Game Notes (pdf)

MILWAUKEE (3-1) vs. TRINITY INTERNATIONAL (5-2)
Nov. 20, 2015 – 7 p.m. CT
UWM Panther Arena – Milwaukee, Wis.
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, ESPN3 (subject to blackout)
Radio: WISN (AM 1130)
 
 
THE OPENING TIP
• After playing its first four games away from home, Milwaukee will face Trinity International in its 2015-16 home opener Friday night. Last year, the Panthers went 10-4 at home and have won six of their last seven games at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena with the only loss coming to Horizon League regular-season champion Valparaiso (62-55) on February 15, 2015.
 
• The Panthers are being challenged right out of the gate by playing eight games in the season's first 13 days. Making that opening stretch even more difficult to navigate is that seven of those eight contests will be played away from UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, where Milwaukee went 10-4 a season ago. Over the first 13 days of the 2015-16 season, Milwaukee will travel a total of 7,450 miles and play in four states. A year ago, the Panthers were quite busy at the outset of the season, playing seven games in 16 days.
 
• Under 11th-year head coach Rob Jeter, Milwaukee is 9-1 in home openers, with the only setback coming at the hands of DePaul (80-71) in 2013-14.
 
• Since the start of the 2013-14 campaign, the Panthers are 13-7 (.650) in the month of November, including 5-2 in their last seven contests in the season's opening month.
 
• Off the court, the Panthers had a phenomenal year in 2014-15, achieving high marks in the classroom, while also earning the Horizon League's Community Outreach Award after performing nearly 1,000 hours of community service. Milwaukee men's basketball players posted a team grade point average over 3.0 during the 2014-15 academic year and the team's total of four individuals on the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll was the highest in the conference. Continuing with the academic theme, Milwaukee placed two student-athletes - Evan Richard and Cody Wichmann - on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court and the Panthers also posted a perfect Academic Progress Rate (APR) score.
 
SERIES STUFF
Friday's game marks the second time Milwaukee and Trinity International will tangle, with the Panthers collecting a 74-66 victory in the only previous meeting on December 29, 1998. Under head coach Rob Jeter, Milwaukee is 11-0 against non-Division I foes, with an average margin of victory of 19.6 points. Last season, the Panthers topped Minnesota-Crookston (75-54) and Concordia-St. Paul (64-59).
 
ABOUT TRINITY INTERNATIONAL
The high-scoring Trojans enter Friday's game averaging 91.6 points per game and are coming off of a heartbreaking 92-90 loss to Saint Xavier Wednesday in their Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener. Led by junior swingman Grant Corsi, who averages a team-best 14.3 ppg, Trinity International has scored 100 or more points three times through the first seven games of 2015-16. Five other Trojans join Corsi with double-digit scoring averages.
 
TIBY TIDBITS
Senior Matt Tiby, the Panthers' emotional leader and a Second Team All-Horizon League pick a year ago, has picked up where he left off last season. In Tuesday's game at No. 18 Notre Dame, Tiby totaled 16 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double in the last five outings. Milwaukee is now 10-5 in his career when he totals 10 or more points and rebounds. With nine points against Santa Clara on November 15, he had a streak of consecutive games with double-digit scoring snapped at 23, but has scored 10 or more points in 24 of the last 25 outings. Over the final 21 games of 2014-15, the 6-foot-8 forward pitched in 15.6 ppg and 8.6 rpg after managing 7.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg through the first nine contests. A 2015-16 Preseason First Team All-Horizon League selection, the Urbandale, Iowa native was one of five players to rank among the top 12 in the League in both scoring and rebounding in 2014-15. Tiby averaged 13.3 ppg and 7.8 rpg in 30 games last season and scored in double figures 24 times, including in each of the last 21 outings. His seven double-doubles in 2014-15 were the most by a Panther in a single season since Adrian Tigert had nine in 2005-06. Tiby has scored in double figures in 10 straight games at UWM Panther Arena and over his last eight nonconference contests is pitching in 14.3 ppg and 9.1 rpg. He has been a starter in each of the 69 games in which he has appeared during his Milwaukee career. In two games versus non-Division I opponents last season, Tiby played only 19.0 minutes per game and collected 7.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 2.0 apg.
 
SPRINGS FEVER
Akeem Springs has elevated his play over the last two outings, and is averaging 19.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg, while shooting 60 percent (12-for-20) from the field and 71.4 percent (5-for-7) from triple territory. In the first two games of 2015-16, the junior guard managed 7.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg, but shot only 37.5 percent (6-for-16) from the field and 33.3 percent (2-for-6) from long distance. He was impressive at both ends of the floor in Milwaukee's victory at Santa Clara on November 15, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double since February 10 against Oakland (13 points, 10 boards), and in Tuesday's game at No. 18 Notre Dame equaled a career high with 21 points. The transfer from Northern Illinois has scored in double figures in 14 of his last 21 contests and the Panthers are 7-2 in the last nine games in which he has scored 10 or more points. Springs has buried 16 of his last 17 (.941) tries from the charity stripe. He contributed 12.3 ppg and 5.9 rpg in Milwaukee's wins in 2014-15 and over the final four outings of the year, shot 55.3 percent (21-for-38) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from three-point land, while averaging 15.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg. A starter in 19 consecutive contests, the Waukegan, Ill., native is accounting for 14.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.4 apg and 1.0 spg in his last eight appearances at UWM Panther Arena.
 
PANOSKE PRODUCES
J.J. Panoske has come into his own since mid-February of last season and over his last nine games is pitching in 11.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.0 apg and 1.9 bpg, while shooting 51.4 percent (37-for-72) from the field and 52.9 percent (18-for-34) from beyond the arc. Already the Panthers' Division I career leader with 106 blocked shots, the 6-foot-10 forward, who has helped Milwaukee to a 7-2 record over the last nine games, has found life to be good at Panther Arena, where he is contributing 14.5 ppg and connecting on 50 percent (10-for-20) of his field goal attempts and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) of his triple tries over the last two games there. Last season's team leader in free throw percentage (.857), the Brodhead, Wis., native has drained each of his last 14 and 31 of his last 33 (.939) attempts from the foul line. He has connected on 19 of his last 36 (.528) attempts from beyond the arc and since the start of the 2014-15 season, Milwaukee is 6-2 when he drains two or more treys. After opening the 2015-16 season by hitting just 3 of his first 9 (.333) treys and 7 of his first 17 (.412) field goal attempts, the senior forward has buried 4 of his last 5 (.800) from long range and 7 of his last 10 (.700) field goal tries overall. Last Saturday against Lipscomb, Panoske ripped down a career-best 15 rebounds, the most by a Panther since Matt Tiby corralled 17 versus Oakland on February 2, 2014, and added 12 points for his first career double-double. He also swatted five shots against the Bisons.
 
AUSTIN'S POINTS POWER PANTHERS
Junior Austin Arians has picked up where he left off in 2013-14 when he established himself as one of the premier shooters in the Horizon League. The 6-foot-6 forward, who redshirted the 2014-15 season, is the only Panther to have scored in double figures in all four games this year and in the season opener versus Denver, contributed a team-best 20 points, his most since a career-best, 28-point effort at Youngstown State on February 20, 2014. Named MVP of the Cable Car Classic last week after putting up 15.3 ppg, Arians is coming off a 19-point performance at Notre Dame Tuesday. Through four games, he leads the team with 16.3 ppg and is shooting 43.6 percent (17-for-39) from long range. In 2013-14, he connected on 36.7 percent (65-for-177) of his tries from three-point range en route to 11.1 ppg. Milwaukee has registered a 19-7 record the last 26 times the Stoughton, Wis., native has scored in double digits. Arians will look to get off to a fast start this season, much like he did in 2013-14 when he totaled 10 or more points in 10 of the team's first 11 games. He ranks second in the Horizon League with 4.3 threes per game and over the last two games is shooting 55 percent (11-for-20) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from long range, while putting up 16.5 ppg.
 
SURE SHOTS
The Panthers are shooting 49 percent (48-for98) percent from the field over the last two outings after draining shots at a 41 percent (48-for-117) clip through the first two games of the 2015-16 season.
 
CODY'S CONTRIBUTIONS
With Austin Arians on the sidelines in 2014-15, Cody Wichmann shouldered more of a load and responded in fine fashion after logging only 6.8 minutes and 2.4 ppg as a freshman in 2013-14. In addition to leading the team in three-point field goals made (47) and three-point field goal percentage (.402) a season ago, Wichmann pitched in 6.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg and 1.1 apg, while appearing in all 30 contests. Last season, Wichmann came out of the starting blocks fast, hitting at least one three-pointer in each of the first 11 and 14 of the first 15 games. Over the final eight outings of 2014-15, Wichmann put up 7.0 ppg and shot 50 percent (20-for-40) from the field and 51.8 percent (14-for-27) from three-point territory. In his previous three games, Wichmann mustered 1.7 ppg on just 11.1 percent (1-for-9) shooting from both the field and downtown. Five of his seven double-digit scoring performances last season came at Panther Arena, where he shot 53.7 percent (36-for-67) from the field and 53.8 percent (28-for-52) from three-point land. In his career, Milwaukee is 8-2 when he scores in double digits. His marksmanship helped the Panthers to success in 2014-15 as he contributed 7.2 ppg and knocked down 50.7 percent (34-for-67) of his field goal tries and 52 percent (26-for-50) of his three-point attempts in Milwaukee's wins. Dating back to the 2013-14 season, the Pulaski, Wis., native has connected on 17 of his last 21 (.810) attempts from the foul line. He is on track to earn his accounting degree in less than four years.
 
JORDAN RULES
Junior Jordan Johnson, a transfer from John Wood Community College, has made an immediate impact as the team's starting point guard, replacing 2015 Second Team All-Horizon League selection Steve McWhorter, who graduated last spring. The lightning quick 5-foot-9 Johnson is posting 8.5 ppg, 7.5 apg and 1.0 spg through four games and is coming off an 11-point, 10-assist performance at No. 18 Notre Dame Tuesday night. His 7.5 apg ranks second in the Horizon League and tied for 18th in the nation through games of November 18 The Waukegan, Ill., native was a NJCAA First Team All-American and helped John Wood to the NJCAA Division II national title game in 2014-15. At Waukegan High School in Waukegan, Ill., Johnson was a teammate of current Panther Akeem Springs.
 
A CHIEF AMONG US
Former Milwaukee forward Demetrius Harris (2011-13) is once again on the active roster for the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. The first Panther to play in the NFL since 1983, Harris played two seasons at Milwaukee and helped the team to a College Basketball Invitational appearance in 2012 before putting up 9.1 ppg and 5.3 rpg in 2012-13. Last season, the 6-foot-7 Harris appeared in eight games as a tight end for the Chiefs and hauled in three passes for 20 yards before suffering a season-ending foot injury during warm-ups against Buffalo in early November.
 
GOTTA GET BACK IN TIME
The 2015-16 season marks the 10-year anniversary of one of the best years in Milwaukee basketball history. Led by the play of Joah Tucker, Boo Davis and Adrian Tigert, the Panthers knocked off Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Florida. Two members of Rob Jeter's current staff - Chris Hill and Allan Hanson - were on that team, which won a NCAA Tournament game for a second consecutive season. Milwaukee finished the 2005-06 season with a 22-9 record in Jeter's first season as the Panthers' bench boss.
 
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Milwaukee went 10-4 at home last season and has won six of its last seven games at UWM Panther Arena. Over that seven-game stretch, the Panthers have lit up the scoreboard for 71.1 ppg, while shooting 47.3 percent (169-for-357) from the field and a healthy 43.1 percent (59-for-137) from three-point territory.
 
THREE-MENDOUS
In Tuesday's loss at Notre Dame, the Panthers shot a blistering 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from beyond the arc and their 14 triples were the most since February 23, 2012, when Milwaukee dropped 14 treys on UIC.
 
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
As a team, Milwaukee is shooting a ridiculous 83.7 percent (82-for-98) from the foul line in its last five contests dating back to last season. Milwaukee nearly set a single-season school record by draining 73.7 percent (434-for-589) of its free throw attempts in 2014-15 for the second-best accuracy rate in Division I program history. That percentage placed the Panthers tied for 32nd in the nation and tied with UIC for the top spot in the Horizon League. Milwaukee matched a single-game school record for free throw accuracy by sinking all 22 of its attempts in the regular-season finale at Youngstown State on February 28, 2015. The Panthers had twice previously connected on all of their foul shots in a game (minimum 10 attempts) - versus Green Bay (20-for-20) on January 9, 2009 and against Youngstown State (15-for-15) on January 7, 2008. Through four games this year, Milwaukee is converting 78.9 percent (60-for-76) of its charity tosses, a figure that ranks second in the Horizon League and 24th in the nation.
 
THAT 70s SHOW
Milwaukee, which has scored 71 or points in each of its first four contests of the 2015-16 season, has now prevailed in 11 of its last 13 games when scoring 70 or more points.
 
MILWAUKEE MOMENTUM
Dating back to the 2014-15 campaign, the Panthers have won 10 of their last 13 games. Tuesday's 86-78 loss at No. 18 Notre Dame halted Milwaukee's seven-game winning streak, the longest since the 2010-11 season.
 
CABLE CAR CLASSIC CHAMPS
Milwaukee captured the tournament title by going 3-0 at the season-opening Cable Car Classic hosted by Santa Clara. This marks the second straight season the Panthers have won an in-season tournament title, as they claimed the middleweight division of the 2014 MGM Grand Main Event a year ago.