Following the longest stretch away from home to start the season in program history at nine of 11 games, the Milwaukee men's basketball team returns to campus to play in the state of Wisconsin for the first time since November 30. The Panthers will host a pair of non-league games in the next three days, starting with a tilt against Western Illinois Saturday afternoon. The contest is set for a 2 p.m. tip-off and will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel with Andy Masur and Justin Lettenberger on the call. In addition, Saturday's matinee will have an ESPN3 broadcast, will have live stats available and be carried on WISN AM 1130 with Scott Warras on the call. All links are available on the Milwaukee Athletics website.

LOOKING AT WESTERN ILLINOIS
The Fighting Leathernecks are coming off a 10-17 campaign a season ago and were pegged ninth in the preseason Summit League poll this year. Garret Covington was named to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team. He led the team in nearly every category last season with per-game averages of 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

The squad enters play Saturday at 2-7, having dropped four in a row after topping Crown College (91-53 Nov. 23). Its most recent contest was a 63-49 loss at home to Eastern Illinois Dec. 10. Covington has had a terrific start, averaging 21.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He's shooting 44 percent from the field, 40 percent on 3's and 85 percent from the line. Playing away from home has not been kind to Western Illinois of late, where they are just 6-44 on the road the past three-plus years; 3-15 since the start of last season.

SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers are 16-14 all-time against the Leathernecks in a series that dates back to 1963. UWM is 6-6 in the matchup in its NCAA Division I days, with the last game being played back in the 1998-99 season. That year, the Leathernecks posted a 71-58 win on their home court. WIU has won three in a row and six of the past eight overall.

LAST GAME
Ohio University fended off the Milwaukee men's basketball team in the closing minutes to escape with a 71-69 victory Wednesday at the Convocation Center.
 
The Panthers (4-7) and Bobcats (6-2) battled all night long in a game that featured six ties and eight lead changes and was never more than a two-possession game the entire second half. The victory keeps Ohio unbeaten at home this season at 5-0.
 
Cody Wichmann led the way for Milwaukee, finishing with 15 points, which all came on three-pointers. He also chipped in four rebounds and two steals. August Haas had 11 points and six rebounds, while Bryce Barnes went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to boost his effort of 11 points off the bench. Brock Stull chipped in six points and grabbed a team-high eight boards for UWM.

GOOD TO ME HOME AGAIN
In addition to games at historically tough venues for opponents (Memphis) and quick turnarounds (3 games in 3 days over Thanksgiving tournament), the Panthers also had to face a stretch of three games in a row against opponents who had yet to lose on their home courts this season. Milwaukee did snap Montana State's nine-game home winning streak Dec. 5 (5-0 prior this year) and then also faced Loyola Dec. 10 (6-0) and Ohio Dec. 14 (4-0), to follow. All-told, UWM competed against a trio of teams that were a combined 17-1 at home following those matchups.

WHAT'S HOTTER THAN HOT?
Loyola did it again ... For whatever odd reason, the Ramblers now hold three of the top five spots on the all-time list after breaking the school record for opponent shooting percentage in a game December 10.

.675 (27-40) Loyola, 12/10/16
.653 (32-49) Loyola, 1/6/07
.648 (35-54) Duquesne, 11/24/15
.647 (33-51) UMKC, 12/12/98
.645 (32-52) Loyola, 2/10/00

JUST KEEP SHOOTING
Newcomer Cameron Harvey took the phrase "can't miss" to the next level against Montana State Dec. 5. He made all six field goal attempts on the night to finish with a UWM-best 17 points (his career-high is 22 against Palm Beach Atlantic in 2014-15). Five of Harvey's six field goal attempts were three-pointers, giving him one of the most-accurate games in school history with at least five makes - trailing only Joe Schultz's 6-for-6 effort against Cal State Northridge way back in 1991. That may sound familiar to Harvey - as he also went 6-for-6 on 3's in that contest against Palm Beach Atlantic. In two games in the state of Montana, Harvey finished 9-for-10 from the floor.

TWINNING
Brett Prahl played a key role in UWM's win  over Montana State Dec. 5, posting career highs again to finish with 13 points (on 5-of-7 shooting) and eight rebounds, including a key offensive board with just over a minute remaining that forced the Bobcats to foul down the stretch. That marks the second time he has notched career highs this year, also accomplishing the feat against UC Irvine Nov. 26 (10 points/6 rebounds). The 10 points topped the nine he recorded against Cleveland State Feb. 20, 2016. The six boards tied his best, first achieved against Auburn Nov. 14, 2014. He also set a new mark with five made field goals and he also equaled the most minutes he has played at 21.

GETTING IT DONE QUICKLY
Bryce Nze recorded the first double-double of his career against Montana Dec. 3, posting 15 points and 11 rebounds in just the eighth game of his UWM debut season. It's a noteworthy effort, marking the first double-double for a UWM freshman since Tony Meier had 17 points and 16 rebounds against UIC almost eight years ago (Jan. 31, 2009). Meier also had a double-double in his collegiate debut, finishing with 14 points and 12 boards against Loyola Marymount Nov. 14, 2008. Nze will have the chance to record the most double-doubles by a freshman in some time. Meier finished that season with two, the same amount that Adrian Tigert had as a frosh in 2001-02 (10 pts/11 reb against Butler 1/19/02 and 15 pts/13 boards against Omaha 12/1/01). Tigert's first double-double came in his fifth game of the season.

RINGING THE BELL
Jeremiah Bell is making a nice impression to open his career as a Panther. He now has five games in which he has scored in double-figures, including three of the past five outings. The 15 points he had against Jacksonville Nov. 30 marked his season high.

CODY CLOSING IN
Cody Wichmann started the day with 497 points against Montana State Dec. 5, reaching career point No. 500 on - what else? - a 3-pointer at the 9:33 mark of the first half. A three-point specialist his entire UWM career, an impressive 408 of his 537 points (75.9 percent) in a Milwaukee uniform have come in 136 makes from distance.

CAM RIGHT BEHIND
Cameron Harvey is right behind Wichmann on that milestone, entering play this week with 476 points in his time at Milwaukee, Stetson and Eastern Illinois.

BE THE BALL DANNY
Dan Studer posted the most impressive outing of his UWM career in the victory against Jacksonville Nov. 30, ending the day with thoughts of a double-double before foul trouble shortened his night to 10 points and seven rebounds. He came into play against the Dolphins with prior career-highs of four points (accomplished three times) and three rebounds (also three times) and had that total doubled up by halftime with 8 points/6 rebounds.

ONE OF THE BEST EVER
The showing by the Milwaukee defense against UC Irvine Nov. 26 goes into the record book in numerous spots. The 37 points allowed rank as the lowest ever allowed to an NCAA Division I opponent, with only the 21 scored in December of 2000 by Mount Senario - an NAIA opponent - coming in ahead of it. The last time UWM held an opponent under 40 points came 143 games ago (see list below).

21: Mount Senario, 12/27/00
37: UC Irvine, 11/26/16
38: Wright State, 1/12/12
38: Texas Southern, 11/20/11

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
Had the Anteaters not found a way to make two of their final three field goals of the game Nov. 26, a couple other marks could have fallen. UC Irvine ended the contest with 11 made field goals and a 25.6 percent mark from the floor, with each total marking a new entry in the all-time top five.

FEWEST FIELD GOALS MADE
7: Mount Senario, 12/27/00
10: Detroit, 1/9/97
11: UC Irvine, 11/26/16
14: Two times

LOWEST OPP. FIELD GOAL %
.189 (7-37): Mount Senario, 12/27/00
.215 (14-65): UIC, 2/17/96
.245 (12-49): YSU, 1/7/08
.256 (11-43): UC Irvine, 11/26/16

EVEN MORE FOR AN ENCORE
Two other notes on the UWM defensive showing against the Anteaters Nov. 26. The 18 points allowed in the first half mark the fewest since the team gave up 15 to Wright State in January of 2015 (they also allowed just 18 to Cleveland State in February of last season). Also, the Panthers went close to 10 minutes without allowing a made field goal down the stretch against UC Irvine, with the hoop scored at the 4:05 mark snapping a span of 9:37 on the clock without one (14 misses and 5 turnovers forced in the stretch). The 22 forced turnovers on the day marked a season high.

Entering play this week, the Panthers were No. 2 in the Horizon League in points allowed, giving up 69.7 per game.

WE'LL LEAVE THE LIGHT ON FOR YOU
The Panthers opened the 2016-17 season with two contests at home - an exhibition against Concordia Wisconsin and the regular-season opener against MSOE. From there, the fans had to get to know the team from afar, as the Panthers went through a stretch of nine out of 10 games away from home. The only home date between the opener Nov. 11 and the Dec. 17 matchup when they host Western Illinois was Nov. 30 against Jacksonville. In between, UWM traveled to five different states (Tennessee, Illinois, South Dakota, Montana, back to Illinois and then to Ohio) and put on approximately 6,500 miles of travel via airplane and bus.

The stretch of nine of 11 games on the road to open the season marks the most in Milwaukee's NCAA Division I history and equals the most all-time - tying the same start that the squad opened the season with way back in the 1939-40 campaign.

THE BRYCE IS RIGHT
A pair of freshmen have been making an early-season splash, making their biggest impacts early in the season as a duo in the contest at DePaul Nov. 20. Bryce Barnes led the team in scoring with 14 points, while fellow classmate Bryce Nze was just behind at 13. Barnes was also a spark off the bench against South Dakota State Nov. 27, pouring in 13 points in just 13 minutes on 5-of-7 shooting. He also had nine points and a season-best three assists in the game at Loyola Dec. 10 and followed that up with an 11-point effort at Ohio Dec. 14 that included a perfect 6-for-6 clip from the free throw line.

CONTROL THE ROCK
Milwaukee will look to continue another trend from last season ... taking care of the ball. A year ago, the Panthers led the Horizon League - and finished seventh in the nation - with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.56. So far in 2016-17, it has been more of the same. Through games of December 14, Milwaukee is second in the conference, turning the ball over on average just 12.5 times per contest. They are also third in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.1.

SPLASHD3WN F3R C3DY
Being the team's leading returning scorer from a season ago, big things are on the horizon for Cody Wichmann. He didn't wait long to prove that, establishing a pair of career-highs in just the second game of the year at Memphis Nov. 16. Wichmann finished the contest with a collegiate-best 18 points, eclipsing his former best of 17 that he netted against Trinity International in November of last season. He also made a career-best six three-pointers to top his former high of five from that same game. Despite getting hurt just four minutes into the contest against SDSU Nov. 27 and not playing the rest of the first half, Wichmann went off for 18 points - again on six 3's - in just 13 minutes of second-half playing time against the Jackrabbits to accomplish the feat once again. The last Panther with more made 3's in a game, you ask? Jordan Aaron, when he sank seven against UMKC in his 33-point outing Nov. 30, 2013.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Milwaukee has gone 21-8 at home the past two-plus seasons and has won 16 of its last 21 games at UWM Panther Arena. Over that 21-game stretch, the Panthers have lit up the scoreboard for 77.9 ppg, while shooting 45.6 percent (547-for-1199) from the field and a respectable 37.2 percent (185-for-497) from three-point territory.

THAT 70s SHOW
Milwaukee, which scored 71 or more points in 27 of its 39 contests since the start of the 2015-16 campaign, has now prevailed in 28 of its last 38 games when scoring 70 or more points.

THE BIG DEBUT
November 11 against MSOE marked the big day for LaVall Jordan, making his head coaching debut with an 88-58 victory following 12 years as an assistant. That span came most recently at Michigan (6 years, 143-70, .671 winning percentage). Prior to that were stops at Iowa (3 years) and Butler (3 years) following a successful playing career as a Bulldog that included four postseason appearances (3 NCAA/1 NIT). In all, between his years as a player or a coach, Jordan has appeared in the postseason in 11 of his 16 seasons.

AND WE'RE OFF
A couple of different looks to the season-opening 88-58 win over MSOE, which saw Milwaukee playing its opening game of the season at the UWM Panther Arena for the first time since a win over SW Minnesota State to kick off the 2011-12 campaign. The team is now 16-11 in season openers since returning to the NCAA Division I ranks full-time in 1990-91. More impressively, the team is 23-4 in that same span in home openers, claiming wins in 16 of the past 17 (13 in a row at one point). Also, the Panthers have not lost the season opener when it is played at home since dropping an 80-79 decision to Platteville in November of 1994 (have now won the previous 11 in that scenario).

TEN IN No. 1
The Panthers had five different players finish in double-figures in the season opener against MSOE Nov. 11, including one freshman when Jeremy Johnson scored 11 points off the bench. That marked the most points for a freshman in a season opener since Tony Meier recorded a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds against Loyola Marymount on November 14, 2008. It is also just the second time since then that a frosh has netted double-figures: Justin Jordan also finished with 11 in the 2014-15 debut against Auburn.

THE OPENING MARGIN
LaVall Jordan led his team to a 30-point victory in the season opener, one of the biggest margins of victory in an opener since the program went full-time to the NCAA Division I level in 1990-91. The top spot is tough to beat, a 117-55 win over Prairie View A&M back in November of 2004 that marked a 62-point victory. The 1995 opener ranks second at 38 (101-63) against Illinois Tech, while this year's version ties for fourth place with a 30-point 'W' against Mary (76-46) in November of 2012.  

LEARNING ON THE FLY
Due to graduation and transfers, the Panthers will not have quite the veteran presence of most of their opponents. Senior Cody Wichmann will be looked at heavily on that front, as he is the only current player on the roster to have started a game in a Milwaukee uniform at the NCAA Division I level. In fact, his career numbers total more than the returning players on the active roster in numerous categories. Wichmann entered the 2016-17 season with 408 career points, compared to the 219 tallied by other returners. He also leads the way in minutes played at 1,367 (852), field goals made at 139 (78), rebounds at 148 (143), assists at 67 (39).

Newcomer Cameron Harvey adds an experienced hand. He was an everyday starter for Stetson in his two seasons there and appeared in every game off the bench as a freshman at Eastern Illinois University. His career totals at the NCAA Division I level include 97 career games played (55 starts), 413 points, 97 rebounds and 45 assists.

THE NEW CREW
Head coach LaVall Jordan and his staff spent the offseason building the roster, eventually adding eight new faces to the team in addition to Jeremy Johnson who redshirted last year at UWM following an injury. In all, the roster will have seven freshmen (six new players and Johnson) and a pair of transfers added to the program.

A WARM WELCOME
In addition to the new players on the roster this season, LaVall Jordan and staff have announced the newest signings for next year when Carson Newsome signed his NLI Nov. 9 and Dylan Alderson on Nov. 15.

Newsome, a 6-foot, 5-inch guard, becomes Jordan's first member of the 2017 recruiting class. He currently attends Waukegan High School, in Waukegan Ill. Newsome is a three-year starter for the Waukegan Bulldogs. Last year, he averaged twelve points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals per contest, was named MVP at the Grant Thanksgiving Tournament and earned second team all-area honors.

Alderson averaged 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a junior last season. His versatility and work ethic helped him earn Honorable Mention AP All-State honors, with the team capturing league and district titles as well. He finished his junior campaign ranked No. 26 in the Detroit Free Press Top 100 player list.

FILLING IT UP
The Panthers hit the 80-point plateau against Montana State Dec. 5 (83 points) as well as MSOE (88) in the opener, marking the first time they have scored 80-plus in a season opener since pouring in 89 against Concordia-St. Paul back in 2009-10. A season ago, the team scored at least 80 points in 16 different games. For comparison, Milwaukee finished with at least 80 points on just a pair of occasions in 2014-15. Three seasons ago in the run to the NCAA Tournament, the Panthers accomplished the feat 11 times.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
As a team, Milwaukee finished at 77.2 percent (554-for-718) from the foul line a season ago to break the school record. Not only was it a school record, but the total finished fifth at the entire NCA level last season (Connecticut led the way at .793).

The Panthers have performed very well at the line over the past three years. In fact, a look at the school records in that category proves that emphatically.

>>Team Season FT Records
1. .772 (554-718), 2015-16
2. .745 (433-581), 1993-94
3. .737 (434-589), 2014-15
4. .734 (604-823), 2013-14
5. .733 (482-658), 1999-2000

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 last 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.

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 of last season, with a 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.

NOT BAD FOR A FROSH
Brock Stull came off the bench to play 19 minutes in the big win over Judson Dec. 13 of last season 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.

THE "D" IS KEY
In its 20 wins a year ago, Milwaukee limited opponents to 67.9 points per game and 42.1 percent (496-for-1177) shooting from the field, including holding a potent Wisconsin offense down to 36.4 percent shooting from the field. However, in 13 losses, the Panthers yielded 79.4 ppg and seen foes sink 48.9 percent (386-for-789) of their field goal attempts.

HE'S THE CHIEF
Former Milwaukee forward Demetrius Harris (2011-13) is once again on the active roster for the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, catching 11 passes in 13 games (8 starts) so far in 2016. In fact, he made nine starts in the 16 games of the regular season in 2015, recording seven catches, including his first career TD in the regular-season finale. 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 in 2014 and hauled in three passes for 20 yards before suffering a season-ending foot injury during warm-ups against Buffalo in early November.

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 third 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
It's a quick turnaround for another home game, this time downtown at UWM Panther Arena. Milwaukee will welcome Belmont for a 7 p.m. tip Monday evening.