Game Notes (pdf)

MILWAUKEE vs. CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
NOVEMBER 29, 2014 – 3 p.m. CT
UW-MILWAUKEE PANTHER ARENA - MILWAUKEE, WIS. 
ESPN3 – WISN (1130 AM)
 
THE OPENING TIP
• Milwaukee welcomes Concordia-St. Paul to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday afternoon for the team's final game in the month of November. After logging a 7-2 record last November, the Panthers have gone 2-4 this November.  Four of Milwaukee's next five games will be played at home.
 
• The Panthers have not dropped a game to a non-NCAA Division I foe since a 56-53 loss to Tri-State on December 20, 1998. Milwaukee is 10-0 all-time versus non-Division I opponents under head coach Rob Jeter.
 
• It is said that defense wins championships and so far this season it has at least played a huge part in the Panthers winning games. In two victories, Milwaukee has limited opponents to 53.0 points and a meager 34 percent (37-for-110) shooting from the field. Conversely, in their four losses, the Panthers have yielded 76.0 ppg and seen the opposition connect on 46 percent (96-for-207) of its shots from the field. Milwaukee has won its last seven games when holding the opposition to fewer than 60 points.
 
• Though it is very early in the season, senior Steve McWhorter should be in the discussion for Horizon League Player of the Year honors if he continues his torrid pace. The 6-foot-2 guard is putting up 18.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.8 spg and 0.8 bpg over the last five contests, while shooting 54 percent (34-for-63) from the field and 40 percent (10-for-25) from three-point range.
 
•As a team, Milwaukee has reversed its fortunes at the charity stripe. After connecting on 55 percent (36-for-65) of their free tosses in the first three outings this season, the Panthers have drained 37 of their last 51 attempts (73 percent) from the foul line.
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
After dropping its season opener to Emporia, Concordia-St. Paul has rattled off three straight wins and its last two victories have come by an average margin of 51.5 points. Led by junior guard Cole Olstad, who is contributing 14.3 ppg and 5.0 rpg, the Golden Bears are shooting an impressive 51 percent from the field as a team and an even more remarkable 58 percent from inside the three-point line. Concordia-St. Paul has been an extraordinarily deep team that has 10 players logging at least 10 minutes per outing and it has completely manhandled its opponents on the boards, outrebounding them by a +19.5 margin.
 
SERIES STUFF
This is the fourth meeting between the teams in a series that dates back to 2001. Milwaukee has won each of the previous three meetings, all of which were played in Milwaukee, including an 89-73 decision on November 13, 2009, the last time the teams hooked up. Ricky Franklin tallied a team-high 21 points and James Eayrs added 20 points and 10 boards to power Milwaukee to the win in the 2009-10 season opener. The Panthers are 23-7 (.767) all-time against members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and on November 17 toppled NSIC member Minnesota-Crookston, 75-54.
 
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.
 
SEEING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
In Monday afternoon's game versus Louisiana, Steve McWhorter recorded his first career double-double, putting up 18 points, while also matching a personal best with 10 rebounds. He is the first Panther to register double digits in both points and rebounds since Matt Tiby went for 15 points and 10 rebounds at Green Bay in the Horizon League Championship Semifinals on March 8, 2014. McWhorter's 10 boards are the most by a Milwaukee guard this season and the most since McWhorter himself pulled down 10 misfires at Green Bay on March 8, 2014.
 
SPRINGS FEVER
Sophomore Akeem Springs got his Milwaukee career off to an impressive start in the season opener at Auburn on November 14. 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 his current team. Since getting off to that great start at Auburn, Springs, who missed the Oral Roberts game with a hand injury, has cooled off and accounted for 5.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 1.3 apg, while hitting 21 percent (7-for-33) of his field goal tries. After misfiring on his first seven attempts from long range this season, the Waukegan, Ill., native has knocked down 3 of his last 9 (.333) from three-point territory.
 
TIBY TIME
The emotional leader of the Panthers squad, Matt Tiby 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 got his 2013-14 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. Earlier this month, 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 and 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 played a season-high 31 minutes versus Louisiana on Monday and hit the go-ahead basket with 43 seconds remaining. In his last six home games versus non-league foes, he is collecting 13.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 2.5 apg and shooting 55 percent (23-for-42) from the field.
 
STEVIE WONDERFUL
Redshirt senior Steve McWhorter is having an outstanding start to the 2014-15 campaign. Not known as a big scorer, McWhorter has scored in double digits on 18 occasions in his UWM career and the Panthers are 13-5 in those contests. In 2013-14, he started all 35 games and through the first five outings 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 two home games this season, McWhorter is going for 18.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.0 bpg and 1.0 spg. Wednesday versus Oral Roberts, he poured in a career-best 21 points, 15 of which helped spark a remarkable second-half comeback, and he has now scored in double digits in a career-high-tying five consecutive contests. McWhorter also scored 10 or more points in five straight games, January 2-16, 2014. A winner in every sense of the word, 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). He is accounting for 17.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.5 apg in Milwaukee's wins this year.
 
CODY CONTRIBUTES
With Austin Arians on the sidelines as a redshirt this season, sophomore Cody Wichmann has shouldered more of a load and has responded in fine fashion after logging only xx minutes and 2.5 ppg a year ago. The 6-foot-5 guard has knocked down at least one three-point field goal in all six games this year and is shooting an admirable 48 percent (12-for-25) from beyond the arc. Wichmann, who did not commit a turnover in the first four games of the season and has coughed the ball up just twice in 123 minutes of action, has hit 7 of his last 12 (.583) three-point attempts, and in his career Milwaukee is 4-0 when he scores in double digits. In a pair of games this season at UWM Panther Arena, the Pulaski, Wis., native is tallying 9.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 1.5 apg, while shooting 50 percent (6-for-12) from the field. Dating back to last season, in his last three home games, Wichmann is accounting for 10.0 ppg, while shooting 56 percent (9-for-16) from the field and 50 percent (6-for-12) from downtown. He scored a season-high 10 points in only 17 minutes versus Minnesota-Crookston on November 17.
 
K.C. MASTERPIECE
Kansas City, Mo., native J.R. Lyle has gotten his junior campaign off to a strong start. The 6-foot-2 guard has started all six games this season and ranks second on the team with 9.8 ppg. Lyle, who has scored in double digits twice this year is active at both ends of the floor. Lyle also ranks tied for tops on the squad with nine total steals (1.5 spg) and he is knocking down 46 percent (20-for-44) of his shots from the field. Dating back to last season, in his last six starting assignments, Lyle is contributing 11.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.7 apg and 1.4 spg, while sinking 49 percent (29-for-59) of his attempts from the field and 33 percent (7-for-21) from three-point territory. In two home games this year, he is producing 14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 1.5 spg and is hitting 50 percent (9-for-18) of his shots. Since opening the year by making just 1 of his first 5 charity tosses, Lyle has connected on 12 of his last 17 attempts (.706) from the foul line.
 
SITTING THIS ONE OUT
Four Panthers will sit out the 2014-15 season - freshmen Derek Rongstad and Brock Stull, sophomore Scotty Tyler, who is a transfer from Idaho State University, and junior Austin Arians, who averaged 11.1 ppg and shot a team-best 37 percent (65-for-177) from three-point range a year ago.
 
COMFORTS OF HOME
Milwaukee has benefited from the familiarity of its home floor this season and is averaging 71.5 ppg and committing only 7.5 turnovers per contest at Panther Arena this season. Away from home, those numbers change to 65.8 ppg and 15.5 turnovers per outing.
 
WHITE HOT
Junior Trinson White is showing signs of becoming a key contributor for the Panthers this season. In his last two appearances, the 6-foot-5 wing man is collecting 8.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 1.5 apg after mustering just 0.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg and 1.0 apg in his first three outings. White made his first career start Wednesday against Oral Roberts are responded with seven points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. That effort came on the heels of a nine-point, five-rebound performance against Louisiana.
 
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 the season 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. That effort earned him Horizon League Freshman of the Week honors. Jordan has contributed 6.5 ppg off the bench in the last two games after posting 1.7 ppg in the previous three contests. He has hit three of his last four attempts from three-point range.
 
PANOSKE PRODUCES
Junior J.J. Panoske has gotten off to a solid start this season, averaging 6.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 1.2 apg through the first six games. The 6-foot-10 forward, who is putting up 10.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.5 bpg, while shooting 62 percent (8-for-13) at Panther Arena this year, matched a season high with seven boards against Oral Roberts Wednesday afternoon. Panoske, who is corralling 6.5 rpg over the last pair of contests, accounted for 8.5 ppg on 56 percent (14-for-25) shooting through the first four games, but has managed just 3.5 ppg on 38 percent (3-for-8) shooting in the last two outings.
 
HOW SWEET IT WAS
The 2014-15 season marks the 10-year anniversary of Milwaukee's magical run to the NCAA Sweet 16. Led by the play of Ed McCants, Joah Tucker and Adrian Tigert, the Panthers knocked off Alabama and Boston College in the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national runner-up Illinois. Two members of Rob Jeter's current staff - Chris Hill and Allan Hanson - were on that Sweet 16 squad. Milwaukee finished the year with a 26-6 overall record and a No. 23 ranking in the final ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll.