Panthers Start Season With Busy WeekendNov. 9, 2006 John Thompson Foundation Classic; Milwaukee, Wis. Game #1 • Friday, Nov. 10 • Radford • 7:30 p.m. Of Note: UWM 5-3 in last eight season openers Game #2 • Saturday, Nov. 11 • Washington State • 7:30 p.m. Of Note: First-ever Pac 10 opponent for UWM Game #3 • Sunday, Nov. 12 • UAB • 5:30 p.m. Of Note: Both teams made second round of NCAAs last year UWM: 22-9 in 2005-06; regular-season opener Radford: 16-13 in 2005-06; regular-season opener WSU: 11-17 in 2005-06; regular-season opener UAB: 24-7 in 2005-06; regular-season opener Arena: U.S. Cellular Arena (10,783) Tickets: Available through all Milwaukee-area Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 414-276-4545 or online at ticketmaster.com. UWM students are admitted free. TV: None Radio: WOKY (920AM) - Bill Johnson play-by-play Online: Live gametracker at www.uwmpanthers.com The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team starts the 2006-07 regular season by hosting the John Thompson Foundation Classic at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The Panthers will play each of the other three teams in the field, facing Radford Friday, Washington State Saturday and UAB Sunday. Friday, Nov. 10 5 p.m. - Washington St. vs. UAB 7:30 p.m. - Milwaukee vs. Radford Saturday, Nov. 11 5 p.m. - UAB vs. Radford 7:30 p.m. - Milwaukee vs. Washington St. Sunday, Nov. 12 3 p.m. - Washington St. vs. Radford 5:30 p.m. - Milwaukee vs. UAB • About The Thompson Classic For the first time ever, a Horizon League school will play host to an exempt tournament. The John Thompson Foundation Classic will raise money for the Thompson Charitable Foundation, which was designed to help mentor and support youths. As an exempt event, the games each team will play will count, in total, as just one game in their allotment of regular season contests. Michigan and Missouri are also hosting games as part of the Thompson Foundation's set of preseason tournaments, with UWM and Michigan also squaring off Wednesday in Ann Arbor. • A Home Tourney A quick check of the record book shows this weekend's Thompson Foundation Classic will be the first in-season men's basketball tournament UWM has hosted since the 1969-70 season, when the Panthers held the UWM Holiday Tournament, facing North Central and UIC in the event. UWM has plenty of experience hosting postseason tournaments in recent years, though, having been the home team for most of the last four Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournaments. By hosting a tournament this season, UWM is also taking another step towards its goal of upgrading its home schedule, as the Panthers have typically had to head to the road to face higher-profile opponents. The tournament will bring a Pac 10 team to UWM for the first-time ever while also bringing in a current member of Conference USA. Next year's home slate is shaping up to be just as attractive, with Wisconsin and Northern Iowa among the teams already slated to visit the U.S. Cellular Arena in 2007-08. • History Lesson UWM has no experience against any of its three foes this weekend, having never met Radford, Washington State or UAB. In fact, the Panthers have never faced a Pac 10 team or a Big South squad. Milwaukee hasn't had much experience against the current group of teams that make up Conference USA, either. UWM lost at Memphis to open last season and the Panthers did trounce Rice, 91-63, in the 2004 Postseason NIT. The Owls were in the WAC at the time and, prior to that game, the Panthers' last meeting with a current member of C-USA came in 1991, when Milwaukee faced off with Central Florida. All-time, UWM is 5-7 against the 12 current members of the league and have also never faced Tulane, Houston or SMU. • For Openers UWM is 5-3 in its last eight season openers, with a closer look at the record showing the Panthers don't usually shy away from early-season challenges. In fact, those three losses have come to Iowa (2000-01), Wisconsin (2002-03) and Memphis (2005-06). Since Milwaukee returned to the Division I ranks in 1990, the Panthers are 8-8 in season openers. UWM is 13-3 in home openers since 1990, including 6-2 in home openers at The Cell. • Last Time Out UWM wrapped up its exhibition slate with a 77-53 win over Edgewood College Monday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena. After playing 14 different players in the first half, the Panthers trimmed their rotation in the second half and proceeded to start the second 20 minutes on a 24-2 run. Ricky Franklin paced a balanced Milwaukee attack with 14 points and was one of four players in double figures. UWM's defensive effort was also noteworthy. After allowing UW-Parkside to shoot 59 percent from the field in the first exhibition game, the Panthers allowed Edgewood to shoot just 31.4 percent from the field. The Panthers also grabbed 54 rebounds and forced 21 turnovers. • What Else Stands Out It is often hard to draw too many conclusions from exhibition play, especially in a year where nearly every player is getting his first significant action in a Panther uniform. Thirteen players saw action in each game, a number likely to shrink during the season. UWM was most impressive on the backboards, where it outrbounded its opponents by 18 rebounds per contest. The Panthers also grabbed 44 offensive boards over the course of the two games. But, UWM did give itself plenty of rebounding opportunities, shooting just 39 percent from the field overall and just 22 percent from three-point range. Milwaukee's first five showed why it had earned the opportunity to start the game, especially against Edgewood. Four of the five starters reached double figures and the group led the Panthers on two significant runs. UWM started the contest with Edgewood by scoring 21 of the first 31 points in the game, and then started the second half by outscoring the Eagles 24-2. • Something Familiar Much will be made of all of the new faces around the Panther program, and rightly so. But, UWM will also look to its group of returnees to provide stability and leadership, especially early in the season. Nick Hansen and Kevin Massiah make up this year's senior class. Massiah is in his second year in Milwaukee while Hansen, who has been on the roster as a walk-on the last three years, was awarded a scholarship. Juniors Allan Hanson and Avery Smith also return. The duo played in every game a season ago, with Smith averaging 4.7 ppg and Hanson shooting 46.7 percent from three-point range. Walk-ons Michael Bendall and Myles McKay also return for their third seasons on the UWM roster. • A Lot Of Fresh Faces When you lose seven seniors in one graduation class, you would figure to have a lot of new players on the roster. Well, UWM's expansive 2006-07 roster includes 19 players, with 15 of those players in either their first or second year in Milwaukee. Nine players from that group are in their first year at UWM. • Finally Getting Their Chance Paige Paulsen, Ricky Franklin and Kaylan Anderson all sat out last season for different reasons, and now all three are looking forward to getting their chance as the 2006-07 season begins. Paulsen sat out last season due to NCAA transfer regulations but played two solid seasons at Northern Illinois University and stands as one the Panthers' most experienced Division I player. Franklin sat out last season due to NCAA Initial Eligibility Standards but was the Milwaukee City Conference Player of the Year in 2005 and is expected to have an immediate impact for the Panthers. Finally, Anderson played during the exhibition season a year ago before redshirting the season. He should also receive an opportunity to crack the playing rotation this year. Zach Holt also returns for a second season as a walk-on after sitting out last season. • New In Town A number of players are spending their first year at UWM, and many from that group will get a chance to contribute this year. Guard Charlie Swiggett played last season at Notre Dame Prep, the consensus #1 prep school in the country a season ago. Roman Gentry was the Iowa Class 4A Player of the Year a season ago and averaged 20.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. And, Ryan Thornton helped his team to the Illinois Class A state title game while making 117 three-point field goals as a senior. Walk-on freshmen Jason Averkamp and Jason Deutchman also join the squad for this coming season. It should be noted that, for the second-straight year, the NCAA is allowing players who played in exhibition games to still redshirt the season, so players across the country are still eligible for a redshirt year until they appear in a regular season contest. • Waiting Their Turn UWM's roster includes a pair of players who are eligible for practice but not game action this coming year. Torre Johnson is a transfer from Oklahoma State University who will have one year of eligibility remaining, while Deion James is a transfer from the University of Tulsa who will have two years remaining. Both are natives of Milwaukee. • It Doesn't Look Easy With a roster full of new faces, you would think the Panthers might look to go easy on their 2006-07 schedule. Well, think again. Last year, UWM's slate wound up rated as the 21st-most-difficult non-league slate in the country, and this year's looks like it might surpass that. The Panthers will face two teams from the Big Ten (#9 Wisconsin and Michigan), two from the Missouri Valley (Northern Iowa and Missouri State) one from the Pac 10 (Washington State) and one from Conference USA (UAB). In all, the Panthers will play five non-league games against teams that played in the postseason a year ago, with UAB, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin all making the NCAAs while Michigan and Missouri State made the NIT. The Panthers will also continue a three-year agreement with Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference. • Busting The Bracket UWM will play a road game in the fifth-annual ESPN Bracket Busters event, which this year will include 102 teams. The event is scheduled for Feb. 16 and 17, with 13 of the games designated as official Bracket Buster contests and those games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN360. The Panthers are one of three Horizon League teams that have been a part of the event from its inception in 2003. In fact, UWM has played on national television in each year of the event, facing Southern Illinois in 2003, Manhattan in 2004, Hawai'i in 2005 and Missouri State in 2006. This year's field includes teams with 70 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including eight teams that had advanced to the Sweet 16 and beyond. • Schedule Changes UWM has made three changes to its 2006-07 schedule since announcing it in early September. Two of the changes involve dates and have come about because of conflicts at the U.S. Cellular Arena with the Milwaukee Wave. The game with Youngstown State, originally scheduled for Dec. 9, has been moved to Sunday, Dec. 10 at noon. Also, the game with Wright State, originally scheduled for Jan. 20, has been moved to Sunday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. Finally, the Jan. 27 home game with UW-Green Bay will now tipoff at 1 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. That change was made to accommodate a national television broadcast on ESPN2. • A View From The Outside The outside expectations placed on the Panthers for the 2006-07 season figured to be down, and indeed UWM was picked to finish seventh in the Horizon League. That vote came from among the league's coaches, SIDs and media members. Loyola was picked as the league favorite, with UW-Green Bay and Detroit close behind. In most of the other preseason publications, UWM has been picked somewhere between fouth and seventh. • Get Your Tickets! Tickets are now on sale for every UWM men's basketball home game this season. Single-game ticket prices run from $10-$20, though the availability of $20 tickets for most games is extremely limited. Single-game tickets are sold through all Milwaukee-area Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 414-276-4545 or online at ticketmaster.com. Season tickets are also still available by calling the UWM Ticket Office at 414-229-5886, and fans looking to bring a group of 20 or more to a game can also contact the ticket office for discounted rates. • A Look Back At 2005-06 UWM lived up to preseason expectations in 2005-06 by winning its third-straight outright Horizon League title and then advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was another step in the incredible progress of the program. UWM had never won a regular season Division I league title until the 2003-04 campaign. In fact, prior to winning the 2003 Horizon League Tournament title, UWM hadn't won a basketball title of any kind since winning the 1960 Wisconsin State Collegiate Conference title. Last year's league regular season and tournament titles give UWM 13 in the 110-year history of men's basketball at the school. Seven of those crowns came in the WSCC, which was also known as the Wisconsin Normal Conference and the Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference, while the other six (three regular season and three tournament) have come in the Horizon League. The outright crown was the sixth outright league title in school history. • In Select Company By winning a third-straight outright regular-season league title, UWM joined select company nationally. In fact, Gonzaga is the only other school in the country that has won its league regular-season title outright for the last three seasons. Two other teams -- Nevada from the WAC and Pacific from the Big West - have won at least a share of their league title for the past three seasons. In Horizon League annals, UWM and Butler are the only two schools to have won a regular season title in the last seven years, with Milwaukee winning the last three after Butler won four-straight from 2000-2003. • Topping The Charts UWM has enjoyed record-breaking success over the last few seasons and, in the process, has cemented itself as the top program in the Horizon League. In fact, over the last five regular seasons, the Panthers are 63-17 (.788) in regular season Horizon League contests. And, over the last four seasons, UWM has lost just 12 league games. • Liking The View From On Top The recent success of the UWM men's basketball team in league play can be summed-up best by one streak. UWM has played 57-straight regular season league games where it has either been in first place or within a game of first place. The last time UWM was not in that situation was Jan. 23, 2003, when the Panthers entered a home game with Butler 1 1/2 games back of the Bulldogs. UWM won that game, moving to within a half-game of the top spot and eventually into the league lead. They've either been in first or within a game of first ever since. • 20-20 Vision The Panthers collected at least 20 wins for the fourth-straight season a year ago, something that had never happened in the 110-year history of the program. In fact, until the 2004-05 campaign, no UWM team had even tallied three-straight 20-win seasons. The Panthers also clinched a seventh-straight plus-.500 season, notable for a program that had just seven plus-.500 seasons in the 20 years prior to the hiring of Bo Ryan in 1999. The school record for plus-.500 seasons is nine-straight from 1965-66 thru 1973-74. All of UWM's winning has also led to a number of extended winning streaks by the Panthers. Milwaukee had an eight-game winning streak last season and has had a winning streak of eight games or more in each of the last four seasons. • Homecourt Advantage Milwaukee has posted a sparkling homecourt record since returning downtown to the U.S. Cellular Arena for the 2003 Horizon League Tournament. In all, the Panthers are now 36-6 in regular season and postseason contests at The Cell since their return, and UWM had a 19-game homecourt winning streak until back-to-back home losses to UIC (Feb. 15) and Missouri State (Feb. 18) spoiled the run last season. Combining games at both the Klotsche Center and the U.S. Cellular Arena, UWM is now 47-7 in regular season Horizon League home contests over the last seven seasons. • Winning Away From Home Milwaukee's success can also be attributed to its solid play on the road. The Panthers were 5-3 on the road in league play last season and 8-6 on the road overall. The Panthers have now won at least seven road games in each of the last four seasons and are 34-22 in away games in that span. Milwaukee's five league road wins last season were the most of any league school. You don't have to look too far back, though, to find a time when the Panthers struggled mightily on the road. In the three seasons prior to Bo Ryan's arrival in Milwaukee for the 1999-2000 campaign, UWM was just 5-38 on the road. • High Scoring For the fifth-straight season, the Panthers led the Horizon League in scoring, averaging 74.0 points per game. The Panthers had two players in the top seven and three players in the top 11 in the league in scoring, with Joah Tucker (16.5 ppg), Boo Davis (16.3) and Adrian Tigert (13.4) all appearing on the league charts. UWM cracked the 80-point barrier 11 times, including two outings of better than 90 points - going 10-1 in those contests. • Up Next Milwaukee wraps up its participation in the John Thompson Foundation Classic by playing at Michigan Wednesday night. The Wolverines are also hosting three games in the event this weekend.
|
