The Milwaukee men's basketball team heads off on its last road trip of the regular season, traveling to the state of Michigan for two vital games for postseason seeding purposes. The Panthers are still looking to finish in the No. 3 through 6 positions in the league standings, which would allow them to start postseason play March 4. The contest is set for a tip time of 6 p.m. CST Thursday and will be streamed live on ESPN3. It will also have live statistics available and will be carried on WISN AM 1130 with Scott Warras on the call. All links are posted on the UWM website.

LOOKING AT THE TITANS
Second-year coach Bacari Alexander was named the 21st head coach in school history in April of 2016, going 8-23 (5-12 Horizon League) in his first year at the helm. The squad brings an 8-21 mark into play Thursday, sitting at 4-12 in league play after falling to UIC Monday. The team is in a rough stretch, having dropped eight of its past 10.

This season, the Titans were picked fourth in the league preseason poll and had Corey Allen and Jaleel Hogan selected to the Horizon League Preseason Second Team. Hogan, a Second Team All-Conference performer a year ago, is coming off a career year in which he tallied 15.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He also led the Horizon League and was 23rd in the country in field-goal percentage at 59.1 percent. Allen was the Horizon League Freshman of the Year last season, putting up 14.4 ppg. He shot 44.8 percent on 3's (78-of-174), tops in the Horizon League and fourth in the NCAA.

So far in 2017-18, Michigan transfer Kameron Chatman leads four different players who average in double-figures by scoring 18.4 points-per-game and added a team-high 8.7 boards per contest. Allen is second in scoring at 14.9 ppg.

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee and Detroit are meeting for the 52nd time in a series that dates back to 1995. The Panthers hold a slim 28-23 edge in the all-time series and Milwaukee has won seven of the past 10 meetings, including 87-79 earlier this season and an 85-60 runaway win in the Horizon League Tournament a year ago. The teams had split the prior four regular-season meetings: both squads won on their home courts in 2015-16 and then did just the opposite in 2016-17, each posting a road victory.

LAST GAME
Milwaukee overcame a 13-point deficit to force overtime but could not complete the comeback, falling to IUPUI by a final score of 76-71 Friday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (14-15, 7-9 Horizon League) played catch-up against the Jaguars (9-17, 6-9 Horizon League) all night, finally pulling even with the visitors to force overtime. However, Milwaukee's only lead of the extra session – on three Jeremiah Bell free throws to make it 71-70 – was short-lived, with TJ Henderson's 3 with just under a minute to play handing IUPUI the final lead it would not relinquish.
 
Bell finished with a season-high 29 points to lead the Panthers, adding four steals and three rebounds. Brett Prahl made his "Senior Night" a memorable one, scoring a career-best 22 points on impressive 9-of-11 shooting, adding seven boards and three blocks in his final home game.
 
Bryce Nze was a monster on the boards, coming up one rebound short of the school record. He finished a point short of another double-double, ending the night with nine points and those 17 rebounds.

STANDINGS SORT
The Panthers currently sit in tie for fifth place in the Horizon League standings at 7-9, with IUPUI holding the tie-breaker after sweeping the season series (making UWM sixth). Milwaukee looks to hold on to that position, as seeds No. 3 through No. 6 do not play in the Horizon League Tournament until Sunday, March 4. Seeds No. 7-10 play first-round games Friday, March 2, with the winners advancing to play the top two seeds (currently NKU & WSU) at that point the next day. The Panthers made league history last season when they advanced to the Motor City Madness title game as the No. 10 seed. One victory on this two-game swing through Michigan assures that. There are still two other teams that could finish with the same record mathematically as the Panthers (YSU currently 6-11 and Green Bay currently 5-11), causing all kinds of tie-breaker scenarios.

CAROM COUNT
Not only does Bryce Nze's 8.1 rebounds per game lead the team, but it currently ranks fourth in the Horizon League. He made some noise on the glass against IUPUI Feb. 16, coming one rebound away from history when he grabbed 17 (7 off/10 def).

He joined Brock Stull (January of 2017) and Matt Tiby (December of 2015) as the only three players to record 17 rebounds in a single game. The program mark of 18 is held by Nathan Schrameyer and was set against SEMO on March 2, 1995.

BLOCK PARTY
The 9 blocks against IUPUI Feb. 16 not only set a season high for the Panthers, but also ended up in the record book. Bryce Nze (4) and Brett Prahl (3) did most of the damage, with the total of nine ending up as a tie for fourth-most in a game in school history (last done in 2005). The school record of 14 was set against Northern Kentucky in January of 2016. Block totals of 11 and 10 sit second and third.

SENIOR SALUTE
The Milwaukee men's basketball team congratulated its two seniors - Brett and Alex Prahl - and thanked them for their hard work and dedication to the program on "Senior Night". Brett could leave another entry in the record book as his career comes to a close. He heads into play Thursday with 113 career games played. With three guaranteed games remaining, he will enter the Top 10 in the category all-time, tied with Chris Hill (2001-06) at 116.

Brett made "Senior Night" against IUPUI Fab. 16 a memorable one, scoring a career-high 22 points in his last game at UWM Panther Arena. He was a near-perfect 9-11 from the field, adding 7 boards.

CHALK UP ANOTHER ENTRY
As a freshman last season, Bryce Nze went 10-12 from the floor against UIC Jan. 17, resulting in an .833 shooting percentage for the game and the No. 3 spot in the record book in that category (minimum 10 made FG). Well, he added another entry February 2 against Green Bay. He went 11-of-14, piling up a .786 mark that now ranks fifth.

UP A NOTCH
The recent play of Bryce Nze cannot be overlooked. The sophomore forward has tied his season-high and then set a new mark for points scored recently, netting 17 against Youngstown State Jan. before getting to 18 points against Cleveland State Jan. 27. The outing against the Vikings saw him add a double-double with 11 rebounds, with an impressive 14-of-17 showing from the field in the two contests combined (82.4 percent). He threw in 6 assists and 4 blocks for good measure. Then, against UIC, he made it back-to-back double-doubles, scoring 12 points while also tying his career high with 12 rebounds. He upped the ante once again in the win over Green Bay Feb. 2, scoring a collegiate-best 25 points to go along with his 10 rebounds. Most recently, he came up one rebounds short of the school record when he collected 17 against IUPUI Feb. 16.

ANSWERING THE BELL
Jeremiah Bell continues to produce since playing his way into the starting lineup at Belmont Dec. 13. He had 20 points that day, led the Panthers with 18 in the win over Detroit Mercy Dec. 30 and followed that up with a season-high 24 points against Youngstown State Jan. 4. In those 19 starts, Bell is averaging a team-high 16.1 points and adding 3.5 rebounds. He is shooting 46.1 percent (105-228) from the floor, 42.5 percent (51-120) on 3's and 78.9 percent from the line (45-57). All that after averaging 9.1 ppg prior to the Belmont start. He led the team in scoring for the fourth game in a row when he netted 21 at IUPUI Jan. 10 and set what was a season-high with 26 points at Green Bay Jan. 15. That point total remained the most for any Panther this season until he went for 29 against IUPUI Feb. 16.

In league play, he has been tremendous as well. His averages in 16 league games sit at 16.4 ppg, 47.1 percent (90-191) from the floor and 42.3 percent (42-54) on 3's. His 16.4 ppg scoring average currently sits seventh in the conference in league-only games.

GETTING TO 70
It was a "hold on for dear life" type of finish, but Milwaukee topped Wright State, 74-73, to improve to 8-3 (now 8-4) when scoring at least 70 points in a game this season. UWM also connected on 59.2 percent (29-of-49) of its field-goal attempts against the Raiders, its best effort since the season opener (62.5 against La Crosse) and tops versus a DI opponent this year. The high percentage goes hand-in-hand with victory, as Milwaukee is now 12-4 this year when shooting 45 percent or better from the floor.

A lead at the half has proven just as valuable, with the Panthers posting a very solid 12-2 ledger when leading at intermission this season.

STEP BY STEP
At 14-15, the Panthers are already three wins better than what they finished at just one year ago. With those 14 victories under their belts, first-year head coach Pat Baldwin has the team on a nice turnaround compared to just 12 months ago. Last season, UWM did not record its 11th win of the campaign until March 6 (ending the campaign at 11 while closing the regular season at a total of eight victories). The squad also did not get its second true road win of the season until January 27 (also ending with just those two). With five road wins on the books in 2017-18, that mark was topped Dec. 5 with plenty of basketball remaining.

HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES
After establishing a new program - and Horizon League - record for field-goal percentage in a season as a junior a year ago (.664), Brett Prahl had seemingly gotten better. In his first four outings this season (including the two exhibition contests), he missed just 3 shots on 23 attempts. Prahl was 5-5 from the floor against Marquette and then 5-6 against Wisconsin Lutheran in the exhibition season. He then made 5-6 attempts in both the season opener against La Crosse and again in the win at Iowa State, a shooting percentage of 86.9 percent overall in that span (20-of-23).

Through 29 games, he now checks in at .630 (114-181) from the field, good enough for first place in the Horizon League (Carson Williams of NKU is just behind at .617 ... they are also the only two regulars over .600). If Prahl met the NCAA minimum for FG percentage (5 made per game), he would rank 12th in the nation. Prahl also scored his 500th career point at IUPUI Jan. 10, entering play that day at 495.

BROTHER ACT
Speaking of the twins, Brett and Alex Prahl are one set of 29 brothers currently playing together at the NCAA Division I level this season. Of the 29 combinations, just seven are twins and Brett and Alex are the ONLY set of identical duos in the bunch.

SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE
Brett Prahl also has the chance to add his name to the top of a prestigious list by the end of his senior season. The UWM career record for "Field Goal Percentage" carries with it a minimum of 400 attempts. At his current pace of makes and attempts, Prahl will come very close to that mark. If he gets there, he will not only break the current record, but he will do so by a significant margin.

Prahl starts play Thursday at 64.3 percent in his Milwaukee career (245-of-381). The top three (and only 3 in program history to even crack the 50 percent mark) are listed below.

1. Adrian Tigert (2001-06): .578 (416-720)
2. Chad Angeli (1997-2001): .568 (407-716)
3. Dylan Page (2000-04): .523 (503-961)

HAPPY CAMPERS
The 74-73 victory Feb. 10 handed Milwaukee a season sweep of Wright State, a team that came in tied for first in the conference and ranked No. 22 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll that week. The win also snapped the Raiders home unbeaten streak at 12 games, their longest in over a decade.

IT HAD BEEN A DECADE OF WAITING
The feat of three double-double's in a row for Bryce Nze (against Cleveland State, UIC and Green Bay) that came to a close Feb. 8 was not only impressive individually, but also historically as well. It's the first time a Panther had chalked up three straight double-doubles in over 10 years, last having been done by Marcus Skinner (below) in January of 2008.

1/19/08 at Green Bay (14 pts/10 reb)
1/24/08 vs. Youngstown State (16/12)
1/26/08 vs. Cleveland State (15/10)

SO THIS IS FUN
Brock Stull led the Panthers with six career double-doubles coming into the 2017-18 season. He just missed on a few occasions, but was able to get his seventh career double-double at Green Bay Jan. 15 when he scored 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He waited all of two games to do it again, posting 17 points and a season-high 11 boards against Wright State Jan. 20. He now owns eight of the 12 career double-doubles recorded by members of the current roster. Could a triple-double be in his future? Stull was within striking distance against Youngstown State Jan. 25, finishing with 9 points/7 boards/7 assists.

SETTING YOUR SIGHTS
Speaking of Brock Stull, he approaches an important collegiate milestone as this season winds down: career point No. 1,000. He sits at 900 entering play this weekend. At his current average of 13.4 points-per-game, it would take him just over 7 games to reach the mark. Milwaukee has a minimum of 3 games left this season.

UNPACK FOR A WHILE
When the Panthers wrapped up a five-game road trip (January 4-15), it marked the longest since a six-game stretch away from home in the start of the 2004-05 campaign (December 4-30, 2004). They returned home for the first time in 2018 with a six-game stay at UWM Panther Arena, the longest stretch at home in over 25 years. In fact, it matched the longest-ever homestand in UWM's NCAA Division I era, equaling the six in a row at home for the Panthers at the start of the 1991-92 season. Stays at home all-time have gone past four straight on just two other occasions: five-game homestands in 2010-11 and 2008-09 seasons.

VANCE CAME TO PLAY
Junior Vance Johnson continues to adjust to the NCAA Division I level, putting together his best outing of the season in a recent outing 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 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 of last season.

FORCING BRICKS
The defense was on lockdown of late, holding three opponents in a row to under 40 percent field-goal shooting from the floor for the game 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

FANTASTIC FROSH
The play of Carson Warren-Newsome continues to improve as the season has gone 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 UWM uniform, the freshman recorded 30 field goal attempts combined over the two outings against the Flames and Phoenix.

THE WARREN REPORT: PART II
Carson Warren-Newsome made the most of his opportunity against the Huskies Nov. 29, putting together his best game of the season when he was given the chance to see 15 minutes of action at NIU. Coming into the game, Warren-Newsome had netted 7 points in 28 minutes in 2017-18, but he went off for 11 points in the game, highlighted by a 3-of-4 effort from long distance. The freshman added three rebounds, an assist, block and a steal on the night. He upped that dramatically to help the Panthers close out the victory over Detroit Mercy Dec. 30, hitting a pair of key 3's down the stretch. He went on to set a season high with 13 points (prior was 11), while also tying his freshman highs in FGM (4) and 3FGM (3).

LEAGUE LIFTOFF
Milwaukee started league play in search of its sixth win in its last 10 league openers, but fell to Oakland, 76-68. UWM had won five-straight before losing at Detroit in the opener in 2012-13. Overall, the Panthers were looking for their 11th win in their last 17 league lid-lifters. In all, since joining the MCC/Horizon League, Milwaukee is now 13-11 in league openers.

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, 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 this 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.

SUNSHINE STATE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Bryce Nze put together one of the more complete games of his young UWM career against Jacksonville Dec. 5, finishing with his third double-double as a Panther in the process. Nze's line included 13 points, 12 rebounds (tied career high), 5 assists (tie), 4 blocks (new career-best) and a steal against the Dolphins.

PRAHL STANDS TALL
Brett Prahl put together a brilliant outing against Northern Illinois Nov. 29, helping the Panthers to a 75-62 road win with a personally unprecedented effort. The 18 points he scored - coming on 7-8 shooting from the floor - tied his career high he set last season in a game against Youngstown State Jan. 17. The 10 rebounds, just off his career-high of 11, gave him something else for the first time - the first double-double of his collegiate career. He added two blocks and a steal against the Huskies, playing a career-high 35 minutes on the night.

He was at it again just a few days later, netting 18 more points against Montana State Dec. 2.

NEVER COUNT OUT THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee had a tough go of it against Elon in the first half Nov. 19, 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 HOT OUT OF THE GATES
Milwaukee was 4-1 through five games, giving Pat Baldwin the best five-game start to a UWM 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.

NZE KEEPS AT IT
After missing a double-double by a single rebound against both La Crosse Nov. 10 (10 pts/9 reb)and FIU Nov. 18 (17 pts/9 reb), Bryce Nze finally got there against Elon Nov. 19, recording the first double-double for a Panther player this season when he scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. It was the second of his career, with his outing at Montana (15 pts/11 reb) Dec. 3 of last season marking his first. The 12 rebounds topped his former collegiate-best of 11, also set in that game last year.

WINNING IN CYCLONE ALLEY
Iowa State's Hilton Coliseum is known as one of the toughest places to play on the road in college basketball, with the home team claiming victory in over 75 percent of its games since 1971. That didn't seem to matter to the Panthers Nov. 13, handing the Cyclones their first loss in a home opener since 1997. Iowa State had won 45 of its last 50 at home coming into the contest, posting an 88-10 mark on its own court the past eight seasons. It was also the first win by an opponent in November at Hilton Coliseum in 16 games.

HARD TO TOP
The Panthers shot an impressive 62.5 percent (30-of-48) from the floor against La Crosse in the season opener. By making nearly 2/3 of their shots, it puts them near the top of the charts, finishing as the sixth-best team performance from the floor in a game in program history. Not only was it the sixth-best outing in any game, but also goes down as the BEST shooting effort as a team in any season opener all-time.

Best Field-Goal Percentage, Single Game
1. 67.8 (40-59) Cleveland State, 2/8/96
2. 65.0 (26-40) UMKC, 11/30/13
3. 63.9 (39-61) Chicago State, 1/19/91
4. 62.8 (27-43) South Dakota State, 12/11/10
5. 62.7 (47-75) Judson, 12/13/15
6. 62.5 (30-48) La Crosse, 11/10/17

SUPER START
Highlighting the victory over La Crosse in the season opener Nov. 10 was the best outing of sophomore Bryce Barnes' young career. He filled up the stat sheet with 19 points in just 19 minutes of playing time, making 6-7 shots from the floor and 6-7 attempts from the line, while adding three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals in the win. The 19 points tops his former high-water mark of 14 points, recorded against DePaul early last season (11/20/16). His assist total and made field goals against the Eagles also equaled career-bests.

THE BIG DEBUT
November 10 against La Crosse marked the big day for Pat Baldwin, making his head-coaching debut following four very successful years as an assistant coach at Northwestern. His tenure with the Wildcats culminated in the 2016-17 season with a school-record 24 victories and the first NCAA tournament berth in school history. That followed what was a school-record 20 wins during the 2015-16 campaign. Baldwin also has valuable firsthand experience in the Horizon League, beginning with two seasons as an assistant at Green Bay before a seven-year stop at Loyola Chicago, where he finished as the associate head coach.

AND WE'RE OFF
A couple of different looks to the season opener, which saw Milwaukee playing its opening game of the season at the UWM Panther Arena for the second year in a row after not doing so since a win over SW Minnesota State to kick off the 2011-12 campaign. The team is now 17-11 in season openers since returning to the NCAA Division I ranks full-time in 1990-91 following the 83-73 win over the Eagles. More impressively, the team is 24-4 in that same span in home openers, claiming wins in 17 of the past 18 (13 in a row at one point). Also, the Panthers have not lost the season opener when it was played at home since dropping an 80-79 decision to Platteville in November of 1994 (having won the previous 12 in that scenario).

JOINING THE FOX FAMILY
The Panthers made their FOX Sports Wisconsin debut against Montana State Dec. 2, 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 in September. The agreement 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.

A WARM WELCOME
In addition to getting to know the players on the roster this season, Pat Baldwin and staff announced the newest signings for next year when Zach Cameron-Chodes, Shae Mitchell, Tyronn Mosley and Fabio Soehnel all signed their NLI Nov. 8. The group become Baldwin's first members of the 2018 recruiting class.

STULL COMES OF AGE
A season ago, Brock Stull emerged as a go-to threat for the Panthers, going on to earn the team's Clay Tucker Most Valuable Player Award after a breakout sophomore campaign in which he led the Panthers in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg). Stull started all 35 games, shooting 44.4 percent from the floor, 39.3 percent from three-point range and 80.7 percent from the line. That was a big step up from a redshirt freshman year in which he made appearances in 30 games on the season as a key reserve off the bench, contributing 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

A REAL SHOOTING SHOWCASE
It was a back-and-forth affair all season long, eventually coming down to just hundredths of a percentage point. The Panthers established a program-first, as no team in UWM's NCAA Division I history has ever had two players make 60 percent or better from the floor in a season. The now-former school record of .610 (86-of-141) for the year (minimum of 100 attempts), set by Adrian Tigert back in 2001-02, has been broken.

Brett Prahl holds the new standard at .664, making 99-of-149 attempts on the season. Bryce Nze was just a hair behind, finishing at .662, making 100-of-151 attempts - also finishing as the top two percentages in the Horizon League last season. To realize how close that was, had Brett missed just one of the makes, or had Bryce made just one of his misses, the two would have flip-flopped in the final order. Brett is no stranger to the impressive stat, having made an eye-popping 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the floor as a sophomore. The last person to make over 60 percent of their field goal attempts (while averaging at least one FGA per game) was Derrick Ford back in 2005-06, who made shots at a 61.5 percent clip that campaign. It's hard to believe, but the duo actually shot BETTER in league games - Prahl ended at 71.8 percent in the  18 conference affairs, with Nze just behind at 70.0 percent. They ranked one-two in Horizon League play as well.

UNCHARTED TERRITORY
The Panthers closed out last season with an unprecedented run at Motor City Madness. Milwaukee became the first No. 10 seed to claim a victory in the Horizon League Tournament history (going back to 1994-95). The prior seven No. 10 seeds went 0-7 combined, losing by an average of 15.2 points.

The team is familiar with the underdog role. In 2013-14, the Panthers became the first-ever No. 5 seed to win the Horizon League Tournament. In fact, they followed the same exact path to open both trips. That season, UWM beat Detroit and Valparaiso their first two matchups on the way to the crown. At No. 10, Milwaukee was the lowest seed to ever play in the championship game (prior was Wright State as the No. 8 seed in 1995). The also had the chance to become the lowest-ever seed to win (lowest prior was UIC as the No. 6 seed in 2002).

THAT'S 30 FOR #3
Brock Stull came up with a little history against UIC Feb. 4 when he scored a career-high 30 points. For starters, it was the first 30-point effort for UWM in 42 games (Akeem Springs last had 33 at Youngstown State on Jan. 7, 2016), propelling the team to its first 100-point outburst in 47 tries (had 125 against Judson Dec. 13, 2015 ... it was also the first time an opponent hit 100 in 272 games). Most significantly, it marked the first time in UWM's NCAA Division I history that a sophomore scored at least 30 points in a game - a span of 801 contests.

Jeremiah Bell would join that short list in the postseason, scoring 31 against Detroit Mercy March 3. In addition, he also became the first Panther to score 30-plus points off the bench since Avery Smith netted 36 against Oakland on December 2, 2006. Combined with Brock Stull's 20-point effort that day, it gave UWM two players with 20-or-more in one contest for the first time in 43 games.

HE'S THE CHIEF
Former Milwaukee forward Demetrius Harris (2011-13) was once again on the active roster for the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, catching 18 passes in 16 games (7 starts) for 224 yards and a touchdown this season. In fact, last year, he set career highs with 11 starts, 17 catches and 123 yards. 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. 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 is not new and has been the site to many historic basketball moments in Milwaukee history, this is UWM's fourth 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 final game of the regular season is upon us, with the Panthers making the short drive over to Rochester take on Oakland Saturday. Tip time for the finale is set for 2 p.m. CST.