GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay men's basketball is set for two contests in four days. On Friday, November 7, the Phoenix takes on the Buffalo Bulls in New York at 5:30 p.m. CST, before returning home on Monday, Nov. 10, for Education Day to face the Ripon Red Hawks at 11 a.m. CST.
 
Education Day is an annual tradition for Green Bay Basketball, as they invite local elementary schools to join the team for a day of Phoenix basketball.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Green Bay (0-1) at Buffalo (1-0)
Friday, November 7
5:30 PM CST
Follow the action: Watch | Live Stats
 
Ripon vs. Green Bay
Monday, November 10
11:00 AM CST
Follow the action: Watch | Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE BULLS
The Bulls are off to their second straight 1-0 start under head coach George Halcovage III, and seeking their first 2-0 start with Halcovage at the helm. The Bulls were led to an 85-79 win over Southern Mississippi on Monday by an explosive outing from Ryan Sabol, who scored 32 points and dished four assists in 35 minutes. The boards were dominated by Noah Batchelor, who grabbed 11 rebounds and led the Bulls with three steals and four assists, while adding on 12 points of his own. 
 
ABOUT THE RED HAWKS
Ripon is led by third-year head coach Kenny Finco, who previously served as an assistant coach at UW-LaCrosse. The Red Hawks' leading returning scorer is Kolby Williams, who scored 9.3 points per game and was second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. Also returning for Ripon is Seth Bunders, who averaged 5.1 points and 1.7 assists per game. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Green Bay men's basketball team opened the 2025-26 season at Allen Fieldhouse against the No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks on Monday night, falling 94-51. Marcus Hall led the Phoenix with 17 points and four assists, while C.J. O'Hara finished with nine points. Green Bay took a 3-2 lead after a late shot clock three from LeBron Thomas before Kansas retook the lead with a three of their own and never trailed again. Kansas outscored the Phoenix in the second half, 46-24 en route to the 94-51 win.
 
ONEIDA NATION CELEBRATION
Over the past year, Oneida Nation and UWGB officials have been collaborating on ideas that flourished into tangible efforts to demonstrate the long-standing respect and recognition that each entity has for the other. Settling on recognizing the contributions of the Oneida Nation in Northeast Wisconsin, UWGB will honor the Nation during Native American Heritage month by sporting a new basketball jersey, as well as hosting a game with Haskell Indian Nations University on Nov. 29 in Green Bay. Haskell is a college (D3) in Kansas whose mission is to serve Indigenous students from across the United States.
 
MONEY MARCUS
Phoenix forward Marcus Hall is the highest returning leading scorer this season. Hall averaged 13.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game, shooting 42.2 percent from the floor and 36.7 percent from three-point range. Hall was named to the Horizon League Preseason First Team on October 8. Hall was the leading scorer for the Phoenix in their game against Kansas on Monday, scoring 17 points and leading the team with four rebounds and two assists.
 
HINES TIME
Redshirt Junior Josh Hines wasted no time in making his presence felt in Titletown, leading Green Bay in their exhibition win over St. Norbert, scoring a team-high 13 points off the bench, and making all five of his attempted shots, including three makes from deep.
 
SOLID STROUD
Rob Stroud is in his first season at Green Bay after spending two years at Kanakee CC and two years at Lewis University. Last year, Stroud led the Flyers in points per game with 17.1 and rebounds per game with 7.3. His season high came in a loss against Missouri S&T, where he scored 33 points.
 
VETERAN PRESENCE
Green Bay sophomore Ramel Bethea is the oldest player in college basketball at 29 years old. Bethea spent his freshman season in 2024-25 at MiraCosta College, a junior college in San Diego, after spending five years in the military. Bethea grabbed four boards and swatted four blocks in Thursday's exhibition victory against the Green Knights.
 
YEAR TWO
Heading into the 2025-26 season, Doug Gottlieb enters his second year as the head coach of Green Bay men's basketball. Gottlieb, well-known for his broadcasting career, brings with him a wealth of experience as a player, commentator, analyst, and coach in the basketball world. As a broadcaster, he currently hosts the Doug Gottlieb show on Fox Sports Radio and All Ball, a podcast covering the biggest stories across college basketball and the NBA.
 
INTERNATIONAL TALENT
The 2025-26 Phoenix roster features players from two different foreign countries and 11 from different U.S. states. Maruan Cicic is from Montenegro, and Vukasin Todorovic is from Slovenia.
 
NEW ERA SAME RISE
After a season with 12 newcomers a season ago, the 2025-26 Green Bay roster will bring in 10 newcomers this year. Of GB's rostered players, six are returners, six are transfers, and four are true freshmen.
 
FAMILIAR FACES
Multiple returners will play large roles in the upcoming 2025-26 season, including Marcus Hall, Preston Ruedinger, Mac Wrecke, and C.J. O'Hara. Last season, Hall averaged 13.9, Ruedinger averaged 8.0, Wrecke averaged 6.1, and O'Hara averaged 4.0 points per game. Caden Wilkins and Brady Fitzgerald are the other two returners to the Phoenix squad.
 
OFFSEASON RECAP
August 21 – Keifer Sykes named as General Manager
August 27 – Keil Ganz named as an assistant coach
August 28 – Kerry Rupp named as an assistant coach
 
Over the summer, The Phoenix brought in four freshmen for the 2025-26 season: Keegan Van Kauwenberg, Vukasin Todorovic, Trey Schachter, and Maruan Cicic. Six transfers make their way to Green Bay this season, including Ramel Bethea, Josh Hines, Justin Allen, Dontrell Hewlett, Rob Stroud, and LeBron Thomas.
 
PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
PL. TEAM (1st PLACE VOTES) – PTS.
1. Milwaukee (24) – 428
2. Oakland (7) – 384
3. Youngstown State (2) – 364
4. Robert Morris (8) – 345
5. Purdue Fort Wayne (1) – 287
6. Northern Kentucky – 274
7. Wright State – 221
8. Cleveland State – 217
9. Detroit Mercy – 176
10. IU Indianapolis – 115
11. Green Bay – 93
 
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