The Milwaukee men's basketball team will return home to host the "Cream City Challenge" presented by Cream City Mortgage this weekend, the second time in the past three years that the program is hosting an MTE. This time around, the team welcomes Portland State, Wofford, and St. Thomas to UWM Panther Arena. All games involving the Panthers will be streamed on ESPN+, with Wayne Larrivee and Joah Tucker on the call for Friday's matchup with the Vikings. All six games of the event will also have live stats for fans to follow along, while the non-MKE games (the first contest each day) can be viewed on Milwaukee's YouTube channel. All MKE audio broadcasts will be available on 101.7 FM The Truth and its streaming services, as well as the Varsity Network. Scott Warras is on the call for his ninth season as the voice of the Panthers and all links are posted on the MKE website. Fans will also be able to participate in a canned food drive through the department during the entire event. Donations will be going to "Feeding America" and there will be collection bins in the lobby to place any donated items on the way into the arena.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS
Portland State went 17-15 a season ago, which included an 8-10 mark in Big Sky Conference play. Fourth-year head coach Jase Coburn has the team off to a 2-1 start, averaging a whopping 102.7 points a game while shooting close to 60 percent (.569/6th in NCAA) overall. The Vikings force 21.7 turnovers a game (second in the nation) and have six players averaging double-figures, led by Jaylin Henderson at 16.7 ppg, with Hayden Curtiss and Ismail Habib tied next at 13.7 ppg.

Wofford went 17-15 last season and tied for fifth in the Southern Conference at 10-8. Second-year head coach Dwight Perry and the Terriers head to Milwaukee at 1-3 overall and will start the event Friday against St. Thomas in the opener set to tip off at 4 p.m. Leading the way for the offense is Corey Tripp at 12.3 points a game. Kyler Filewich averages a double-double at 10.3 points and 10.3 boards a night.

St. Thomas went 20-13 last season, its first 20+ win season as it transitions to the NCAA DI level. The team went 9-7 in Summit League action and was picked fourth in the league's preseason poll and Kendall Blue was named to the preseason all-league first team. Johnny Tauer is in his 14th year as head coach for the Tommies and has the team off to a 3-2 start. Miles Barnstable leads the way with 13.6 points a game, with Blue close behind at 12.4 ppg while shooting 51 percent from the floor.

SERIES HISTORY
This will just be the third game in program history against Portland State, as well as the first in MKE's NCAA DI era. The series is tied 1-1, with the most recent game taking place in December of 1979, a 71-65 Panther win. The matchup with Wofford will be the first all-time, while St. Thomas has wins in each of the two all-time meetings in that series, including 75-71 last winter.

LAST TIME OUT
Kentrell Pullian scored a season-high 22 points and Milwaukee closed out the victory with a 5-for-6 showing from the free throw line in the final 15 seconds of regulation to claim an 80-74 victory over Duquesne Tuesday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
The Panthers (2-2) led by double-figures for a large stretch against the Dukes (0-4) following a big first-half scoring run. However, it took key makes by Pullian and John Lovelace Jr. in a decisive 15-5 scoring run down the stretch to secure the big victory, coming on the road against a team that won 25 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
 
Pullian added seven rebounds to his game-high 22-point night, going 3-for-5 from deep while adding four steals. He was one of five players in double-figures as MKE connected on 52 percent of its shots from the floor overall, with Jamichael Stillwell adding his second double-double of the young season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
AJ McKee and Themus Fulks each finished with 15 points, with Fulks adding four rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals. Fulks also came through with two made free throws with 15.1 seconds left and two more with 0.5 on the scoreboard to wrap up the contest. Lovelace Jr. contributed 11 points in just 17 minutes off the bench, adding a perfect 6-for-6 showing from the free throw line.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
Jamichael Stillwell played a big role in Milwaukee's victory at Duquesne Nov. 19, putting together his second double-double in four games this season when he finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Through four games, Stillwell is averaging double-figures in both scoring (11.3 ppg) and boards (10.5 rpg) for the Panthers, a rebounding total that now ranks second in the Horizon League. He has actually led the team in rebounding in all four games so far this season - a feat accomplished just twice all of last year: first done by Faizon Fields in early February and then matched by BJ Freeman at the beginning of March.

SUPER SUB
John Lovelace Jr. made a pretty big impression at Duquesne Nov. 19, coming off the bench to score a season-high 11 points in just 17 minutes of action. He grabbed three rebounds, handed out a pair of assists, went a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, and hit one of the biggest 3's of the night - a deep ball from the wing that capped a 10-0 run and gave the team its biggest lead of the contest at 68-56 with about five minutes remaining.

ADD HIM TO THE LIST
AJ McKee has been named to the Lou Henson 'Early Season' Watch List, announced Nov. 19 by the organization. The award is presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball. Hailed as one of the top newcomers in the Horizon League by numerous sources and publications nationally, arrived at Milwaukee following a stellar run at Queens University, where he was a three-year starter and led the team in scoring in 2023-24 with his 18.8 ppg average. Through four games, McKee is averaging a team-leading 15.3 points a game for the Panthers while shooting 44.9 percent (22-of-49) from the floor. The most recent player in MKE program history to appear on the in-season watch list was Matt Tiby back in the 2015-16 campaign. McKee is one of just two players on the list from the Horizon League, joined by Wright State's Brandon Noel.

ALL GAS NO BRAKES
In scoring 118 points against Lakeland Nov. 4, not only did the team cross the century barrier for the first time in 67 games (last was 112 vs. Cardinal Stritch on 11/12/22), but ended up scoring the second-most points in a game in the school's NCAA Division I history. The 47 made field goals also tied the record, first set in the Judson game. Lastly, the team had seven different players finish in double-figures, the most since the same amount contributed double-figures against Judson.
1. 125 points vs. Judson, 12/13/2015
2. 118 vs. Lakeland, 11/4/2024
3. 117 vs. Prairie View A&M, 11/20/2004
4. 116 vs. Illinois (OT2), 12/3/90

In addition, the MKE offense was really cooking in the second half against the Muskies, connecting on nearly 70 percent of field goals while netting 66 points after intermission to establish a new school standard for second-half points.
1. 66 vs. Lakeland, 11/4/2024
2. 64 vs. Loyola Chicago, 12/21/2002
3. 61, 2 times

DUST OFF THE RECORD BOOK
In addition to the points marks set against Lakeland Nov. 4, the Panthers also gave a few more record book entries a run for knocking them down the ledger. The impressive rebound margin of +32 (56 to 24) goes down as the second-most in a game in the program's NCAA DI history, trailing only the +36 (59/23) recorded against Loyola Chicago in January of 2009. That was also the game where the school record 59 total rebounds was gathered, with MKE's 56 total against the Muskies now tied for third all-time. The 28 assists tied for fourth (record is 32) and were the most in nine seasons.

SOME BIG MARGINS
The +56 margin of victory for Milwaukee against Lakeland Nov. 4 was also noteworthy, checking in as a tie for the fourth-largest in school history. This is quickly becoming a trend for head coach Bart Lundy, who now owns three of the top five entries in his brief MKE career (marked with *).
1. +79 Mount Senario (100-21 on 12/27/00)
2. +74 Cardinal Stritch (112-38 on 11/12/22)*
3. +62 Prairie View A&M (117-55 on 11/20/04)
T4. +56 Lakeland (118-62 on 11/4/24)*
T4. +56 MSOE (102-46 on 11/7/22)*

THE REAL STEAL DEAL
Kentrell Pullian pulled off an impressive feat in the opener against Lakeland Nov. 4, nearly tying a school record that was set over 30 years ago when he recorded a career-high seven steals in the contest. It topped his former best of five (vs. Luther College in Nov. of 2023) and tied with five other players for the second-most in a game in school history.
1. 8 by Von McDade vs. Southern Utah, 12/8/90
T2. 7 by Pullian vs. Lakeland, 11/4/24
T2. 7 by Kelvin Anderson vs. Butler, 1/5/95
T2. 7 by Marc Mitchell vs. Sacramento St., 1/23/93
T2. 7 by Marc Mitchell vs. Oshkosh, 12/3/91
T2. 7 by Von McDade vs. W. Michigan, 1/26/91
T2. 7 by Von McDade vs. UMKC, 12/29/90

WELL, STILL ...
Newcomer Jamichael Stillwell put together one of the more impressive MKE debuts in recent memory against Lakeland Nov. 4, leading the team in both scoring (18 points) and rebounding (14 boards) despite coming off the bench and only playing 20 minutes. The double-double is just the fourth in a season opener in the past 15 years, joining the list with Kentrell Pullian (16 pts/12 reb) last year, Patrick Baldwin Jr. (21 pts/10 reb) in 2021-22, and Matt Tiby (18 pts/12 reb) back in the 2015-16 lid-lifter. It also marked the most rebounds in the season opener by a newcomer since James Haarsma had 17 against SW Minnesota State to open 2011-12. In his follow-up, Stillwell came up one rebound short of a second consecutive double-double, going for 10 points and nine boards against UNI Nov. 7.

AND WE'RE OFF
A couple of different looks to the season opener, which saw Milwaukee playing its opening game of the season at home for the sixth time in the past 12 years. The team is now 22-13 in season openers since returning to the NCAA Division I ranks full-time in 1990-91, which includes a big 102-46 win over MSOE in Coach Lundy's MKE debut two years ago. In all, the team is now 29-6 in that same span in home openers (while 16-1 in season openers at home), claiming wins in 22 of the past 25 (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 (have won the previous 16 in that scenario including 91-73 over Stout a year ago).

HITTING THE MARK
With a 20-15 overall ledger a year ago, the Panthers recorded the 12th 20-win season in program history. It also marked back-to-back for Bart Lundy after posting a 22-12 ledger in his first season on the bench. That gave Milwaukee back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2005-06 (22-9) and 2004-05 (26-6) - which was the tail end of four consecutive years hitting the mark. Lundy is the first MKE coach to claim 20+ victories in back-to-back years since Bruce Pearl in 2003-04 (20-11) and 2004-05 (26-6).

DEFEND THIS HOUSE
In his two years as Milwaukee's head coach, Bart Lundy has been proven very difficult to beat at home (he came into this season at 27-7 overall/.794 win percentage), but especially good against Horizon League opponents. Two years ago, the Panthers went 9-2 against HL foes (8-2 regular season plus a win over Wright State in the postseason), falling only in a pair of overtime games. Last season? MKE checked in at 9-2 in conference games (8-2 regular season plus the win over Detroit Mercy in the HLT), again with the two losses coming in ... you guessed it ... overtime - making Lundy 18-4 in league meetings at home as MKE's head coach (coming into 2024-25), with a perfect 18-0 mark in games that finished in regulation.

FOR THE MKE
In today's world of college basketball, change is still inevitable. This season, Milwaukee welcomes nine new faces, broken down into three freshmen (2 true freshmen and redshirt frosh Maurice Thomas) and six transfers (including four NCAA Division I transfers in John Lovelace Jr./Youngstown State, Themus Fulks/Louisiana Lafayette, AJ McKee/Queens, and Danilo Jovanovich/Louisville). That brings the total number of student-athletes on the roster to 17. The background stretches far and wide ... and actually across the country with the list including an impressive array of 11 states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin

Overall, there are only 16 programs at the NCAA Division I level to be represented by 10 or more states.
The Top 5 (and ties) is listed below.
16 – Army
14 – Navy
12 – Missouri
12 – Vanderbilt
11 – Milwaukee
11 – Kansas
11 – Louisville
11 – Indiana

POLL POSITION
The Panthers earned the No. 18 ranking in the CollegeInsider.com Preseason Mid-Major Top 25 poll this season. The ranking marks the first time that Milwaukee has been in the preseason edition list by CollegeInsider.com since prior to the start of the 2014-15 campaign – a season in which the team was coming off its most recent trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The last few months prior to the start of the season witnessed the MKE program atop many of the early rankings, including taking the top spot in the Under Armour Horizon League preseason poll for the first time in 18 years. National organizations are taking notice as well, with respected polls such as Lindy's (No. 1), Blue Ribbon Yearbook (No. 1), Mid-Major Madness (No. 1), HoriZone (No. 2), Mid-Major Basketball (No. 1), among others, to all be considering the Panthers the team to beat in the league this season.

SO OLD IT CAN VOTE
Milwaukee was picked to finish first in the Under Armour preseason poll conducted by the League's head coaches, SIDs, and media members. One season after being selected in second place to mark the highest choice in over a decade, the Panthers are No. 1 for the first time since prior to the 2006-07 campaign. In addition, Erik Pratt and AJ McKee were also named to the Preseason All-League Second Team.

2024-25 Under Armour Preseason Poll
T1. Milwaukee (15) – 421 points
T1. Purdue Fort Wayne (14) – 421
3. Northern Kentucky (4) – 389
4. Oakland (5) – 345
5. Wright State (4) – 315
6. Youngstown State (1) – 272
7. Cleveland State – 252
8. Green Bay – 171
9. RMU – 148
10. IU Indianapolis (1) – 91
11. Detroit Mercy – 79

LINEUP LOWDOWN
The starting five should be open for discussion this season, as Bart Lundy has a deep and talented roster of veteran players from which to choose. Last season, injuries affected the starting lineup on a regular basis, as only Eastern Michigan (with 20) used more different starting lineups than the Panthers' 19 (in 35 games). That wound up as a similar approach to 2022-23, when Lundy used 16 different lineups in the 33 contests his first year.

IN A "FIELDS" OF HIS OWN
Faizon Fields grew into his role last season, pushing his game to a new level after the calendar turned to 2024 by averaging 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds over the final 21 contests while shooting at a 61.2 percent (90-of-147) clip, compared to his season-long averages of 9.3 points and 6.4 rebounds. His 101 total offensive rebounds set a new school record, breaking the former mark of 96 set in 2017-18. Fields tied for 10th in the Horizon League in total rebounding (6.4 rpg) and was fourth in blocks (1.1 bpg), while posting six double-doubles over the course of the campaign, leading the team in rebounding 13 times. He went on a four-game rampage on the boards to open the month of February, grabbing 16 against Oakland (just two off the school record of 18), 12 against both Purdue Fort Wayne and IU Indianapolis, and then 16 more at Youngstown State to become the first player in MKE's NCAA DI history to post four consecutive double-digit rebounding efforts. Even three in a row hadn't been done since 2018. You have to go back to January of 1990 - the year before Milwaukee was NCAA DI - to find a streak of more, when Randy Doss went for 10+ rebounds in six games in a row.

McKEE WILL BE KEY
One of the newcomers to the MKE roster this season is no stranger to head coach Bart Lundy. AJ McKee joins the Panthers from Queens, where he was recruited to and played for under Lundy earlier in his career. McKee brings a scoring mentality to the offense and averaged almost 19 points a game a year ago. He has been heralded as one of the top newcomers in the Horizon League by numerous sources and publications nationally, arriving at Milwaukee following a stellar run at Queens, where he was a three-year starter and led the team in scoring in 2023-24 with his 18.8 ppg average, while adding 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He ranked third in the Atlantic Sun Conference in scoring, becoming the seventh player in program history to cross the 1,500-point mark for a career and enters play this year with 1,586 points following a season in which he was named ASUN Second-Team All-Conference. In addition to the Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team, McKee was also named to the preseason All-American Watch List in Bracketeer.Org's "Watch List for Non-Power Conferences".

PLAY TO THE BUZZER
Under Bart Lundy, the team has proven adept at never giving up, starting two years ago when the Panthers recorded victories when down nine or more points on six different occasions - three times by double-figures. In fact, the only team in the country with more that year was East Carolina, who accomplished the feat down 10+ points on four occasions. The same story unfolded a year ago: MKE overcame a 15-point deficit March 11 against Northern Kentucky, marking the sixth time last season they dug out of double-figures to record a victory - while also erasing a 9-point hole in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament vs. Detroit Mercy.

The lines from 2023-24 for the team are below:
19 points (37-18) vs. Cleveland State, 1/12/24
15 points (36-21) vs. Northern Kentucky, 3/11/24
15 points (19-4) at IUPUI, 2/28/24
12 points (21-9) at UC Davis, 12/9/23
11 points  (31-20) at Cleveland State, 2/14/24
10 points (57-47) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, 2/25/24

BLOCK PARTY: PART III?
Two years ago, the Panthers smashed the all-time season block record, led by Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Ahmad Rand. Last winter, the former standard got passed again, as the MKE defense finished with 155 rejections to again top what had been the record by almost 25 percent. Leading the way in 2023-24 was Faizon Fields (1.1 bpg) and Langston Wilson (1.0 bpg), who both finished in the Top 5 in the league.

1. 186 blocks in 2022-23
2. 155 blocks last season
3. 125 blocks in 2017-18
4. 119 in 2021-22
5. 118 in 2003-04

RECORD BREAKERS
Milwaukee again added more entries to the record book last season, establishing new marks in total points (2,782), field goals made (980), field goals attempted (2,198), three-point field goals attempted (861), total rebounds (1,364), and offensive rebounds (473), while adding runner-up entries in rebound average (39.0 rpg) and blocked shots (155). Plus, the offense finished with a scoring average of 79.5 points per game – the highest for a Milwaukee team since 1992-93.

ROCKING THE REBOUNDS
The Panthers ranked second in the Horizon League in rebounds per game last winter, with their total of 39.0 coming in just behind YSU at 40.0. It's been a common theme of late, as two years ago Milwaukee broke the school record for rebounds per game at 39.1 - eclipsing a record that has been in place for 30 years. In fact, the Panthers finished 13th in the country in offensive rebounds per game at 13.6 and finished with the new No. 2 spot on the all-time list.
1. 2022-23: 39.1 rebounds per game
2. 2023-24: 39.0
3. 1992-93: 38.4

LIVING IN THE 90's
The offense really picked up the pace last season and finished with a per-game scoring average of 79.5 points - the highest since the 1991-92 season and the fourth-highest in school history. When the team scored 91 against Wright State Dec. 31 and 95 more points against Oakland Jan. 4, it marked the first time the MKE offense had hung 90-or-more points in back-to-back games of any kind since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That season, they went for 110 against Western Michigan (Nov. 9 in 3OT) and followed it up with 103 more the next contest against Wisconsin Lutheran (Nov. 12).  A deeper dive shows it was actually the first time the team had scored 90+ in consecutive Horizon League contests in over 20 years. The last time that happened? Back in February of 2002 when the Panthers claimed victories over Youngstown State (96-76 on 2/9/02) and Wright State (94-68 on 2/14/02). Three in a row of 90+ had never happened in league play, last occurring during the 1992-93 campaign (94 against Northeastern Illinois 12/3/92, 91 versus Alcorn State 12/7/92, and 98 against Parkside 12/9/92) while the team played an independent schedule.

THOSE COMEBACK CATS!
The Panthers overcame a 19-point deficit in the victory against Cleveland State Jan. 12 of last season, claiming the 88-80 decision after trailing by a score of 37-18 with 5:41 to go in the first half. Bart Lundy can now boast two of the top five biggest comebacks in program history, adding to the epic 23 points they erased against Northern Kentucky in late January last season. The only four better than CSU are below.

24 points on March 2, 2021: Down 24 at 72-48 with 6:26 to play before one of the most improbable comebacks of all-time (it was the second-largest deficit EVER overcome in NCAA history over the final 5 minutes of a game). DeAndre Gholston sent it to OT with a 3 with 1.8 seconds left and MKE beat Wright State, 94-92.
24 points on November 15, 2008: The Panthers topped UC Davis, 81-75. That day, the team made up a 24-point halftime deficit, trailing 51-27, with a 54-point second half.
23 points on January 28, 2023: MKE picked up the amazing 75-74 victory despite trailing, 47- 24, just before halftime. BJ Freeman led the way as a 28-4 run flipped the contest on its head.
21 points on December 8, 2001: The Panthers trailed Virginia teach by a score of 58-37 with 10:27 left before storming back and earning an 80-78 OT win behind 29 points from Clay Tucker.

ON THE MARK
Prior to an injury that kept him out from late-January through the start of March, Darius Duffy was making field goals at a very high clip, leading the team at an eye-opening 72.2 percent (39-of-54) and had missed just TWO SHOTS from the floor in 2024 (he was 83.3% at 10-of-12 after Jan. 1). While he didn't have enough attempts to qualify for rankings, for perspective, the Horizon League leader was at 56.2 percent and the NCAA leader was 71.6 percent when Duffy was hurt. The school record he would have been chasing is 66.4 by Brett Prahl in 2016-17.

LEAGUE LIFTOFF
Milwaukee broke a recent skid in Horizon League openers three years ago, topping Green Bay (68-65) after having dropped the initial game in conference each of the prior six, dating back to an 82-76 victory over YSU in 2013-14. Since joining the MCC/Horizon League, Milwaukee is now an even 15-15 in league openers following the result against Green Bay last year.

LUNDY'S LINE
Head coach Bart Lundy brought an extensive background of success to the Panthers, which included an impressive run through the postseason that extended many years and a pair of trips to the NCAA DII Final Four in his career. A look back at his prior seven seasons at Queens reveals the gaudy numbers that were posted.
2021-22: 30-4 overall, 2-1 in NCAA Tournament
2020-21: 16-6 overall, 0-1 in NCAA Tournament
2019-20: 24-7 overall, NCAA's cancelled
2018-19: 31-5 overall, 3-1 in NCAA Tournament
2017-18: 32-4 overall, 1-1 in NCAA Tournament
2016-17: 30-4 overall, 2-1 in NCAA Tournament
2015-16: 25-7 overall, 1-1 in NCAA Tournament

TURN THE RADIO UP
This marks the third full hoops season that 101.7 FM The Truth will serve as the radio home of the Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball radio broadcasts. Fans can listen to veteran broadcaster Scott Warras, now in his ninth season, call all the play-by-play action on air at 101.7 FM and via live online streaming services. In addition to the traditional radio broadcasts available on 101.7 The Truth and its mobile app, all Panther men's basketball broadcasts will be streamed live on the Black & Gold Network at mkepanthers.com, the Wisconsin on Demand, and Varsity Network mobile apps (available in the App Store & Google Play). This season, fans of Milwaukee basketball will have more ways than ever to listen to the action.

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 ninth 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 U.S. Cellular Arena.

UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the road over the week of Thanksgiving, next hitting the court Wednesday at UCF in a game set to tip off at 6 p.m. CT.