The postseason has arrived for the Milwaukee men's basketball team, as it heads to the state of Michigan for the start of "Motor City Madness" in what, if all goes as planned, will be a stretch of four games in four days starting Saturday against Northern Kentucky. The entire event will take place in a single location - the 20,027-seat Joe Louis Arena along the banks of the Detroit River. All nine games in the championship will be available on the ESPN family of networks, with the contest against the Norse set to be streamed on ESPN3 with Will Haskett and David Kaplan on the call. Tip time is 1:30 p.m. CST.

LOOKING AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY
The Norse enter play Saturday at 9-20 overall and finished 5-13 in conference play after dropping each of their final six games of the regular season. NKU is coming off a 13-17 record last season and returned 61 percent of its scoring, including seniors Jalen Billups and Tyler White. The nation's leader in shooting at 69.6 percent last year, Billups averaged 11.1 points per game to go along with 5.9 boards. He paces the squad again this season at 12.5 ppg, one of five players to average double figures (all between 10.1 and 12.5 ppg). Head coach John Brannen begins his first season guiding the Norse following 17 years as an assistant at Alabama, VCU, St. Bonaventure, Eastern Kentucky and Charleston.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's contest marks just the third between the two schools on the basketball court. The Panthers claimed a 76-67 win in Milwaukee back on January 4, using a key 10-2 scoring run to turn the game around down the stretch in scoring 19 of the final 25 points of the contest. Jordan Johnson led the way with a season-high 23 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists. The team also broke a 20-year old school record by finishing with 14 blocks. In the most recent matchup, the Norse won 75-71 in Kentucky.

LAST GAME
J.J. Panoske scored the first 10 points of the game to set the tone on "Senior Day" and a big second half propelled the Milwaukee men's basketball team to a 98-85 victory over UIC in the regular-season finale Sunday afternoon at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (19-12, 10-8 Horizon League) led the Flames (5-24, 3-15 Horizon League) by as many as six points early, but found themselves down by a bucket at intermission and ahead by just three with 11minutes remaining. But, a 10-1 spurt gave them control and a 17-4 run built the lead to as many as 20 down the stretch. The 98 points was also a season-high against an NCAA Division I opponent.
 
All three of the seniors on the roster played well in their final home game of their UWM careers. In addition to scoring the first 10 points of the game, Panoske finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, adding two more blocks to his career-record total that has now reached 150.
 
Matt Tiby contributed 19 points and eight rebounds and J.R. Lyle had eight points, a rebound and a block in 10 minutes off the bench.
 
Jordan Johnson stole a little thunder on the day, breaking the Milwaukee single-game assist record of 14 (set by Kaylon Williams in February 2011) when he finished with 15 overall. He flirted with a triple-double again, ending the day with 15 assists, 11 points and six rebounds.

LEAGUE HONORS
Matt Tiby and Jordan Johnson were both honored when the league announced its postseason awards as voted on by league coaches, sports information directors and local media. Tiby was selected as a first-team member, while Johnson earned a spot on the second team. This marks the second year in a row that Milwaukee has had two members of the 10-player squad. It also marks the first time it has had a first-team member since Anthony Hill in 2010-11.

IS THERE ANYTHING LEFT?
Jordan Johnson has redefined what the point guard position can do at Milwaukee over the course of his first season. He has set numerous records already and added to that against UIC Feb. 28 in the regular-season finale when he broke the school record for most assists in a game, finishing with 15 to edge past the former mark of 14 set in 2011.

1. Johnson, 15, UIC, 2/28/16
2. Kaylon Williams, 14, UIC, 2/12/11
3. March Mitchell, 13, two occasions
 
TRIPLE-DOUBLE; NO TROUBLE
Jordan Johnson was not denied this time. Earlier this season, he 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.

He pulled it off against Youngstown State Feb. 22 with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, marking the fourth triple-double all-time in program history and the first since Kaylon Williams put up the identical 10/10/10 statline in a win over Butler January 3, 2011 (a span of 176 games played). Johnson grabbed his 10th rebound at the 14:09 mark, scored his ninth and 10th points with 11:22 remaining on a pair of free throws and rounded out the historic performance with his 10th assist on J.R. Lyle's three-pointer with 9:54 to go. Amazingly enough, he had just one assist at halftime.

How rare is the feat? Milwaukee owns nearly half (4 of 10) 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) pulled it off. Green Bay has three on the list, with Javier Mendiburu posting a pair (17 pts/12 reb/10 asst vs. Wright State, Feb. 28, 2004 and 10/10/10 vs. YSU, Feb. 5, 2005). Alec Brown (15 pts/10 reb/10 blks) also joined Nov. 23, 2013 in a big Phoenix win. 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 Dec. 31, 1994.

JETER IN SELECT LEAGUE COMPANY
Head coach Rob Jeter joined some select company after the team handed Youngstown State a lopsided 87-51 decision Feb. 22. The victory marked career win No. 100 in Horizon League play for Jeter, just the third coach in the history of the league to accomplish the feat. His total is the highest in conference play for any active coach. He joins Perry Watson of Detroit (131 HL wins from 1993-2008) and Jimmy Collins of UIC (109 from 1996-2010) on the list.

CLIMBING THE RANKS
Rob Jeter has made his mark on the Milwaukee basketball program during his 10 seasons as head coach. He entered 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 ranked fourth all-time among League coaches. Penwell finished 186-145 (.562) in 18 seasons as the Milwaukee head coach (1930-42; 1946-52).

He is also, by far, the winningest coach in terms of victories at the NCAA Division I level at Milwaukee. Second on the list is Bruce Pearl at 86 wins, currently less than half of Jeter's total.

WHO NEEDS HELP?
Jordan Johnson made his campaign-long charge up the list for most assists in a single season in the program's NCAA Division I era and is now the new record holder after recording six of them against Green Bay Feb. 15 to get past the old mark of 215.

1. 254, Jordan Johnson, current
2. 215, Kaylon Williams, 2011-12
3. 189, Marc Mitchell, 1992-93
4. 178, Kaylon Williams, 2010-11

The season record in the state of Wisconsin at the NCAA Division I level is 274, set by Marquette's Tony Miller in 1994-95.

DEEEEEEEE-FENSE!!
A game after holding Cleveland State to just 18 points in the first half, the Milwaukee defense was terrific again Feb. 22. It limited YSU to 30.5 percent shooting for the game (18-of-59) to mark the best defensive effort of the campaign and the lowest by an opponent since holding Wright State to a 27.5 percent (14-of-51) clip Jan. 20 last season. It also held Cameron Morse – who came into the game averaging 20.1 points – to just five points on 2-of-9 shooting.

BACK TO BACK BLOWOUTS
The Panthers enjoyed back-to-back wins by 34 and 36 points, Feb. 20 & 22, marking the first time they have won consecutive games by at least 30 points since the start of the 2004-05 season. That year, Milwaukee rolled up Prairie View, 117-55, and then beat Parkside handily, 87-50, in the first two games of the year.

WHAT A HALF
That first half against the Vikings Feb. 20 was impressive on several levels. Outside of the scoring runs put up by the Panthers, it was the defense that was shining - the 18 first-half points was the fewest for a Milwaukee opponent since holding Wright State to 15 over a year ago (Jan. 20, 2015). The 24 percent shooting was also the lowest since that game. At 52-18, the 34-point lead at intermission was the team's best margin at halftime in head coach Rob Jeter's tenure.

REJECTION BREAKER
The art of blocking a shot is nothing new to J.J. Panoske, who burst on to the scene as a freshman in 2012-13 by breaking the school record of 40 blocks in a season (set by Ryan Allen in 2011-12) when he went for 41. He reset his own mark again this season, rejecting three attempts at Green Bay Feb. 15 to hit 42 in the process. He's currently third in the league at 1.6 bpg.

1. Panoske: 50 and climbing, current year
2. Panoske: 41 in 2012-13
3. Ryan Allen: 40 in 2011-12
T4. Dylan Page: 37 in 2003-04
T4. Eugene Sims: 37 in 1993-94

HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT PRIMER
The Horizon League men's basketball tournament is returning to a single-site format for the first time since 2002. The conference tournament is headed for Detroit and Joe Louis Arena this March. No more on-campus games, but all 10 teams, one big-city and bright-light location. For bracket information, tournament format and seedings, see page 11 of these game notes.

IN CASE YOU NEED OPTIONS
One thing has become clear over the first 31 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 27 of 31 times out. Jordan Johnson (22), Akeem Springs (20 times), Austin Arians (19) and J.J. Panoske (16) round out the list.

A NEW FLOOR GENERAL
Jordan Johnson was at it again against UIC Feb. 28, finishing with a school-record 15 assists. It marked the tenth time this season he has accumulated 10 or more assists (and he has also had nine on five other occasions), giving him the most outings of 10-plus assists for any recent Panther since Kaylon Williams had four back in 2011-12. In addition, it also adds to his program record, snapping Marc Mitchell's school mark earlier this year of six such games of 10-or-more assists back in 1992-93. He's the first Panther in school history to hand out 10-or-more assists in three consecutive games.

Johnson now has eight points/assists double-doubles on the year (11/15 vs. UIC Feb.28 ... 14/10 at Oakland Feb. 11 ... 13/10 at NKU Feb. 6 ... 16/10 at WSU Feb. 4 ... 10/12 at UIC Jan. 16 ... 19/10 at Minnesota Dec. 23 ... 11/10 at Notre Dame Nov. 17). That breaks the mark of the point-assist variety, which Mitchell set at five in 1992-93. It also marks the first time anyone has accomplished the feat three games in a row.

NEVER BEFORE
A rare statistical feat happened against Oakland Feb. 11 that had never occurred in Rob Jeter's 10-plus year, 347-game tenure at Milwaukee: three different players recorded double-doubles in the same contest in Matt Tiby (24 pts/11 reb), J.J. Panoske (17 pts/11 reb) and Jordan Johnson (14 pts/10 asst). In fact, it only came close on one other occasion - against Butler in February of 2006. That day, Joah Tucker had 26 points and 10 boards, Adrian Tigert posted 13 points and 13 rebounds and Jason McCoy just missed at 10 boards and eight points.

HOOP DREAMS
Some nights, you can't miss ... for J.J. Panoske, that nearly was the case against Northern Kentucky Feb. 6, when he made his first four attempts - and nine of his first 10 - before just missing his final try in finishing 9-of-11 on the night. Not only was the nine made field goals a career high, but the 81.8 percent shooting from the floor was one of the best single-game efforts in school history, placing him fifth. His 21 points marked his second career game of 20-or-more, coming up just short of his career high of 22.

JUST KEEP MAKING 'EM
The Panthers have been one of the top shooting teams in the Horizon League all season, ranking first in team field-goal percentage for the large majority of the campaign. They enter play Saturday shooting 45.8 percent (833-of-1817). Not only is that mark third in the conference (Detroit is just ahead at 46.5) and 84th in the NCAA, but is also close to a school record. The best team shooting percentage in program history was set in 2003-04 at 47.7 percent (838-of-1757).

TIBY NAMED
Matt Tiby was named to the mid-season watch list for the Lou Henson Award, which is given annually to the nation's top mid-major player. He was named on Jan. 9, making it two years in a row that he has been on the list. The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who coached 41 years. When he left the game he was sixth all-time in career Division I wins with 779. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State and is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four.

KEEP IT UNDER CONTROL
Not only did the Panthers have their best assist-to-turnover ratio of the season at 4.0 against UIC Jan. 16 - handing out 24 assists compared to six turnovers - but the six miscues was one of the lowest game totals in program history. The school record of four has been accomplished  twice - most recently against Washington State in 2006 - and a total of five TO's has been recorded five times, making the effort against the Flames the eighth-best all-time.

COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS
Jordan Johnson continues to impress in his first season in a Milwaukee uniform. He finished with 17 points and eight assists against the Phoenix Jan. 29, but it's when you look at the final minutes that it becomes apparent how valuable he was in the victory. He scored UWM's final seven points, and 10 of the last 12, over the final 2:45 of regulation en route to the 95-94 decision.

FILLING IT UP
The Panthers hit the 80-point plateau again against UIC Feb. 28 marking the 15th time the team has scored at least 80 points this season. The team scoring average of 79.7 ppg is currently the fourth-best in program history (the record of 84.8 was set way back in 1990-91). For comparison, a season ago, Milwaukee scored at least 80 points on just a pair of occasions. Two seasons ago in the run to the NCAA Tournament, the Panthers accomplished the feat 11 times.

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 and possibly crack the Top 10.

CLIMBING THE CHART:
10. 1,359 - Dexter Riesch (1966-70)
11. 1,303 - Matt Tiby
12. 1,291 - Ricky Franklin (2006-10)
13. 1,226 - Scott Netzel (1953-57)
14. 1,216 - Craig Greene (1989-93)
15. 1,208 - Dave Vincent (1957-61)

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).

CLEANING THE GLASS
Speaking of the rebounding chart, with a career average of 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. MATT TIBY: 718
7. Erik Schten (1985-88): 611
8. Clay Tucker (1999-2003): 592

BLOCK PARTY
Getting rejected never felt as good as it did for Milwaukee against Northern Kentucky Jan. 4. The Panthers had quite the night when it came to blocked shots against the Norse, with the school record for both individual and team blocks falling in the same contest. J.J. Panoske was the biggest culprit, breaking the former mark of seven blocks when he came up with eight. Overall, the team recorded 14 of them, topping the 20-year old school mark of 11.

INDIVIDUAL BLOCKS
1. J.J. Panoske, 8 vs. Northern Kentucky, 1/4/16
2. J.J. Panoske, 7 vs. Loyola, 2/12/13
3. Ryan Allen, 6 vs. Marquette, 12/22/11
TEAM BLOCKS
1. 14, vs. NKU, 1/4/16
2. 11, vs. Illinois Tech, 11/24/95
3. 10, vs. San Diego, 12/23/00

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 February 29, the lightning quick Johnson ranked second in the Horizon League and second in the nation with his per-game average of 8.2, behind only Kay Felder of Oakland (9.4). He also sits second in the country in total assists with 254 and is a key reason that Milwaukee leads the Horizon League with 17.3 assists per game as a team - ranking 10th in the country in that category - and with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio (6th 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. He added the school record of 15 to his resume in the regular-season finale.

He continues to raise the bar as the season progresses with his scoring output as well, resetting his season-high for the fifth time when he led the way with 25 points against Detroit Jan. 23.

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 nine of his last 29 appearances (he's fifth in the league with eight in 2015-16) dating back to last season and Milwaukee is now 15-7 in his career when he totals 10 or more points and rebounds. The Urbandale, Iowa native has scored 10 or more points in 47 of the last 51 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 96 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.

HOT AS CAN BE
The Panthers have won games in a variety of ways this season but the victory over Green Bay was particularly impressive when you look at one statistic - opponent field-goal shooting percentage. Not only did the Phoenix make a mind-boggling 73.3 percent (22-of-30) of its shots in the second half, but finished at 63.3 percent (38-of-60) for the contest - the best-ever for a single-game by a Green Bay team with at least 60 attempts. It was nearly an historic shooting night - prior to missing their final two shot attempts of the night, Green Bay was at 65.5 percent (38-of-58), which would have broken the record for any opponent all-time against the Panthers.
School Record for Opponent FG%
1. 65.3 (32-of-49) by Loyola, 1/6/07
2. 64.7 (33-of-51) by UMKC, 12/12/98
3. 64.5 (32-of-52) by Loyola, 2/10/00

ON COURSE FROM 15 FEET
J.J. Panoske is almost 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 82.0 percent, having sunk 109 of 133 from the charity stripe in his four-year career. He has a chance at the career free throw percentage mark in the UWM record book if he can accumulate enough career attempts and raise his percentage just a touch. As it stands, Jordan Aaron (2012-14) holds the standard at 83.8 percent (207-of-247), with the minimum for inclusion set at 150 career attempts.

ON THE MARK
Akeem Springs made nine of his 10 field goal attempts in the first half against Youngstown State Jan. 7, on his way to finishing 14-of-18 for a career-high 33 points. His field-goal percentage of .778 goes down as the fourth-best single-game effort in Milwaukee program history. His 14 makes is also the highest on the list.

1. Adrian Tigert .846 (11-13), 3/18/06
1. Dylan Page .846 (11-13), 2/1/03
3. Marc Mitchell .833 (10-12), 2/11/92
4. Akeem Springs .778 (14-18), 1/7/16

30-PLUS UNDER JETER'S WATCH
Akeem Springs went off for those 33 points at YSU Jan. 7, marking a season-high for any Milwaukee player this year, topping the 31 Matt Tiby had against South Dakota Dec. 17. Those 33 points are the most since Jordan Aaron had 34 against Ohio Dominican (12/29/12). It's also the 12th time a player has scored 30-plus in head coach Rob Jeter's tenure. The list ahead of Springs in that time is short:

36 - Avery Smith at Oakland, 12/2/06
34 - Jordan Aaron vs. Ohio Dominican, 12/29/12
33 - Jordan Aaron at UMKC, 11/30/13
33 - Avery Smith at Drake, 2/17/07
33 - Springs effort 1/7/16

IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE GOALS
Springs came as close as you can get to tying the school record for field goals in a game as well, as the 14 he did finish with is the second-highest total in school history, trailing only the program standard of 15, which has been done three times - most recently by Clay Tucker (2/27/03).

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 7.5 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 got off to one of its best-ever starts. Outside of an eight-point loss at #18 Notre Dame, the Panthers other three losses were 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.

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.

WHAT A RUN
What do you do when you are down four points with less than seven minutes remaining and your leading scorer heads to the bench with four fouls? The Panthers turned to Jordan Johnson against Northern Kentucky Jan. 4, and he put the team on his shoulders to lead UWM to a big win. Johnson was fouled on three consecutive made drives to the basket, adding the free throw for the three-point play two out of three times. NKU broke the string of consecutive points with a layup, but, following J.J. Panoske's school-record eighth block, Johnson found a streaking JayQuan McCloud on the run out with an alley-oop lay-in. That capped the 10-2 run, with Johnson having a hand in all of it, to give the Panthers a 67-63 lead and momentum to earn the victory down the stretch.

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) that day.

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 a league-leading 9.3 per contest through 31 games in 2015-16, a number that ranks 22nd in the country.

SPRINGS FEVER
Akeem Springs continues to elevate his play this season and is now averaging a career-high 13.4 points per game while shooting career-best totals from the floor (.500) and three-point range (.350), topped by his 33-point outburst against Youngstown State Jan. 7. His outing against Judson Dec. 13 was also one of his best, setting a then 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 32 of his last 46 contests and the Panthers are 18-9 in the last 27 games in which he has scored 10 or more points. A starter in 42 consecutive possible contests (he missed one in that stretch due to injury), 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. Already the Panthers' Division I career leader with 148 blocked shots (he now holds the top two individual-game efforts as well at 8 & 7), the 6-foot-10 forward, has helped Milwaukee to a 22-13 record over the last 35 games. Last season's team leader in free throw percentage (.857), the Brodhead, Wis., native has drained 59 of his last 70 (.843) 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 seventh in the conference in three-pointers per game (2.3) through games of February 26. The 6-foot-6 forward, who redshirted the 2014-15 season, has scored in double figures in 23 of his last 35 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 31 games, he ranks fourth on the team with 11.3 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 28-11 record the last 39 times the Stoughton, Wis., native has scored in double digits. Arians has also knocked down 43 of his last 50 attempts (.860) from the charity stripe.

THE "D" IS KEY
In its 19 wins, Milwaukee has limited opponents to 67.8 points per game and 42.0 percent (471-for-1122) shooting from the field, including holding a potent Wisconsin offense down to 36.4 percent shooting from the field. However, in 12 losses, the Panthers have yielded 80.2 ppg and seen foes sink 49.6 percent (360-for-726) 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. Most recently, he was red-hot from long-distance against Cleveland State Feb. 20, knocking down 4-of-5 triples for 12 points. Milwaukee is now 12-2 in his career when he scores in double figures. The 6-foot-5 junior has knocked down 35 of his last 61 attempts from beyond the arc (.574) and is back in first place in the league this season at 50.6 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. 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 14 of its last 19 games at UWM Panther Arena. Over that 19-game stretch, the Panthers have lit up the scoreboard for 77.7 ppg, while shooting 45.2 percent (490-for-1085) from the field and a respectable 37.4 percent (170-for-455) from three-point territory.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
As a team, Milwaukee is shooting 77.4 percent (539-for-696) from the foul line in its last 32 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 31 games this year, Milwaukee was converting 76.7 percent (517-for-674) of its charity tosses, a figure that is tops in the Horizon League, stands seventh in the nation and is on pace to break the program mark.

>>Team Season FT Records
1. .745 (433-581), 1993-94
2. .737 (434-589), 2014-15

THAT 70s SHOW
Milwaukee, which has scored 71 or more points in 24 of its 31 contests of the 2015-16 season, has now prevailed in 24 of its last 34 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.

LEAGUE OPENER INFO
Milwaukee has now won five of its past eight league openers after falling to Wright State Jan. 2. UWM had won five-straight before losing at Detroit in the opener in 2012-13. In all, since joining the MCC/Horizon League, Milwaukee is now 11-10 in league openers overall and 13-8 in league home openers. Meanwhile, after 10 straight years of playing at least one league game in the month of December, UWM did not starting league play until January for the fourth-straight campaign.

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 made nine starts through the 16 games of the regular season, 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.

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.

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
A victory against Northern Kentucky Saturday afternoon advances the Panthers into a Sunday matchup against the winner of the No. 4 Green Bay/No. 9 Cleveland State matchup. Game time will be 12 p.m. CST.