The Milwaukee men's basketball team officially gets the 2018-19 campaign started this week, traveling to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to take on Boston College for a Tuesday evening tilt set to start at 6 p.m. CST to get the season opener underway. The Panthers are coming off an 82-71 win over Concordia Wisconsin in their exhibition outing last Wednesday, while the Eagles are set to kick off the start of their new campaign with the contest. The matchup will feature a live stream on ACC Extra, will have live statistics available and will be carried on WISN AM 1130 with Scott Warras on the call. All links are posted on the MKE website.

LOOKING AT THE EAGLES
Boston College was picked to finish 12th in the preseason poll following a 19-16 campaign a season ago. They are led by Ky Bowman, who was selected to the Preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team and was also named to the preseason watch list for the 2018-19 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award. A year ago, Bowman was the only player in the country to average at least 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. Last season, fifth-year head coach Jim Christian led the team to its most victories since 2010-11 and a return to the postseason. The Eagles topped No. 1 Duke in December and concluded the campaign with a trip to the National Invitation Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY
The series consists of just one game, but goes down on the "all-time" list for the Panthers, who won the contest back in the 2005 NCAA Tournament to send the program to the "Sweet 16". The final score was 83-75, played March 19, 2005.

LAST GAME
Darius Roy led the way with 22 points, scoring 13 in the second half as the Milwaukee men's basketball team turned a one-point halftime deficit into an 82-71 victory over Concordia University Wisconsin Oct. 31 at the Klotsche Center.
 
The Panthers used an 11-2 run over the first four minutes of the second half to take control against the Falcons, eventually leading by as many as 18 late in the second half in earning the victory in the exhibition opener.
 
Roy went 7-of-11 from the floor, adding seven rebounds and three assists in his MKE debut. DeAndre Abram impressed in his first game in a Panther uniform, scoring 15 points – including two on a late high-flying dunk – while adding seven rebounds and a game-high four blocks.
 
Jake Wright scored 12, Bryce Barnes added 11 and Bobby Arthur Williams pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with five points, four assists and three steals.

AND WE'RE OFF
A couple of different looks to the season opener, which sees Milwaukee playing its opening game of the season on the road for the first time in three years. The team is now 17-11 in season openers since returning to the NCAA Division I ranks full-time in 1990-91 following an 83-73 win over the La Crosse a season ago (which was also its third straight victory in season openers). In all, the team has also posted a 4-10 mark in season openers played away from home. More impressively, the Panthers are 24-4 in that same span in home openers, claiming wins in 17 of the past 18 (13 in a row at one point).

BALDWIN'S YEAR-ONE RESUME
In his first season on the bench, Pat Baldwin led the Panthers to 16 victories, an improvement of five wins over the prior season while also finishing four spots higher in the final Horizon League regular season standings.

Included in that record was an impressive 17-point (73-56) victory over a Loyola Chicago team that finished the season ranked No. 7 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll, advanced to the Final Four and posted 32 wins including contests over No. 5 Florida, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 22 Miami and No. 24 Nevada. MKE also handed Iowa State its first loss in a home opener in 20 years when it upended the Cyclones, 74-56, in Baldwin's second official game as head coach.

In the classroom, the team was honored as part of the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Awards for outstanding academic achievement. Milwaukee was one of just 35 men's basketball programs recognized nationwide and the only member of the Horizon League on the list after posting a perfect 1,000 four-year rate.

Five different school records were set over the course of the campaign, with Milwaukee advancing to the semifinals at Motor City Madness - the only league school to advance that far in each of the past two seasons.

THE PRICE IS WRIGHT
Newcomer Jake Wright brings plenty of experience at the NCAA Division I level, having spent two seasons at Miami (Ohio) after playing his freshman campaign at the Citadel. He brings a resume that includes 92 career games played (29 starts), 714 points and 192 made 3-pointers.

A deeper look shows Wright essentially serving as the senior DI member of the roster: In fact, in comparison, the three returning players for MKE (Bryce Barnes, Vance Johnson and Carson Warren-Newsome) have combined career totals of 127 games played, 35 starts, 275 rebounds and 667 points coming into the new campaign.

A CHANCE FOR FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The roster features 15 players overall, with only Bryce Barnes, Vance Johnson, Carson Warren-Newsome and Tyler Behrendt on the active roster a year ago (DeAndre Abram was also on the roster, but was sitting out due to transfer regulations). So, the newcomers will have plenty of opportunity to shine in 2018-19. A look at the numbers shows the team will be among the least-experienced, in terms of NCAA DI action, in the country.

FEWEST RETURNING LETTERWINNERS
1 - Chattanooga
2 - UNC Asheville
2 - Drake
3 - MILWAUKEE
3 - Nicholls
3 - Duquesne
3 - Baylor
3 - Detroit Mercy
3 - Little Rock

FEWEST RETURNING MINUTES
7.0% - Mount Saint Mary's
7.9% - UNC Asheville
10.6% - Idaho
11.2% - Wichita State
15.2% - Middle Tennessee
15.2% - Chattanooga
16.5% - Oakland
17.4% - Drake
23.2% - Detroit Mercy
23.7% - MILWAUKEE
26.3% - Nicholls

DEANDRE SET TO SOAR
After sitting out last season after transferring into the program, DeAndre Abram is set to embark on his Panther career. A veteran of two seasons at the NCAA Division I level with George Mason, Abram has scored 20 or more points in his NCAA career on a pair of occasions, with his collegiate-best coming when he piled up a double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds against Wagner back in December of 2015. He enters 2018-19 with per-game averages of 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds, making 14 starts in 41 games and has collected 112 rebounds and scored 242 points over his first two seasons. He filled the stat sheet with 15 points, 7 boards and 4 blocks in the exhibition.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Newcomer Bobby Arthur-Williams brings along quite the resume from his time in junior college. A year ago, he averaged 17.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla. He posted 20 double-doubles on the season, including 14 in his final 16 appearances overall.

PUSHING THE PACE
Head coach Pat Baldwin spoke at preseason media day about his desire to see his team push the ball offensively, with thoughts of possibly hitting the 100-point mark on a more regular basis a possibility. That may have been music to newcomer Darius Roy's ears, as he directed an offense last season at Connors State College in Warner, Oklahoma, that put up 90.3 points-per-game. He led the nationally-ranked Cowboys to a 31-4 record and an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NJCAA National Basketball Tournament after earning the No. 12 national seed in the event. Roy started all 35 games, averaging 12.8 points, 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting 48 percent from the floor, 41 percent from three-point range and 76 percent from the free throw line. He led the Panthers with 22 points off the bench in the exhibition win over CUW.

A DENT IN THE RECORD BOOK
Five different school records were set a year ago. Individual marks included career field-goal shooting percentage (Brett Prahl at .638 [261-409]) as well as a trio of rebounding marks set by Bryce Nze (season total, season average and offensive total). In addition to the solo efforts, the Panthers set a new program mark with 134 blocked shots - eclipsing the former mark of 132 set back in 2013-14. The squad also came close to a handful of others, finishing second in three-point field goals made (236, record is 267), second in three's attempted (689/757), fifth in 3PT FG percentage (.377/.404), as well as second all-time in free throw percentage - just missing the mark (.744 to .745/MKE made 375-504 a year ago).

GETTING TO 70
When the offense hit the 70-point barrier a season ago, the results were very positive at 11-5. Hitting shots always helps too, with the Panthers finishing 14-4 in games in which they shot 45 percent or better from the floor. A lead at the half proved just as valuable, with the Panthers posting a very solid 13-3 ledger when leading at intermission last season.

WELL, THAT'S PRETTY GOOD, MAN
A newcomer to the hardwood this season, redshirt senior walk-on Elijah Goodman is no stranger to Panther Athletics. Goodman is also a three-year member of the Milwaukee baseball team, appearing in 32 games on the mound. He has a career record of 8-4 to go with a 3.65 ERA, striking out 89 batters in 120.2 innings of work. He also made a great on-court MKE debut, adding a game-high 14 rebounds in 17 minutes of action in the "Black & Gold" scrimmage in front of a large contingent from the baseball team in the stands cheering on their teammate that night. Goodman was named Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 1 Second-Team All-State as a senior at Brookfield Central High School after leading the state in rebounding at 15.9 per game. He also scored 13.8 points-per-contest his final season.

VANCE CAME TO PLAY
Vance Johnson continued to adjust to the NCAA Division I level a season ago, putting together his best outing of the season against Oakland Dec. 28. In just 14 minutes off the bench, he netted a season-best 10 points while tying a season-high with 6 rebounds. He made 4-of-5 shots from the floor and also blocked a pair of shots.

He improved on that in the win at Cleveland State Jan. 6. Starting for the third game in a row, Johnson established a new season high in both points with 11 and rebounds with 8. He went 7-10 from the free throw line and played a season-high 22 minutes as well.

THAT CAN'T BE GOOD (FOR THEM)
The defense put up some good performances last season. The 16 points allowed to the Vikings over the first 20 minutes of the game Jan. 27 sounds pretty impressive, but was still a couple of makes from the record book for fewest in a first half.

11: Mount Senario on 12/27/00
12: Valparaiso on 3/4/17
13: Texas Southern on 11/20/11

In addition, the 31.7 percent shooting that Milwaukee held YSU to Jan. 25 was the best since a 25.6 percent shutdown against UC Irvine back on November 26 two years ago.

FORCING BRICKS
The defense was on lockdown in late January last season, holding three opponents in a row to under 40 percent field-goal shooting from the floor for the game from Jan. 20-27.

*Wright State: 38.7 percent (24-62)
*Youngstown State: 31.7 percent (20-63)
*Cleveland State: 34.0 percent (17-50)

It had been a while since the Panthers put together such an impressive defensive showing - over two years to be exact. The last comparable stretch was a four-game defensive masterpiece near the beginning of the 2015-16 campaign.

*Central Michigan: 39.7 percent on 11/25/15
*SIUE: 33.9 percent on 12/3/15
*Wisconsin: 36.4 percent on 12/9/15
*Judson: 36.5 percent on 12/13/15

CARSON CAN DO IT
The play of Carson Warren-Newsome continued to improve as his freshman season went on. CWN was one of the highlights against UIC Jan. 10, scoring a season-high 14 points while collecting a season-best five rebounds.

He was given the starting assignment the next game at Green Bay Jan. 15, once again setting a season high in points when he finished with 16. After taking 53 total shots in his first 13 games in a MKE uniform, the freshman recorded 30 field goal attempts combined over the two outings against the Flames and Phoenix.

PANTHERS NOW ON DEMAND
The Panthers now have their own channel on the iHeartRadio platform. This gives fans the opportunity to listen to podcasts of Panther games that have been played, as well as podcasts of the "Panther Sports Report" after they are aired. It allows fans of Milwaukee basketball the opportunity to listen to these events on demand. The channel can be accessed at the following address:
www.iheart.com/podcast/uw-milwaukee-mens-basketball-28721732/

RAMBLING ON
The Panthers put on quite an impressive performance in the victory over Loyola Dec. 16 last season, claiming a 17-point win over a team that came into the game with a 10-1 record, ranked No. 3 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll that week and had just beaten No. 5 Florida earlier that month.

The defense limited the Ramblers to 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the floor overall, and just 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from distance to a team that came in as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country at 44.6 percent.

NEVER COUNT OUT THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee had a tough go of it against Elon in the first half Nov. 19 of last season, finding themselves down by as many as 19 points (at 46-27) in the first 20 minutes. The second half was amazing, with Jeremy Johnson capping the impressive turnaround with the winner with 0.9 left on the clock as UWM pulled off the amazing comeback to claim the title trophy in the "Black & Gold Shootout". No UWM team had come back from as many as 19 points for nearly a decade. You have to go all the way back to an 81-75 victory over UC Davis on November 15, 2008. That day, UWM made up a 24-point halftime deficit, trailing 51-27, with 54 points in the second half. In addition to the team title at the three-day event, Bryce Nze, Brock Stull and August Haas were named to the all-tournament team.

BALDWIN MADE IT LOOK EASY
A season ago, Milwaukee was 4-1 through five games, giving Pat Baldwin the best five-game start to an MKE head coaching career in the NCAA Division I history of the program. Going back through time (LaVall Jordan 2-3; Rob Jeter 3-2; Bruce Pearl 2-3; Bo Ryan 3-2; Ric Cobb 2-3; Steve Antrim 1-4), only Jeter and Ryan even reached three victories through their first five games.

It also marked the best five-game start since the Panthers went 5-0 to open the 2004-05 campaign. At 4-1, the start equaled the five-game marks of 2015-16, 2013-14 and 2011-12.

BACK ON THE FOX FAMILY
The Panthers will make their FOX Sports Wisconsin debut against Drake Dec. 6, the first of four men's contests which will be broadcast live on the statewide network. The Milwaukee Athletic Department announced the new agreement back last year. The agreement again calls for a minimum of five games to be aired this season, with the potential for more in future years of the deal. Each of the selected games will also be available to watch on the FOX Sports GO app on Apple, Android or Windows mobile devices.
 
Rush Media Company will handle production of all the games, with a distribution agreement in place with FOX Sports Wisconsin for the airing of the contests. FOX Sports Wisconsin is an affiliate of FOX Sports and the television home to the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks. The regional sports network also televises select college and high school sports and nearly 2,600 hours of locally produced programming every year. The network reaches more than 1.5 million homes statewide and provides live streaming content via the FOX Sports GO app.

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 five passes in seven games (1 start) for 94 yards and two touchdowns this season. In fact, this is his fifth campaign with the Chiefs, having made 30 starts in 56 games over his first four seasons. Coming into 2018, Harris had caught 45 passes for 441 yards, including three touchdowns. 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. The 6-foot-7 Harris made his NFL debut when he 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 is not new and has been the site to many historic basketball moments in Milwaukee history, this is Milwaukee's fifth 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 return to Wisconsin to kick off Homecoming Week on campus, with the festivities culminating with their game against North Dakota Saturday night. Tip-off against the Fighting Hawks is set for 6 p.m.