Dec. 19, 2012

The Last Meeting

Wisconsin	60
Milwaukee	54

December 13, 2011
U.S. Cellular Arena

Shorthanded Panthers Come Up Just Short Against 14th-Ranked Badgers Jared Berggren had 17 points including a three-pointer that gave 14th-ranked Wisconsin the lead for good as the Badgers claimed a 60-54 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The Panthers (8-3) had rallied from a 17-point deficit to tie the game at 48 before the Badgers (9-2) pulled it out.

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

• UWM dropped a 69-58 decision to Tennessee Tech this past Saturday night in the Klotsche Center.

• The Panthers have shot under 33 percent in three-straight games, including a 32.2 percent effort in the loss to Tennessee Tech. Milwaukee also shot just 25.8 percent at DePaul Dec. 9 and followed that up by shooting 27.7 percent at Fairfield Dec. 12.

• Milwaukee has started to get some solid play from its two interior regulars. Kyle Kelm is averaging 11.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in his last two outings, while James Haarsma tallied 14 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to Tennessee Tech Saturday.

• Paris Gulley is back in the Panther lineup after missing the first six games of the year with a broken hand. The senior played in all 34 games a season ago, averaging better than eight points per game while finishing second on the team in three-pointers. So far this season, he has reached double figures in four of his six outings, though he did make just 1-of-10 shots in the loss to Tennessee Tech Saturday.

• Milwaukee has beaten Wisconsin just one time in school history, a win that came 20 years ago. That season, UWM claimed a 77-72 victory over the Badgers at the UW Fieldhouse on Dec. 12, 1992.

• Wisconsin enters Saturday's game 7-4. The Badgers have split their two games with in-state rivals this season, losing at Marquette before beating Green Bay.

• Game #13
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team makes the short trip west on I-94 for a Saturday night contest at Wisconsin.

• A Quick Scout
Wisconsin enters Saturday's contest 7-4 ... the Badgers are 6-1 at home, with their only loss at the Kohl Center coming to Virginia ... five of their home wins have come by 25 or more points ... four players are averaging 10 or more points per game for Wisconsin, including true freshman Sam Dekker ... the Badgers are allowing just 57.1 points per game.

• Ties That Bind
There are no shortage of ties between the basketball programs in Milwaukee and Madison.

- Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin. During his time with the Badgers, UW won two Big Ten regular season titles and claimed Sweet 16 and Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

- Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan spent two seasons as the head coach in Milwaukee, compiling a 30-27 record. UWM had won just 31 total games in the five seasons prior to Ryan's arrival.

- Panther assistant coach Sharif Chambliss spent the past two seasons as the video coordinator at Wisconsin before joining the Milwaukee staff. Chambliss also played for Ryan and Jeter on the 2005 Badger squad that advanced to the Elite Eight.

- UWM assistant coach Duffy Conroy had two different stints on the Wisconsin coaching staff under Ryan before joining Rob Jeter's staff in Milwaukee in 2005.

• Once Upon A Time
Milwaukee has just one win all-time against Wisconsin, and it came 20 years ago. On Dec. 12, 1992, the Panthers went into the UW Fieldhouse and claimed a 77-72 victory. Craig Greene had 23 points to lead the Panthers, who would go on to post a 23-4 record that season in just their third season back in NCAA Division I play. In all, Wisconsin holds a 28-1 lead in the all-time series between the two teams and the Badgers have won 19-straight in the series since that loss.

• Plenty Of Time On The Road
The Panthers haven't spent much time at home early this season. UWM is wrapping up a stretch that has seen it play three of four games on the road, and last month the Panthers played four-straight games outside of Milwaukee. In all, the Panthers will play just six of their 15 non-league games in Milwaukee. And, UWM opens league play in January with two-straight games away from home. The road hasn't been kind to Milwaukee this season, as the Panthers are 0-5 in true road games and 0-7 total in games outside of Milwaukee. But in recent seasons UWM has had pretty good success on the road, as the Panthers won seven true road games a season ago and eight road contests two years ago.

• Looking To Get Back On Track
UWM snapped a five-game losing streak with its win over Northern Illinois two weeks ago but the Panthers have now dropped eight of their last nine since a win over Davidson. The five-game losing streak was the first losing streak of more than three games for Milwaukee since the 2007-08 season, when the Panthers dropped six-straight. The Panthers have done a very good job of avoiding long losing streaks in recent seasons. In fact, just since the last time they had lost three in a row (2009-10), Milwaukee had nine different streaks of at least three wins in a row, including runs of five-straight and six-straight victories. UWM is hoping to string some wins together this season, having not yet won back-to-back games.

• Finally A Break In The Slate
Certainly it's not a break when it comes to the strength of opponent Saturday, but the Panthers finally have a stretch of time without a lot of games. Milwaukee finished off a run of five games in 11 days when it faced off with Tennessee Tech last Saturday. The stretch actually included three games in five days and four games in eight days. It was one of the busiest runs of the season for Milwaukee, which will have two stretches of three games in six days during league play in February. And, much of UWM's league schedule has it playing twice in three days, something it is actually also doing four times in non-league play. But, the Panthers are finally enjoying some down time and practice sessions. Milwaukee has another week off after this game and then plays just three times in the first two-plus weeks of January.

• The Last Time Out
Jud Dillard scored 17 points as Tennessee Tech claimed a 69-58 win over UWM Saturday night at the Klotsche Center. Jordan Aaron had 15 points while James Haarsma added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Milwaukee, which saw its offensive struggles continue. The Panthers shot just 32.2 percent from the floor and had 16 turnovers.

• Not A Good Touch
You don't have to look at the stat sheet for very long to see the Panthers are struggling on offense. Milwaukee has now shot below 33 percent in three-straight games, including a 32.2 percent clip in the loss to Tennessee Tech last Saturday. This comes after UWM shot just 27.7 percent in the loss to Fairfield Dec. 12 after shooting only 25.8 percent at DePaul Dec. 9. The percentage at DePaul marked the lowest since Milwaukee shot just 26.7 percent in a loss at Marquette a season ago. UWM also made just one 3-pointer in that game, the fewest made threes since Milwaukee went 0-for-13 at Butler in the 2005-06 campaign. And, Milwaukee is 9-of-60 on three-pointers over the last three games. For the season, UWM is shooting 36.6 percent overall and 28.5 percent from three-point range.

• But It Can Get Better, Right?
It may seem hard to remember some of the offensive success the Panthers enjoyed in the first three games of the season, but there is some track record to say Milwaukee can shake its offensive doldroms. UWM actually made 34 three-pointers in the first three games of the year, with Milwaukee shooting 41.5 percent from beyond the arc after those first three contests. UWM was also shooting 41.4 percent from the floor overall and was averaging 74.7 points per game. And, while one of the first three games of the year came against Division II Mary, the other two were an overtime loss at South Carolina and a home win over a Davidson team widely expected to return to the NCAA Tournament again this year.

• Double-Double Trouble
The Panthers do seem on their way to getting contributions from two inside veterans. James Haarsma has struggled mightily from the field early this year but did post a 14-point, 14-rebound in Saturday's loss to Tennessee Tech. Haarsma made 5-of-11 shots from the field in the game, helping inch up his shooting percentage to 29.6 percent. The senior shot 52.5 percent a season ago. Meanwhile, Kyle Kelm had 13 points and 14 rebounds at Fairfield last Wednesday before adding 10 points and nine rebounds against TTU Saturday. The junior has been Milwaukee's most consistent performer and has started the last six games after coming off the bench for the first six games of the season.

• Great To Have Him Back
Milwaukee has been looking forward to getting senior guard Paris Gulley back in the playing rotation and that day has finally arrived. Gulley stepped on the court for the first time Dec. 1 at Northern Iowa, scoring 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field. He hasn't really let up much since, posting an additional 20-plus-point performance while averaging 14.2 points per game. He did find his own struggles from the field Saturday, though, making just 1-of-10 from the floor. The guard suffered a broken hand in practice in late October and did not play in the first six games of the regular season. Gulley is a welcomed addition to the lineup after averaging 8.5 points per game and making 59 three-pointers in 34 games (29 starts) a season ago.

• A New Look
The return of Paris Gulley to the active roster provoked a pair of lineup changes for Milwaukee, and now the Panthers have added a third new look to the starting five. Gulley is starting in the backcourt in place of Thierno Niang, who had started the first six games of the season in Gulley's absence. And Kyle Kelm, who started the exhibition win over Parkside before taking a bench role for the first six games of the regular season, returned to the starting five. Then Saturday, true freshman Austin Arians made his first collegiate start, earning the nod in place of Demetrius Harris.

• Making His Point
It hasn't taken long for junior-college transfer Jordan Aaron to settle into the backcourt for Milwaukee. Aaron has been in double figures in scoring in nine of UWM's first 12 games, including a 28-point effort at South Carolina, a run of 13 points in a row in a win over Davidson and 23 more points in a losing effort against Buffalo last Wednesday. He also reached double figures in assists for the first time in his Milwaukee Dec. 7, as he tallied 11 against Northern Illinois.

• A Leader On The Horizon
The Horizon League takes on a slightly new look in 2012-13 with the departure of Butler to the Atlantic 10. That move caused a late adjustment in the league schedule, which now will not begin until early January. UWM also now takes over the mantle of winningest Horizon League program over the last 12 years. The Panthers are the only school to average more than 10 league wins per season in that time and Milwaukee has been below .500 in league play just once in 12 years. UWM's 130-70 mark in 12 seasons bests Wright State (113-87) by 17 games and those are the only two schools to win at least 100 league games in that time.

• Media Watch
Time Warner Cable's Sports32 is again the official television home for Panther basketball, while the radio broadcasts return to WISN (AM 1130) as UWM and Clear Channel Radio have inked a new agreement for both men's and women's coverage. Sports32 will carry at least nine games this season, as Daron Sutton and Adrian Tigert return as the voices of Panther basketball on TV. Bill Johnson returns for his 14th season as the radio play-by-play man. The weekly "Panther Sports Report" radio show will also return in January, while "The Rob Jeter Show" is also back on Sports32.

• Looking To The Future
UWM has signed three players during the fall signing period. Trinson White of Milwaukee, Cody Wichmann of Pulaski and Brett Prahl of East Troy will all join the Panthers for the 2013-14 season. A 6-foot-5 wing at Indian Hills, White played his high school basketball at Milwaukee Riverside, where he was an all-state performer. Wichmann is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Pulaski High School, where he was a WBCA First-Team All-State honoree as a junior. Prahl is a 6-foot-9 forward from East Troy High School who averaged 12.9 points per game as a junior while earning First-Team All-Walworth County and All-Rock Valley Conference recognition.

• More News And Notes
Milwaukee has eight players who have posted at least one double figure effort. And, the Panthers have seven players who have now had at least two games of 10 or more points ... the Panthers have had 15 or more turnovers in nine games this year ... Demetrius Harris has already easily exceeded his totals of a season ago after just 12 games. He has 97 total points in 12 games this season after scoring 39 points all of last year. And, his 58 total rebounds in 12 contests have easily surpassed the 33 boards he posted the entire season last year ... the Panthers are playing 11 games against teams that played in the postseason a year ago ... UWM lost in overtime to South Carolina, the first OT defeat for the Panthers since Jan. of 2009 vs. Green Bay ... Milwaukee then claimed an overtime win over Northern Illinois and is now 10-7 in OT under Rob Jeter.