2015 Gulf Coast Showcase Bracket 

MILWAUKEE (August 4, 2015) – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team will open play at the 2015 Gulf Coast Showcase on November 23 by facing perennial Ohio Valley Conference power Murray State according to the bracket released today by bd Global. The Gulf Coast Showcase, which is played at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., is an eight-team tournament that features some of the top mid-major programs in the country, with Central Michigan, Drake, Duquesne, Pepperdine, Weber State and Western Kentucky rounding out this year's field.
 
Murray State posted a 29-6 overall record and went an unblemished 16-0 in OVC action in 2014-15, reaching the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. The Racers have posted six consecutive 20-win seasons and 28 straight winning seasons. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Panthers and Racers.
 
Depending on the result of its game versus Murray State, Milwaukee will face either Duquesne or Pepperdine on November 24. Pepperdine posted an 18-14 mark last season and is led by senior forward Stacy Davis, who collected First Team All-West Coast Conference and National Association of Basketball Coaches Second Team All-District accolades after putting up 15.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per outing a year ago.
 
Duquesne went 12-19 last season, including a 6-12 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference, but welcomes back its top two scorers from a year ago – Derrick Colter (13.2 ppg) and Micah Mason (12.8 ppg).
 
The other half of the 2015 Gulf Coast Showcase opening-round bracket features a pair of intriguing matchups with Western Kentucky taking on Drake (6 p.m. ET) and Central Michigan battling Weber State (8:30 p.m. ET).
 
Tickets for the 2015 Gulf Coast Showcase are on sale now at GermainArena.com or through Ticketmaster. All-tournament passes are available for $89 or $139. Single-session tickets are also on sale and range from $10 General Admission to $45 Courtside for each two-game session. Each day of the tournament will feature an afternoon session (starts at 12 p.m.) and evening session (starts at 6 p.m.) and tickets will be good for both games of a given session. For more information on the tournament, visit www.gulfcoastshowcase.com or follow on Twitter at @GCShowcase.
 
WorldTEK, a full-service travel management company with more than 40+ years of experience, is the official travel package provider for the Gulf Coast Showcase. Information on fan travel packages is available at www.gulfcoastshowcase.com.
 
Milwaukee finished the 2014-15 campaign as one of the hottest teams in the Horizon League, winning seven of its final nine games. Head coach Rob Jeter welcomes back six of his top seven scorers, including Second Team All-Horizon League forward Matt Tiby (13.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg), as well as double-figure scorer Akeem Springs (10.3 ppg)). The Panthers also will benefit from the return of junior forward Austin Arians, who redshirted the 2014-15 campaign. Arians tallied 11.1 ppg and 3.5 rpg in helping Milwaukee to a NCAA Tournament berth in 2013-14.
 
The remainder of Milwaukee's 2015-16 schedule will be released at a later date.