Both of the Horizon League’s Wisconsin teams face each other on Thursday with the UW Milwaukee Panthers heading on the road to face the UW Green Bay Phoenix.
UW Milwaukee Panthers vs. UW Green Bay Phoenix (-1, 145.5)
This is a rematch of a game that was played less than seven days ago in Milwaukee on March 2 when the Panthers picked up a convincing 90-69 victory but UW Green Bay was missing its top scorer, Noah Reynolds, who will play this time around.
Reynolds is one of the highest usage players for any team in the nation, averaging team-highs in points (19.7) and assists per game (4.4) with nobody else on the roster averaging more than 8.5 points or 2.1 assists per game.
In the first meeting in December, UW Green Bay picked up a 70-58 win with Reynolds leading the Phoenix with 17 points. However, UW Milwaukee was without its top scorer, BJ Freeman, who is averaging 20.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game — all team-highs.
The problem for the Panthers all season has been their defense, ranking 305th in the nation in points allowed on a per-possession basis and the Phoenix ranking 222nd. But, it ranked 188th in this category prior to the Reynolds injury and allowed 8.8 points more per 100 possessions without Reynolds than with him the past four games.
Where UW Green Bay has shined the most this season is with its perimeter defense, ranking 13th in opponents’ 3-point percentage at just 30.3% and now faces a UW Milwaukee offense that takes 41% of its field goal attempts in a road or neutral court setting from 3-point range, which is the 88th highest road 3-point shot rate of the 362 Division I teams.
UW Green Bay also is not shy about taking threes itself, taking 51.3% of its field goal attempts in home games from 3-point range, which is the sixth-highest rate in the nation. The Phoenix face a Panthers defense that ranks 218th in opponent 3-point shooting percentage. The Phoenix actually shoot a lower percentage from 3-point range at home than on the road, however, making 32.7% of their threes at home compared to 35.6% elsewhere.
Despite the drop in 3-point shooting, UW Green Bay averages seven points more per 100 possessions at home than on the road while UW Milwaukee sees a drop of 12.4 points per 100 possessions in road games, due in large part to ranking 310th in road 3-point shooting percentage at 29.8%.
With the return of Reynolds coupled with UW Milwaukee allowing opponents to grab 31.2% of their missed shots as an offensive rebound, which ranks 331st, it will advance to the Semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament.
The Play: UW Green Bay -1
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