Feb. 24, 2009

Game #28 - Milwaukee (15-12, 10-6 Horizon) @ Wright State (16-12, 10-6 Horizon)
Thurs. Feb. 26 • 6 pm
Nutter Center • Dayton, Ohio

Printable Game Notes

The Short List
• UWM begins the final week of the regular season with a Thursday night contest at Wright State.

• The Panthers start the week tied with Wright State for fourth place in the Horizon League. Both teams are one game behind Cleveland State for third place.

• Milwaukee dropped a 77-69 decision to North Dakota State Saturday night in an ESPNU BracketBusters contest.

• In its last league action, UWM upset then-#21 Butler, 63-60.

• Ricky Franklin has averaged 13.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent over his last four outings.

• Wright State has rebounded from an 0-6 start to win 16 of its last 22 games. The Raiders did fall to Northeastern in a BracketBusters contest Saturday.

On The Air
Thursday's game will air live throughout eastern Wisconsin on Time Warner Cable Sports 32. Daron Sutton and Jason Clark have the call. The game is also available nationally on ESPN Full Court, ESPN360 and the Horizon League Network. Radio coverage of the game is also available on WISN (AM 1130). Bill Johnson's pregame show begins at 5:45 p.m.

Ticket Time
Tickets for Thursday's game are available through the WSU Ticket Office or at the doors of the Nutter Center on gameday. Tickets for all UWM home games are available through Milwaukee-area Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com and by phone at 414-276-4545. Tickets are also available at the U.S. Cellular Arena box office on the day of the game.

• Game #28
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team begins the final week of the regular season with a Thursday night contest at Wright State.

• Some Matchup History
UWM holds a 21-16 all-time lead over Wright State thanks to having won 13 of the last 16 meetings between the two schools. In fact, when the Raiders claimed a 59-54 win in Dayton in 2005-06, it snapped a 10-game winning streak in the series for the Panthers. But, UWM then lost in Dayton in 2006-07 and 2007-08, giving it a three-game road losing streak in the series.

• First Time With The Raiders
James Eayrs scored 14 points to lead three players in double figures as UWM captured a 66-59 win over Wright State Dec. 6 at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The Panthers also got 11 points from Tone Boyle and 10 from Tony Meier. UWM led by as many as 16 points in the first half and by 15 early in the second half before seeing the entire advantage slip away. But, after Wright State claimed a 54-53 lead with 4:12 remaining, Milwaukee finished the game on a 13-5 run to wrap up the win.

• Studying The Standings
It is hard to believe, but the Horizon League regular season is down to the a final week with plenty still to be decided from top to bottom. In fact, Butler has not wrapped up the regular season title, with Green Bay just one game back. Cleveland State is in third but both Milwaukee and Wright State are only one game out of that spot. There is also a chase on for sixth place, a spot that includes a home game in the league tournament. Youngstown State currently holds the spot at 7-9, but YSU has a pair of road games remaining while Loyola and UIC face each other with the winner finishing 7-11. Valparaiso looks like it will be the ninth seed while Detroit is the likely 10th seed. The league tournament begins with first round action March 3. The tournament then continues March 6, 7 and 10.

• On The Road Again
The Panthers are playing a very road-heavy schedule in the month of February. In fact, UWM is playing five of its final seven games away from home. The Panthers are 2-9 in true road games this season, though Milwaukee did win a pair of neutral-site games in Ames, Iowa, at the beginning of the year. UWM went 5-8 on the road last season after going 2-15 on the road in 2006-07. But, Milwaukee averaged nearly nine wins per season in road games in the four years prior to that.

• Tough Road Swings
UWM heads back to Ohio this week for its final of three true league road trips. With the addition of Valpo to the league, the Horizon schedule has returned to a more traditional format, with Thursday-Saturday road trips again the norm. And those trips are always difficult, even in years where UWM would have only one in a season. In looking only at league road swings that involve two games in three days since the 2001-02 campaign, UWM has won both games of a trip three times, split a trip three times and been swept six times. Earlier this season, UWM was swept on its trip to Valpo and Butler and on its trip to Cleveland and Youngstown. Last season marked the first time the Panthers had played Wright State and Detroit on the same trip, with Milwaukee losing both games. Previously, UWM would often play at Butler and Wright State on the same road swing.

• Inside The Numbers
With two road games on tap this week, the Panthers will be seeking to break a five-game slide away from home. There has been a stark difference in some of the Panthers' stats depending on where the game is being played. In fact, UWM is averaging 71.3 points per game at home but just 61.7 points per contest on the road. The Panthers' shooting percentage is more than two points better at home (39.9%) than it is on the road (37.7%). Defensively, UWM allows just 64.4 points per game at home but 72.7 points and 43.1 percent shooting from the floor on the road. Finally, two noteworthy numbers on the individual front - Avery Smith averages 13.4 points at home but just 9.8 points on the road; and James Eayrs has shot 43 free throws in 13 home games but just five free throws in 11 true road games.

• Senior Salute
With the regular season winding down, the careers of a pair of UWM seniors are coming to a close. The duo was honored prior to the Panthers' home game Saturday against North Dakota State. A third senior on the roster - Ricky Franklin - can still earn an additional year of eligibility by meeting NCAA requirements toward degree completion. Thus, he did not participate in Senior Night activities.

After sitting out last season, Avery Smith has returned to start 21 games this season, standing second on the team in scoring. He has 13 double-figure outings this year and 39 total in his career. Included in that total is 14, 20-point outings, including six this season. Smith started his UWM career as a reserve on the 2005-06 team that won both the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He has 924 career points, 310 career rebounds and 103 career steals entering play Thursday.

Deion James has played in 55 games at UWM over the last two seasons after transferring from the University of Tulsa. He has posted 13 double-figure games, including a 20-point performance in a win at Valparaiso last season. This season, James has a pair of double figure outings and the memorable game-winning three-pointer against UIC last month. During his two seasons at Tulsa, James played in 55 games, earning 26 starts. In all, over four seasons of Division I basketball, James has over 500 career points and 150 career assists.

• What A Month
UWM has faced no shortage of challenges during the month of February. In addition to the schedule putting the Panthers on the road for five of the seven games in the month, Milwaukee's opponent lineup has been more than stellar. UWM has faced four teams this month who have already won 20 games, with its matchups against Butler and North Dakota State last week giving the Panthers back-to-back games against squads with at least 20 wins. Including early-season non-league opponents, UWM has played eight games against teams that have already won at least 20 games, with Wisconsin, Miami (Ohio) and Bradley all still with an opportunity to join that list.

• Shoot For A Cure
Fresh off of the NABC's Suits & Sneakers events, the date for the second-annual Shooting for a Cure is now set. The Wisconsin-based event, co-hosted by Coaches vs. Cancer and the American Cancer Society, is set for April 25 at the Marriott Madison West. Last May, the inaugural Shooting for a Cure raised over $60,000 for the fight against cancer in Wisconsin. Once again this April, Bo and Kelly Ryan of Wisconsin, Rob and Deanna Jeter of UWM, Luke and Meredith Reigel of UW-Parkside, Paul and Michelle Combs of UW-Platteville and Todd and Jennie Adrian of Edgewood will co-host the gala.

• At The Top Of The Horizon
UWM's 10-6 record in league play has added to a tremendous run of success the Panthers have enjoyed in Horizon League play. In fact, since the 2001-02 season, UWM has the second-most league wins among league schools and sits right behind Butler as play enters the final week of the regular season. Those two schools have also combined to win or share the last seven league regular season titles. The league standings since 2001-02:

Butler 94-36
Milwaukee 88-42
Wright State 74-56
UIC 70-61
Green Bay 65-65
Loyola 60-71
Detroit 58-72
Cleveland State 46-84
Youngstown State 35-95
Valparaiso 13-21

• Last Time Out
Mike Nelson scored 22 points and North Dakota State shot 52.5 percent from the field en route to a 77-69 win over UWM Saturday night in an ESPNU BracketBusters contest. The senior-laden Bison built a 13-point lead early in the second half and then never let the Panthers get closer than five from there. Milwaukee landed five players in double figures, with James Eayrs and Ricky Franklin leading the way with 14 points apiece. The Panthers also committed just five turnovers and had 17 offensive rebounds. But, UWM shot just 36.8 percent from the field and was just 6-of-29 from three-point range.

• Big Guy Is A Starter
James Eayrs has been a solid performer for the Panthers all season long but now he is making a major impact from the starting lineup. He found his outside shooting touch in Wednesday's win over Butler, knocking in four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 15 points. Then, in spite of struggling from the floor, he still found a way to post 14 points and 12 rebounds Saturday against North Dakota State. He is now averaging 17.8 points and 8.6 rebounds as a starter. He also has a total of 15 double-figure efforts this season, including three outings of 20 or more points. And, he now has three double-doubles. Eayrs earned Horizon League Player of the Week honors in mid-January and now has his overall scoring tally up to 10.8 points per game. In league contests only, Eayrs is averaging 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

• Proving A Point
Ricky Franklin has bounced back from a stretch of below-average outings to put together a good run of games. In fact, in three games from Jan. 17-24, Franklin averaged 1.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest. But, in his last four games, Franklin is averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor overall. He has also made 11 of his last 21 three-pointers and has just three turnovers in those four games. On the season, he is fourth on the team in scoring at 8.0 ppg.

• Handle With Care
After committing a total of 38 turnovers in games against Valparaiso and Butler in late January, the Panthers have done a much better job of protecting the ball. In fact, Milwaukee had just five turnovers in its loss to North Dakota State Saturday, its fewest turnovers since committing just four against Butler in December of 2006. UWM is averaging just 10.6 turnovers per contest over its last seven games and has been under 10 turnovers in a game twice in that span.

• Extra Support
After starting the first 10 games of the season, Deonte Roberts took some time to adjust to a role off the bench. But of late, the sophomore has been making regular contributions in his role as a reserve. In fact, he averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game this past week and has had seven or more points in seven of the last 10 games in which he has played. He has pushed his season scoring average back up to 6.1 points per game and he is shooting a solid 49 percent from the floor.

• Gutting It Out
Tone Boyle missed the Feb. 12 game at Cleveland State, but the junior has been doing his best to be on the floor since then. He actually played all 40 minutes at Youngstown State two days later, scoring 12 points. Then last Wednesday against Butler, Boyle scored just three points, breaking a string of 14-straight double-figure outings and a streak of 20-straight games with a three-pointer. But, he bounced back with 10 points Saturday and still leads the team at 14.2 points per game while knocking in a team-high 60 three-pointers.

• Offensive Highlights
In spite of a run of less-than-stellar offensive outings in late January, the Panthers had actually put together a very solid season on the offensive end. Milwaukee shot 60 percent from the field performance in the Nov. 19 win over Upper Iowa, making 30-of-50 from the field. The shooting mark is the fourth-best in Milwaukee's Division I history. It was also the best since the Panthers shot 60.6 percent from the floor against Prairie View A&M in the 2004-05 season opener. UWM also shot 51.8 percent twice this season, including in a win at Loyola. And, all in all, the Panthers have been putting up enough points to win. UWM is 11-2 when shooting at least 40 percent from the field and 10-2 in games when it scores at least 70 points. Milwaukee's 86 points in the win over Bradley Dec. 20 marked the second-highest offensive output of the season (87 vs. Upper Iowa) and, with another 80-point performance Jan. 3 at Loyola, UWM has now scored 80 or more points five times after doing it just three times all of last season and just once in 2006-07.

• Lots Of Threes
UWM has been quite effective from three-point range this season. The Panthers made six 3-pointers in the loss to North Dakota State Saturday and have made 10 or more three-pointers eight times this year. This comes after Milwaukee had reached double figures from beyond the arc just eight times combined over the last two seasons. Earlier this season, UWM reached double digits in three-pointers made in three-straight games, a first since it did it four-straight times at the end of the 2004-05 season. Overall, UWM is shooting 33.6 percent from three-point range, having made 57 more three-pointers than its opponents.

• Comeback Kids
UWM has put together a pair of incredible comebacks this season. Jan. 31 against UIC, the Panthers overcame an 18-point first-half deficit and a 10-point deficit with 1:27 to play to claim a 63-62 win. The game-winning shot came from senior Deion James and was his only made field goal all night. The final surge in the comeback included a total of four 3-pointers, with two others coming from Tone Boyle and one coming from Tony Meier. That was actually the second-largest deficit the Panthers have overcome this season, as Milwaukee rebounded from a 24-point deficit to beat Cal Davis on the first weekend of the season. That comeback set a school record.

• Other Notables
UWM has outrebounded its opponent in 11 of the last 12 games ... the Panthers had been outrebounded in 10 of the first 15 games of the season ... Milwaukee had a school-record 59 total rebounds against Loyola Jan. 28, collecting 34 offensive boards and posting a plus-36 rebounding margin ... Milwaukee is 11-3 at home this season and is now 63-23 in regular season and postseason contests at The Cell since its return in 2002-03 ... if you combine games at both the Klotsche Center and The Cell, UWM is 65-15 in regular season Horizon League home contests over the last 10 seasons ... UWM has had 18 double-figure point outings from its bench this season, including four 20-point efforts ... Deonte Roberts had 11 points off the bench Saturday ... Milwaukee has now had four different players record at least one 20-point outing ... the Panthers have also had eight different players record at least two double-figure scoring outings this season ... against Green Bay Jan. 9, Milwaukee made all 20 of its free-throw attempts, setting a new league record ... Tone Boyle has played every minute of six games this season, including the overtime game with Green Bay Jan. 9 ... Avery Smith also played every minute of that game, while Ricky Franklin played all 40 minutes at UIC.

• Up Next
UWM wraps up the regular season at Detroit Saturday. The 3 p.m. game can be seen live on Time Warner Cable Sports 32.