GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's basketball team ended the 2025-26 regular season fifth in the Horizon League standings and is set to host the No. 6-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons tomorrow in a Horizon League First Round Tournament Game at 7 p.m. CST. The winner of tomorrow's game will continue their postseason at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis on March 8 or 9.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
(6) Purdue Fort Wayne (17-14, 11-9 HL) vs. (5) Green Bay (17-14, 12-8 HL)
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
7:00 PM CST
Follow the action: Watch ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets | Championship Central
 
ABOUT THE MASTODONS
The Mastodons are led by 12th-year head coach Jon Coffman, who finished the regular season with a 17-14 record and an 11-9 record in the Horizon League. Corey Hadnot II leads the HL in points per game, averaging 20.6. He is also the team leader in assists per game at 3.5 and steals with 1.8 per game. DeAndre Craig Jr. and Mikale Stevenson are also key contributors, each averaging 14.1 points per game. The Mastodons finished the regular season with an 87-81 road win over IU Indy on Saturday.

POSTSEASON PICTURE
Green Bay and Purdue Fort Wayne have faced off in the Horizon League Championships once before. In the 2020-21 shortened season, GB was upset in the first round by PFW, who downed the Phoenix in double overtime at the Kress Center, by a score of 89-84. With a win, the Phoenix would advance to Indianapolis for the first time since the 2019-20 Season.

LAST TIME OUT
Justin Allen scored 22 points to lead the Green Bay men's basketball team over Youngstown State 85-63 on Senior Day at home on Saturday afternoon. The Phoenix (17-14, 12-8) had four players score in double figures, led by Allen, who had four assists and three rebounds to go with his 22. Preston Ruedinger tacked on 18 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, and C.J. O'Hara chipped in as well with 16 points and seven rebounds. Caden Wilkins was the final Phoenix in double figures, finishing with 10 points and six boards. Green Bay outrebounded Youngstown State 40-24 in Saturday's game, led by Ruedinger's eight boards. The Phoenix defense also held YSU to 40.0-percent shooting from the field, but more importantly, 28.6-percent from beyond the arc.

ALL-LEAGUE AWARDS
On Monday, the Horizon League announced All-League honors, featuring two Phoenix guards. Preston Ruedinger was named to the All-League Second Team, and C.J. O'Hara was named to the All-League Third Team. Ruedinger is one of the best passers in the Horizon League, sitting third in the league at 5.3 assists per game. Ruedinger has started all 31 games for GB and plays the most minutes per game on the team at 35.1. Ruedinger made history with a career-high 13 assists vs UCSB on Dec. 17, the seventh-most in a game in program history. O'Hara also started all 31 games this season and leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points. He is second in rebounds, averaging 4.5, and is third on the team at 32.3 minutes per game. O'Hara has scored in double figures in 26 of his 31 starts, including a career-high 23 points on Feb. 4 at NKU.

MONEY MARCUS
Phoenix forward Marcus Hall is picking up where he left off last season. Through 28 games, Hall is averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in 34.7 minutes per game. Hall was named to the Horizon League Preseason First Team on October 8. He has scored in double figures in 19 of his 28 games so far this season, featuring a career-high 32 points on Feb. 15 at Milwaukee. With his 32nd point in the game at MKE, Hall eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark.

JUSTIN-CREDIBLE
Senior guard Justin Allen is one of GB's most dynamic scorers, pouring in 20+ points nine times this season, including three times in the last five games. He is third on the team in scoring average, at 13.5 per game. Allen posted a season-high 34 points against PFW on Feb. 12, the last time these two teams matched up.

INSPIRING JOURNEY
There are over 5,000 NCAA Division I basketball players, and Green Bay is home to the oldest player of them all. 29-year-old Ramel Bethea served five years in the U.S. Navy before playing his first competitive basketball at MiraCosta College last year. Over the summer, Bethea transferred to Green Bay. Bethea is three years older than the next oldest player in the country.

NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT
Through 31 games, Green Bay has proven to be one of the most efficient offenses in the Horizon League. The Phoenix is shooting 48.1 percent from the floor, 33rd in the country, and 36.6 percent from three, good for 45th in the NCAA.

PHOENIX RISING
Green Bay finished the 2025-26 regular season with a 17-14 overall record and 12-8 HL record. Last year at the same point, GB was 4-27. It took just nine games for the 2025-26 Phoenix to match the win total of the 2024-25 Phoenix. GB added 10 wins to its Horizon League win total from a year ago, having finished 2-18 in league play last year. The Phoenix went 12-8 in Horizon League play this season.

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. Coach Gottlieb announced on Dec. 17, after GB's win over UCSB, that he will be taking a break from hosting The Gottlieb Show on Fox Sports Radio to focus on Phoenix basketball. With Saturday's win over YSU, Gottlieb clinched his first winning season as a head coach.

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.

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