8 percent from three. Jones is shooting 70.0 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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