Men's Basketball 3/6/2024 7:30:00 PM

Phoenix Set to Host No. 6 Milwaukee in HL Quarterfinals at the Kress Center

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On Saturday the Green Bay men's basketball team finished the 2023-24 regular season and will enter the 2024 Barbasol Horizon League Championships as the No. 3 seed. The Phoenix will host No. 6 seed Milwaukee tomorrow at the Kress Center at 8 p.m. CT. Fans can purchase tickets for Thursday's contest here and are encouraged to wear green to green out the Kress!

The other three #HLMBB quarterfinal matchups scheduled for Thursday night are:

No. 8 Purdue Fort Wayne vs. No. 1 Oakland (6 p.m. CT, ESPN+)
No. 7 Cleveland State vs. No. 2 Youngstown State (6 p.m. CT, ESPN+)
No. 5 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 4 Wright State (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+)

To view the full #HLMBB bracket, click here.

Thursday, March 7 – GREEN BAY, Wis. – Kress Center
No. 6 Milwaukee (18-14, 12-8 HL) at No. 3 Green Bay (18-13, 13-7 HL)
8:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats

ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee entered the tournament as the sixth seed in the Horizon League with a conference record of 12-8 and is 18-14 overall. Milwaukee outlasted No. 11 Detroit Mercy team at home on Tuesday in the HL First Round by a score of 83-79. All-Horizon League Second Team member BJ Freeman led Milwaukee over the Titans with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, shooting 10-of-21 from the field, and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
The Panthers are strong offensively, scoring the fourth-most points per game in the HL at 79.0 per contest.

HISTORY VS MILWAUKEE
Green Bay is 42-32 all-time against the Panthers. The Phoenix owns a 23-15 home record against their I-43 rivals.

FROM THIS YEAR
Green Bay and Milwaukee split the season series this year, with each team winning their home game in the absence of the opposing team's leading scorer. BJ Freeman missed Green Bay's 70-58 Dec. 2 win, while Noah Reynolds was out for Milwaukee's 90-69 win on March 2. Reynolds led the way in GB's win, going for 17 points, eight assists, and three rebounds while Freeman led the way in Milwaukee's win with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Both are expected to play Thursday night.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY VS. MKE
Green Bay is 3-2 all-time in postseason competition against the Panthers. GB won the last matchup between the two teams on March 6, 2016, by a score of 70-61 in the Horizon League Quarterfinals. Carrington Love led the way for the Phoenix in that one, racking up 16 points, six assists, and three steals.

GB IN THE TOURNAMENT
The Phoenix is on the hunt for the team's third Horizon League tournament win, last having lifted the trophy in 2015-16. Green Bay secured their other HL Tournament Championship in 1994-95.

RETURN OF REYNOLDS
Green Bay is getting their All-Horizon League First Team player back ahead of tomorrow's matchup, Noah Reynolds, who missed the last four games due to a lower leg injury. Reynolds was deemed the league's Newcomer of the Year on Monday and is one of four players in the HL to receive the Horizon League Player of the Week honor multiple times this season. The Peoria, Ill., native is the lone HL player to score 30+ points six times this year. In all games, the Phoenix guard averages 19.7 points per game, the eighth-most points per game a Phoenix player has scored in a season in program history.

SHINING SUNNY
Head Coach Sundance Wicks' first year in Green Bay has turned heads, posting Green Bay's best record since 2018. Wicks has brought Green Bay from a 3-29 overall record to 18-13 in one season, and the Horizon League named him the league's Coach of the Year for his efforts. That 18-win mark is the third-most by a Phoenix head coach in their first year and is also the most regular season wins by GB since the 2016-17 season. It is just the second time a Green Bay coach has been named the Horizon League Coach of the Year, with the last being Brian Wardle in the 2013-14 season. GB finished the season with the HL No. 3 seed and a 13-7 record, which is the most league wins for the program since the 2013-14 season.

GO DJ
David Douglas Jr. put the exclamation point on his rookie campaign on Monday, earning Freshman of the Year honors as well as a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman Team. Douglas is averaging 8.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game. The Horizon League's leading scorer among freshmen, and Green Bay's second-highest-scoring player was an obvious choice for the All-Freshman team alongside his teammate Marcus Hall.

MONEY MARCUS
Marcus Hall out of DC Everest developed himself into a key piece of the Phoenix throughout his first season. Hall is scoring 6.5 points per game, and clocks in with 3.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Hall has additionally scored at least ten points in four of the last six games, and earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.

BALANCED ATTACK
In 20 conference games this season, Green Bay has four players averaging over 8.0 points per game. Noah Reynolds leads the way averaging 21.4 points per game, while Preston Ruedinger (9.2), David Douglas Jr. (9.1), and Foster Wonders (8.7) round out the top scorers for the Phoenix. GB outscored their opponents 72.0 to 69.4 in HL play.

GREEN BAY GRIT
The Phoenix allows the fewest points per game in the Horizon League at 68.1. Youngstown State, the second-best defense, allows 70.5 points per game. Green Bay is also first in opponents' 3FG% at 29.9 percent and combined opponent rebounds at 32.5 per game. The Phoenix is second in opponent field goal percentage at 43.2 percent.

EFFICIENT ELIJAH
Another standout for Green Bay this season has been Elijah Jones, who is eighth in the HL in rebounding at 6.7 rebounds per game and is 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 60.3 percent from the floor and 53.8 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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Players Mentioned

#15 David Douglas Jr.: G; 6' 5"; Freshman

#23 Will Eames: F; 6' 7"; Graduate Student

#2 Preston Ruedinger: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#34 Rich Byhre: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior

#0 Foster Wonders: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

#1 Elijah Jones: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#21 Noah Reynolds: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#13 Marcus Hall: F; 6' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#15 David Douglas Jr.
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: G

#23 Will Eames
: 6' 7"; Graduate Student
: F

#2 Preston Ruedinger
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#34 Rich Byhre
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#0 Foster Wonders
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#1 Elijah Jones
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#21 Noah Reynolds
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#13 Marcus Hall
: 6' 6"; Freshman
: F