The Milwaukee men's basketball team rings in the New Year Saturday afternoon, opening its 2016 Horizon League schedule by welcoming Wright State to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The Panthers are coming off their second win over the Big Ten this year, defeating Minnesota Dec. 23 to finish non-league play at 9-4, just one victory shy of tying the school record for regular season non-conference wins. Tip off time against the Raiders is set for 3 p.m.

LOOKING AT WRIGHT STATE
The Raiders suffered through an injury-plagued 1-13 finish a season ago en route to an 11-20 overall record. Wright State returned its top four scorers and a core of young players who saw considerably more action than projected in 2014-15. That has led to mixed results so far and a 6-7 ledger in non-league play. They do enter on a hot streak, posting three victories in a row over Charleston Southern (71-65 Dec. 17), Bowling Green (83-47 Dec. 20) and Murray State (65-49 Dec. 22). Three players average double figures, led by JT Yoho at 12.4 ppg which includes 52.3 percent shooting (23-of-44) from three-point range. Mark Alstork checks in at 10.5 ppg, while Joe Thomasson is scoring 10.3 ppg and grabbing a team-best 5.1 rpg.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 52nd meeting between Milwaukee and Wright State and the Panthers hold a 28-23 (27-22 NCAA D-I) advantage in the all-time series. The Panthers have claimed each of the last four meetings between the teams, including a 61-58 decision at Dayton in the final matchup last year, with J.J. Panoske's three-pointer with three seconds left lifting the Panthers to a thrilling 61-58 victory over WSU and a season sweep in the process. UWM is exceptionally impressive in the series when played in the state of Wisconsin, posting an 18-5 mark in those 23 games.

LAST GAME
Facing a deficit for the first time all game, the Milwaukee men's basketball team responded by making six straight field goals as part of a 12-3 run that sparked the team to a 74-65 victory over Minnesota Wednesday night at Williams Arena.
 
Jordan Johnson was everywhere in leading Milwaukee to its second victory over the Big Ten this season, finishing a rebound short of a triple-double with 19 points, 10 assists and nine boards.
 
The Panthers (9-4) led or were tied with the Gophers (6-6) for all but 22 seconds on the night, turning the game around in the middle of the second half with that decisive scoring run before making enough free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
 
Johnson was one of five different players to reach double-figures on a night the team finished shooting 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the floor.
 
All five starters netted 10 or more. Akeem Springs finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and J.J. Panoske was close to a double-double, putting up 12 points and eight boards while nearly tying the school record for blocks in a game (6), finishing with five.
 
Matt Tiby (10 points/6 rebounds) and Austin Arians (10) points rounded out the list, helping the Panthers to their first-ever victory over Minnesota.

LEAGUE OPENER INFO
Milwaukee starts league play looking for its sixth win in its last eight league openers. UWM had won five-straight before losing at Detroit in the opener in 2012-13. Overall, the Panthers are looking for their 12th win in their last 16 league lid-lifters. In all, since joining the MCC/Horizon League, Milwaukee is 11-9 in league openers overall and 13-7 in league home openers. Meanwhile, after 10 straight years of playing at least one league game in the month of December, UWM is not starting league play until January for the fourth-straight campaign.

AS RARE AS SEEING BIG FOOT
Jordan Johnson was everywhere in the victory over Minnesota Dec. 23, coming up just one rebound short of a triple-double when he finished with 19 points, 10 assists and nine boards. Had he been able to grab one more rebound, it would have marked the fourth triple-double all-time in program history and the first since Kaylon Williams put up 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Butler January 4, 2011. He was honored as League Player of the Week as a result.

How rare is the feat? Milwaukee owns nearly half (3 of 7) of the recorded triple-doubles in NCAA Division I basketball history in the state of Wisconsin. In addition to William's gem, Marc Mitchell had a pair in the 1992-93 season. He piled up 13 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against UMKC Feb. 1, 1993 and also had 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds earlier that season against Alcorn State on Dec. 7, 1992.

The Badgers finally added their first-ever in well over 100 years of its history in 2011 when Josh Gasser (10 pts/12 reb/10 asts) did the trick. Green Bay was not on the list until Alec Brown (15 pts/10 reb/10 blks) joined 11/23/13. Marquette has two: Dwyane Wade had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and Tony Miller (18 pts/10 reb/10 asts) had one against the Badgers 12/31/94.

ON COURSE FROM 15 FEET
J.J. Panoske is as good as it gets from the free throw line as far as Panther basketball is concerned. He enters play with a career mark of 82.9 percent, having sunk 92 of 111 from the charity stripe in his four-year career. He is on course for the career free throw percentage mark in the UWM record book if he can accumulate enough career attempts. As it stands, Ed McCants (2003-05) holds the standard at .814 (140-of-172), with the minimum for inclusion set at 150 career attempts.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Matt Tiby reached the milestone in style, scoring a career-high 31 points against South Dakota Dec. 17 to become the 26th player to net 1,000 or more points in a Panther uniform (and the first since Tony Meier at the end of the 2011-12 campaign). At his current career scoring average of over 13 points a game, Tiby can quickly climb up the scoring list over the course of his senior campaign.

On the horizon:
1,017 - Matt Tiby
1,020 - Pat McCabe
1,022 - Anthony Hill
1,044 - Tony Meier

In addition, having already grabbed his 500th career rebound earlier this season (against Notre Dame Nov. 17 - becoming the 15th player to accomplish that feat all-time), he now stands as one of just 12 UWM players to record over 1,000 points and 500 boards in a career. The last addition to that list came in the 2010-11 season via Anthony Hill (1,022 pts/513 reb).

Tiby is currently the only player in the Horizon League to rank in the Top 5 in both scoring (4th at 15.3 ppg) and rebounding (2nd at 8.8 rpg).

CLEANING THE GLASS
Speaking of the rebounding chart, with a career average of close to 7.5 rebounds a game, Matt Tiby could end up breaking into the top five on the career rebound list at UWM - and all in just three seasons in a Panther uniform. He would need to pass Adrian Tigert (760 from 2001-06) for the most in Milwaukee's NCAA Division I history.

1. Larry Reed (1959-60/64-67): 1,529
2. Tom Reikowski (1965-70): 1,080
3. Tom Knuesel (1955-59): 792
4. Adrian Tigert (2002-06): 760
5. Richard Cox (1971-74): 753
6. Erik Schten (1985-88): 611
7. Clay Tucker (1999-2003): 592
8. MATT TIBY: 576

ADDING A PAIR OF B1G W1NS
Milwaukee may have been just 10-49 (.169) all-time versus current members of the Big Ten Conference coming into this season, but it now owns its first-ever two-game winning streak against the conference after posting a big 68-67 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers Dec. 9 and following that up with a convincing 74-65 win over the Minnesota Gophers Dec. 23. The Panthers' last prior win over a Big Ten foe came on January 26, 2005, when they knocked off Purdue, 73-68, in West Lafayette, Ind.

RAINING 3'S
If it felt like those in attendance at UWM Panther Arena Dec. 17 were watching a long-distance shooting contest, there was a reason for it. The Panthers and Coyotes combined to attempt 61 field goals from three-point range in the thrilling contest that saw the lead change hands four times in the final 50 seconds. Included in that total was a new school record for Milwaukee, with its 43 triples breaking the old mark of 41 set three times, most recently 12/30/01 against Colorado.

ADDING TO THE LIST
Last February against Oakland, Matt Tiby recorded 17 rebounds, coming up just one short of the school record of 18 held by Nathan Schrameyer (set against SEMO, 3/2/95). He was within striking distance of the record again versus the Coyotes Dec. 17, coming up with 17 once again to now claim a double-hold on the second-best rebounding performance in a single game in school history. Tiby continues to add to his rebounding resume. As a newcomer in 2013-14, he eclipsed Adrian Tigert's season-record (NCAA D-I level) of 214 rebounds when he recorded 228. He did not stop there, upping the standard to 234 a season ago.

234    Matt Tiby    2014-15
228    Matt Tiby    2013-14
214    Adrian Tigert    2004-05

Also, at 7.4 rebounds per game in his career heading into play today, he currently stands as the No. 1 per-game rebounder in Milwaukee's NCAA Division I history, just ahead of the former record holder Michael Hughes (7.11, 1993-94).

CONSIDER IT A QUALITY START
At 9-4 overall prior to the start of Horizon League play, Milwaukee is off to one of its best-ever starts. Outside of an eight-point loss at #18 Notre Dame, the Panthers other three losses have been by a total of eight points, with two of the losses coming in overtime and another where a made three-pointer at the final horn was ruled to have come too late or that contest would have headed to overtime as well. Milwaukee came close to the school record of winning 10 regular season non-league games, set recently in 2013-14. Milwaukee also won nine regular season contests outside of the Horizon League in 2002-03, while the Panthers have won eight regular season non-league games five other times.

ONE STEP BETTER THAN 30-FOR-30
When Matt Tiby went off for a career-high of 31 points - matching the jersey # he wears - against South Dakota Dec. 17, it marked the first time a UWM player netted at least 30 points in 52 games. The last was accomplished by Jordan Aaron, when he filled it up for 30 at Green Bay Feb. 8, 2014. When combined with the 17 rebounds he also had that night, the performance earned Tiby the NCAA D-I Men's Basketball HERO of the Week award on herosports.com website.

IN CASE YOU NEED OPTIONS
One thing has become clear over the first 13 games of the season - Milwaukee has plenty of options on offense. The Panthers have already had nine different players collect at least one double-figure scoring outing, with all five regular starters entering play Saturday averaging in double-figures. Matt Tiby has scored 10 or more a team-high 11 of 13 times. Austin Arians has done so nine times, Akeem Springs eight, while J.J. Panoske and Jordan Johnson have all done so on seven occasions.

SCOREBOARD WORKOUT
It took the Panthers less than 40 minutes to break the program's NCAA Division I record for points in a game against Judson Dec. 13, with Scotty Tyler's rebound and putback with 2:33 to play giving the team 119 to eclipse the former mark of 117. The top three on that list now read:
1. 125 vs. Judson, 12/13/15
2. 117 vs. Prairie View A&M, 11/20/04
3. 112 vs. Northeastern Illinois, 2/2/91

It was a busy first half as well, as UWM piled up 66 points over the first 20 minutes to also break the school mark for points before halftime that was originally set back in 1991. The list is now three for the amount of times Milwaukee has scored more than 60 prior to intermission.
1. 66 vs. Judson, 12/13/15
2. 61 vs. Cal State Northridge
3. 60 vs. UMKC, 12/29/90

The contest was Milwaukee's first over 100 points in 362 games and its first victory of 40-plus points in 299 outings - since a 98-57 win over Youngstown State back on February 9, 2006.

IT WAS KIND OF A BIG DEAL
It was a record-breaking day against Judson Dec. 13, with a few near-misses to go along with a handful of new standards. One of those was made field goals, as Milwaukee made 47 of 75 attempts from the floor. Not only was the 62.7 percent the fourth-best performance in school history, but the 47 field goals easily topped the former standard of 42, set against Youngstown State back on February 9, 2006.

In addition, the 32 assists (compared to just nine turnovers) tied the school mark, first established against Prairie View A&M back in 2004.

Lastly, at 55-27, the +28 rebounding margin was second in school history to a +36 advantage set against Loyola in 2009.

NOT BAD FOR A FROSH
Brock Stull came off the bench to play 19 minutes in the big win over Judson Dec. 13 and certainly played a key role in UWM getting to 125 points. He poured in 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, adding five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a pair of blocks. In doing so, he became the first UWM freshman to finish with at least 15 points in a game since 2009 (when Tony Meier netted 17 vs. UIC 1/31/09). In fact, his 18 points marked the most by a freshman in nearly nine years - since Ricky Franklin also went for 18 against Youngstown State back on January 13, 2007.

TAKING NOTICE
The team's 8-3 start through 11 games was one of the best-ever, trailing only a pair of 9-2 starts (2013-14 and 2002-03) and the school-record opening of 10-1 back in 1992-93. People took notice nationally as well, with Milwaukee breaking into the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll Dec. 14. The Panthers entered at No. 21, one of three Horizon League teams in the poll (Valparaiso was No. 3 and Oakland No. 15).

ABOUT THAT STREAK
With the 22-game streak against the Badgers now over after the 68-67 win Dec. 9, we take a quick look back at the stretch:
-There were 17 games played in Madison and five in Milwaukee.
-Just one player, J.R. Lyle, was born before the last victory on December 12, 1992. Matt Tiby was close.
-The Panthers nearly ended the streak in 2011, falling by just six points, at 60-54, to a Badger team ranked No. 14 at the time.
-Head coach Rob Jeter was a second-year assistant for Bo Ryan at UW-Platteville in 1992.

LET'S GO!
Freshman JayQuan McCloud, a transfer to Milwaukee from Murray State following the first semester last season, has been declared eligible by the NCAA and was available to play starting with the game against Wisconsin Dec. 9. He has made an immediate impact and scored 12 points in just his second game against Judson Dec. 13.

JORDAN RULES
Junior Jordan Johnson, a transfer from John Wood Community College, has burst onto the scene and is one of the top set-up men in the nation. Through games of December 27, the lightning quick Johnson ranked second in the Horizon League and second in the nation with his per-game average of 8.0, behind only Kay Felder of Oakland (8.9). He actually sits tops in the country in total assists with 104 and is a key reason that Milwaukee leads the Horizon League with 18.5 assists per game as a team - ranking 19th in the country in that category - and with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (26th in the country). If he maintains that pace, the 5-foot-9 point guard will easily shatter the Milwaukee Division I record of 7.0 assists per game set by Marc Mitchell in 1992-93. The 2014-15 NJCAA Division II All-America had 13 assists versus Duquesne on November 24, the most by a Panther since Kaylon Williams had a school-record 14 helpers at UIC, February 12, 2011.

His double-double of 11 points and 10 assists at Notre Dame was the first of the points/assists variety for a UWM player since Steve McWhorter went for 16 points and handed out 12 assists against Youngstown State on Jan. 14, 2015. He also netted a team-high 22 points in the big victory over Wisconsin Dec. 9, making 6-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the free throw line to help him earn Horizon League Player of the Week honors for his efforts.

TIBY TIDBITS
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. He has posted a double-double in six of his last 14 appearances (he's tied for the league-lead with five in 2015-16) dating back to last season and Milwaukee is now 13-6 in his career when he totals 10 or more points and rebounds. The Urbandale, Iowa native has scored 10 or more points in 32 of the last 34 outings and in the game against South Dakota Dec. 17, erupted for a career-best 31 points, the most by a Panther since Jordan Aaron tallied 30 points at Green Bay on February 8, 2014. A 2015-16 Preseason First Team All-Horizon League selection and a starter in each of the 77 games in which he has appeared during his Milwaukee career, Tiby's seven double-doubles in 2014-15 were the most by a Panther in a single season since Adrian Tigert had nine in 2005-06.

CLIMBING THE RANKS
Rob Jeter has made his mark on the Milwaukee basketball program during his 10 seasons as head coach. He will enter the 2015-16 season 21 wins shy (starting at 165) of matching Guy Penwell's school record of 186 victories and his 91 Horizon League victories rank fourth all-time among League coaches. Penwell finished 186-145 (.562) in 18 seasons as the Milwaukee head coach (1930-42; 1946-52).

THREE-MENDOUS
In a loss at No. 18 Notre Dame Nov. 17, the Panthers shot a blistering 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from beyond the arc - tied for the third-best single-game percentage in program history. A year ago, Milwaukee averaged 7.0 threes per game, but has pushed that number to 9.0 per contest through 13 games in 2015-16.

SPRINGS FEVER
Akeem Springs continues to elevate his play this season and is now averaging a career-high 13.2 points per game while shooting career-best totals from the floor (.526) and three-point range (.429). His outing against Judson Dec. 13 was one of his best, setting a collegiate-high with 22 points after sinking 9-of-11 shots from the floor.

He was impressive at both ends of the floor in Milwaukee's victory at Santa Clara 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 a November 17 game at then-No. 18 Notre Dame equaled a career high with 21 points. The transfer from Northern Illinois has scored in double figures in 20 of his last 30 contests and the Panthers are 10-5 in the last 15 games in which he has scored 10 or more points. Springs has buried 42 of his last 51 (.824) tries from the charity stripe, including a cold-blooded 4-of-4 swishes in the final 64 seconds of the win over Wisconsin Dec. 9. A starter in 27 consecutive contests, the Waukegan, Ill., native played strongly in the Gulf Coast Showcase Nov. 23-25, pitching in 14.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 2.3 apg, while connecting on 50 percent (15-for-30) of his field goal tries and 42.8 percent (6-for-14) of his three-point attempts.

PANOSKE PRODUCES
J.J. Panoske has come into his own since mid-February of last season and over his last 17 games is pitching in 11.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 1.6 bpg, while shooting 49.6 percent (77-for-155) from the field and 46.2 percent (25-for-54) from beyond the arc. Already the Panthers' Division I career leader with 118 blocked shots, the 6-foot-10 forward, has helped Milwaukee to a 13-5 record over the last 18 games. Last season's team leader in free throw percentage (.857), the Brodhead, Wis., native has drained 42 of his last 48 (.875) attempts from the foul line.

His outing against Judson Dec. 13 was one of the best of his career, establishing a career-high with 22 points while also adding his second career double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds. He added three assists as well in just 20 minutes of time on the court.

Against Lipscomb November 14, 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 Bison.

AUSTIN'S POINTS POWER PANTHERS
One of the premier shooters in the Horizon League, Austin Arians is fourth in the conference in three-pointers per game (2.7) through games of December 21. The 6-foot-6 forward, who redshirted the 2014-15 season, has scored in double figures in 13 of his last 17 appearances and in the loss to Duquesne Nov. 24 contributed a season-best 21 points, his most since a career-best, 28-point effort at Youngstown State on February 20, 2014. Named MVP of the Cable Car Classic after putting up 15.3 ppg, Arians had 19 points at Notre Dame November 17. Through 12 games, he ranks third on the team with 12.7 ppg. 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 22-8 record the last 30 times the Stoughton, Wis., native has scored in double digits. Arians has also knocked down 28 of his last 31 attempts (.903) from the charity stripe.

THE "D" IS KEY
In its nine wins, Milwaukee has limited opponents to 64.9 points per game and 40.6 percent (216-for-532) shooting from the field, including holding a potent Wisconsin offense down to 36.4 percent shooting from the field. However, in four losses, the Panthers have yielded 85.0 ppg and seen foes sink 52.0 percent (129-for-248) of their field goal attempts.

CODY'S CONTRIBUTIONS
Cody Wichmann came off the bench to produce a career-best 17 points, hitting all five of his three-point attempts, in only 13 minutes of action in the Panthers' victory over Trinity International on November 20. Milwaukee is now 11-2 in his career when he scores in double figures. The 6-foot-5 junior has knocked down 14 of his last 23 attempts from beyond the arc (.609) and leads the league this season at 53.1 percent. 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. 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. Over his last 16 appearances at home, Wichmann is contributing 8.4 ppg and shooting a sizzling 57.3 percent (47-for-82) from the field and 57.4 percent (35-for-61) from three-point land. Wichmann excels in the classroom as well, named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court last season, and is on track to earn his accounting degree in less than four years.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Milwaukee went 10-4 at home last season and has won eight of its last 10 games at UWM Panther Arena. Over that 10-game stretch, the Panthers have lit up the scoreboard for 72.3 ppg, while shooting 45.9 percent (255-for-555) from the field and a healthy 40 percent (88-for-220) from three-point territory.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
As a team, Milwaukee is shooting 78.4 percent (228-for-291) from the foul line in its last 14 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 13 games this year, Milwaukee is converting 76.6 percent (206-for-269) of its charity tosses, a figure that ranks first in the Horizon League and 14th in the nation.

THAT 70s SHOW
Milwaukee, which has scored 71 or more points in 10 of its 13 contests of the 2015-16 season, has now prevailed in 15 of its last 20 games when scoring 70 or more points.

MILWAUKEE MOMENTUM
Dating back to the 2014-15 campaign, the Panthers had won 12 of their prior 17 games before an 86-78 loss at No. 18 Notre Dame on November 17 halted Milwaukee's seven-game winning streak. That seven-game stretch marked the program's longest stretch of consecutive victories since the 2010-11 season.

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. In fact, he has made nine starts through the first 12 games, recording four catches. 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.

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 third 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 and the NIU Showcase in 2013-14.

DOING WORK
The program has been notified that it will post a perfect Academic Progress Rate score of 1,000 when the NCAA officially releases the information to the public in the spring. The perfect single-year score will mark the second in a row for head coach Rob Jeter's squad. The back-to-back elite scores have moved Milwaukee's four-year average to 962. In addition, the current roster of the men's team posted a 3.014 GPA last semester.
 
In addition to the tremendous APR news, Jeter announced that three former players - Marcus Skinner, Mitchell Carter and Michael Tyler - have returned to campus and have completed their degrees following professional playing careers.

IT'S OUR HOUSE
Although the building in not new and has been the site to many historic basketball moments in Milwaukee history, this is UWM's second season in an arena that bears its name - UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. In July of 2014, the University and Wisconsin Center District entered into a 10-year partnership that included naming rights to the facility formerly known as The MECCA and most recently, U.S. Cellular Arena.

UP NEXT
The Panthers remain at home and play Monday, welcoming league newcomer Northern Kentucky to the UWM Panther Arena. Tip time against the Norse is set for 7 p.m.