Milwaukee vs. Minnesota-Crookston Game Notes 

THE OPENING TIP
• After dropping the season opener at Auburn Friday night, Milwaukee returns home for its first game in the newly named UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. In NCAA Division I play, the Panthers are 25-6 in home openers, including 8-1 under 10th year head coach Rob Jeter. Milwaukee has prevailed in 13 of its last 14 home openers, with the lone loss coming to DePaul (80-71) last season.
 
• Sophomore Akeem Springs, a transfer from Northern Illinois, made quite a statement in his Milwaukee debut at Auburn Friday. The 6-foot-4 guard recorded team highs of 21 points and seven rebounds against the Tigers. That marks the second straight year a Panther newcomer has scored 20 or more points in the season opener (Matt Tiby had 21 points at Loyola Chicago last year).
 
• The Panthers have not dropped a game to a non-NCAA Division I foe since a 56-53 setback versus Tri-State on December 20, 1998.
 
• Milwaukee has won seven of its last 10 home games versus non-Horizon League teams, including each of its last three. The Panthers' last three wins versus non-NCAA Division I foes have come by an average of 26.0 points.
 
• Junior forward Matt Tiby was recently named to the 2014-15 Lou Henson Award Watch List. One of 40 players overall and three from the Horizon League named to the list, Tiby averaged 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Mid-Major Player of the Year.
 
• Milwaukee is playing arguably the toughest nonconference schedule in the Horizon League with four games versus teams from power conferences - at Auburn (Nov. 14), at Oklahoma State (Nov. 21) vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 10) and at Arkansas (Dec. 22).
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Minnesota-Crookston is in the middle of a busy opening stretch and Monday's game with be the Golden Eagles' third in four days. UMC struggled over the weekend, dropping a pair of games in Seattle to Central Washington (65-52) and Seattle Pacific (90-38). A year ago, Minnesota-Crookston posted a 4-23 overall record and through two games this year, junior guard Derrick Redd, Jr. paces the club in scoring with 7.0 points per contest. Through two games, the Golden Eagles are mustering only 45.0 ppg and shooting 31 percent from the field, 19 percent from three-point territory and 60 percent from the charity stripe.
 
SERIES STUFF
This is the first-ever meeting between Milwaukee and Minnesota-Crookston, which is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in NCAA Division II. However, the Panthers have previously faced 10 current members of the conference and are 22-7 (.759) all-time versus teams from the NSIC.
 
FAMILIAR FACE
Minnesota-Crookston is coached by former Milwaukee guard Dan Weisse, who played for the Panthers from 2000-2003 and was a member of the program's first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament squad in 2003. Prior to joining the Golden Eagles program this season, Weisse, an Oshkosh, Wis., native, was an assistant at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Last season, he helped Moorhead to a 21-8 record and a berth in the NSIC Championship game. His best season at Milwaukee came when he contributed 8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 2.5 apg as a sophomore in 2000-01 under Bo Ryan.
 
TERRIFIC TURNAROUND
After winning only eight games in 2012-13, Milwaukee engineered the best turnaround in the nation in 2013-14 by posting 21 victories for a 13-game improvement in the win column. Milwaukee has now won 20 or more games four times under Rob Jeter and seven times in the last 12 years.
 
BUSY OPENING STRETCH
Milwaukee will be a busy team in the first couple of weeks of the season playing seven games in 16 days. Only three of those games will be at home and the Panthers will play in four different states during that two-week, season-opening stretch.
 
SPRINGS FEVER
Sophomore Akeem Springs made quite an impression in Milwaukee debut Friday night. The transfer from Northern Illinois totaled 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists at Auburn after leading the team with 15 points in the exhibition victory over UW-Platteville on November 6. Springs is the second Panther newcomer in as many years to score 20 or more points in his debut in the Black and Gold. Last season, Matt Tiby poured in 21 points in the season opener at Loyola Chicago. Springs, who contributed 7.7 ppg at Northern Illinois in 2012-13, got off to a fast start that season as well, averaging 11.0 ppg over the first nine games. His play stood out to Rob Jeter that year as Springs narrowly missed out on a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds against Milwaukee. While at NIU, Springs pitched in 16 points, five boards and three assists versus Judson College in his only career appearance versus a non-NCAA Division I foe.
 
TIBY TIME
Junior Matt Tiby is primed for a big season in 2014-15. The emotional leader of the Panthers squad, the 6-foot-8 forward made an immediate impact in his first season of Division I basketball last year, ranking third on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg), while leading the club in rebounding (6.5 rpg). Tiby, who scored in double figures on 24 occasions in 2013-14, got his season off to a hot start a year ago, pitching in 17.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg through the first four games. A 2015 Preseason Second Team All-Horizon League selection, the Urbandale, Iowa native recorded six double-doubles a year ago and scored in double figures on 24 occasions, five times topping the 20-point mark. Milwaukee went 5-1 last season when he posted a double-double. Last week, Tiby was named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List. The award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Mid-Major Player of the Year. Tiby is one of three Horizon League players - Keifer Sykes (Green Bay) and Tyler Lewis (Cleveland State) are the others - on the watch list. Tiby averaged 15.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 3.0 apg, while shooting 56 percent (19-for-34) from the field last year in four home games against non-league opponents.
 
ON POINT
Milwaukee will benefit from the steady play of an experienced point guard this season. Redshirt senior Steve McWhorter's play was instrumental in the Panthers making a late-season run a year ago. A veteran who serves as coach on the floor, the Racine, Wis., native averaged 7.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.0 apg and 1.5 spg last year. Not known as a big scorer, McWhorter did reach double digits on 13 occasions a year ago and the Panthers went 11-2 in those contests. In 2013-14, he started all 35 contests and through the first five games of the season, pitched in 10.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.2 apg and 1.4 spg, while connecting on 59 percent (20-for-34) of his field goal tries. In three seasons on active rosters at both Indiana State and Milwaukee, McWhorter has helped his team reach the postseason on three occasions (2 NCAA, 1 CIT).
 
AUSTIN POWERS PANTHERS
Another Panther who got off to a tremendous start last season was three-point specialist Austin Arians, who scored in double digits in each of his first eight appearances to the tune of 13.0 ppg on 41 percent (15-for-37) shooting from beyond the arc. One of the top long-range shooters in the Horizon League, the junior forward led the squad by draining 37 percent (65-for-177) of his shots from downtown a year ago. Arians poured in 10 or more points 22 times during his sophomore campaign and the Panthers posted an impressive 16-6 ledger in those contests. Dating back to last season, Arians, who missed the Auburn game with an ankle injury, is producing 13.5 ppg on 38 percent (10-for-26) shooting from three-point territory in his last four appearances. In his last 15 games versus non-Horizon League opponents, the Stoughton, Wis., native is accounting for 12.8 ppg and has reached double figures in all but two of those outings. In last year's NCAA Tournament loss to Villanova, Arians notched a team-high 17 points and added five rebounds, and in his last two games versus power conference opponents, is averaging 13.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg, while connecting on 50 percent (7-for-14) of his three-point attempts.
 
K.C. MASTERPIECE
In just his third career start, junior J.R. Lyle totaled 10 points in Milwaukee's season opener at Auburn Friday night. The guard has pitched in 15.0 ppg on a staggering 62 percent (13-for-21) shooting from the field, including 50 percent (4-for-8) from beyond the arc. The Kansas City, Mo., native has scored in double figures in four of his last 10 games dating back to last season. He tallied 10 points in last season's victory over Judson and totaled a career-best 20 points at Detroit in his first career starting assignment.
 
SITTING THIS ONE OUT
In addition to Scotty Tyler, a transfer from Idaho State University, who must sit out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA rules, Milwaukee freshman guards Brock Stull and Derek Rongstad will redshirt. A tremendous all-around athlete who also was a standout football player at Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford, Ill., Stull totaled 1,194 points in his prep career. Meanwhile, Rongstad was a prolific three-point shooter during his prep career at Middleton High School in Middleton, Wis., connecting on 105 triples.
 
NAME GAME
The 2014-15 season will be Milwaukee's first in the newly named UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, which was previously know as U.S. Cellular Arena. In June, the University entered into a 10-year partnership agreement with the Wisconsin Center District that includes the naming rights to the facility and a long-term downtown home for the Panthers. UWM will also host major concerts and other programming at the arena.
 
FROM THE HARDWOOD TO THE GRIDIRON
Former Milwaukee forward Demetrius Harris has joined the likes of former college basketball players Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham and made a career as a tight end in the National Football League. The 6-foot-7 Harris, who starred at UWM for two seasons (2011-13), was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad last year before earning a spot on the active roster this season. Before breaking his foot in pregame warm-ups on November 9, he had appeared in eight games this year and caught three passes for 20 yards. Harris averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game at Milwaukee in 2012-13 and is the first Panther to play in the NFL since 1983.
 
JORDAN RULES
Freshman guard Justin Jordan brings some interesting bloodlines to the Milwaukee program. The Davidson, N.C., native is the son of Larry Jordan and the nephew of former NBA great, six-time NBA champion, Hall of Famer and current Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan. Justin played last season at Hargrave Military Academy and contributed 13 points, eight assists and four steals per game. In Friday's opener at Auburn, he showed the poise of a veteran, totaling 11 points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench to become the first Panther true freshman since Tony Meier in 2008 to score 10 or more points in a season opener.
 
NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
Milwaukee will be looking for another successful opening month to springboard it to a great season. Last year, the Panthers established a school record with seven wins in November. The previous best was five, set in both 2009 and 2011. Since the start of the 2011-12 campaign, Milwaukee is 6-1 at home in the month of November.
 
HOME COOKING
Milwaukee has won three of its last four home games and averaged 74.5 ppg on 47 percent (96-for-206) shooting from the field.
 
THE KIDS CAN PLAY
In Friday's season opener at Auburn, newcomers accounted for 38 of the Panthers' 73 points. Two Panthers newbies - Akeem Springs (21) and Justin Jordan (11) - scored in double figures.
 
UP NEXT
Milwaukee wraps up a brief two-game homestand Wednesday night when it welcomes IUPUI to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The Panthers then hit the road for three straight games, playing at Oklahoma State Friday (Nov. 21) before facing UL-Lafayette (Nov. 24) and Oral Roberts (Nov. 26) at the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas.