Tone Boyle
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Panthers Return To Action, Host Bradley Saturday
UWM looks to go back above .500 overall
Dec. 18, 2008
Game #11 - Bradley (5-4) @ Milwaukee (5-5, 2-0 Horizon)
Sat. Dec. 20 • 7 pm
U.S. Cellular Arena • Milwaukee, Wis.
Printable Game Notes
The Short List
• UWM returns to the U.S. Cellular Arena for a non-league contest with Bradley.
• The game is a return contest for last season's BracketBusters game in Peoria.
• Milwaukee is back in game action after taking the last week off for final exams.
• The Panthers' last outing was a 69-45 loss at Miami (Ohio) Dec. 11. UWM was held to season-lows for points and shooting percentage (32.1).
• Tone Boyle continues to lead Milwaukee in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game.
• Bradley is 5-4 this season and has split its two games against Horizon League foes. The Braves have an early-season win over UIC but fell to Butler last week.
• UWM has dropped nine-straight contests against Missouri Valley Conference foes.
On The Air
Saturday's game will air live on WISN (AM 1130), with Bill Johnson on the call. Pregame coverage starts at 6:45 p.m. The game is followed by Panthers' Postgame on WISN, live from Major Goolsby's across from the U.S. Cellular Arena. Video of the game is also on the Horizon League Network, plus Bradley will be televising the game back to central Illinois.
Ticket Time
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. Prices are $20, $15 and $10. UWM students are admitted free with a valid student ID.
• Game #11
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team returns to the U.S. Cellular Arena for a non-league contest with Bradley Saturday night.
• Some Matchup History
UWM and Bradley will be meeting Saturday in a return contest from last season's BracketBusters matchup in Peoria. Prior to the two schools being paired for the event, it had been 35 years since the Panthers and Braves had met in men's basketball. With the win last season, Bradley is now 2-1 all-time against UWM, with a BU win in 1965 and a UWM win in 1972. The two schools will be meeting in Milwaukee for the first time ever.
• Peaks And Valleys
UWM will be getting its first crack of the season at a Missouri Valley Conference foe, with a second matchup still possible in this season's BracketBusters event. The Panthers dropped three contests against Valley teams last season, losing to Northern Iowa, Drake and Bradley. In fact, UWM enters Saturday's contest hoping to break a nine-game losing streak against teams from the MVC, a slide that dates back to the 2002-03 season. That year, UWM claimed early-season wins over Indiana State and Missouri State before falling at Southern Illinois.
• BracketBusters Part Deux
One of the biggest positives of the BracketBuster event comes in the form of a typically attractive return matchup on the non-league schedule the following season. UWM has gone 2-3 in those BracketBuster return games to date. The Panthers have lost home games to Southern Illinois and Drake along with a road game to Missouri State. Milwaukee's return-game victories have come at Manhattan in 2004-05 and at home against Hawai'i early in the 2005-06 season.
• Playing In Peoria
Bradley used a balanced offensive attack and a strong, second-half surge to claim an 84-72 win over Milwaukee in the matchup between the two teams last season. The Panthers were within three points with 14 minutes to play but a 24-10 run over the next six minutes put the Braves in control. Bradley shot 53.7 percent for the game, including 60 percent from the field in the second half. Meanwhile, UWM shot 40 percent from the field and never truly recovered from an extended scorless stretch in the first half. The game kicked off a stretch of four games in eight days for the Panthers, who wound up using their reserves liberally down the stretch. In fact, Charlie Swiggett wound up leading Milwaukee in scoring with 13 points while Anthony Hill added nine points in the final eight minutes.
• A Break In The Action
Milwaukee is right in the middle of a very quiet stretch when it comes to game action. The Panthers have had this past week off because of final exams, which wrapped up Friday on the UWM campus. Saturday's game will be UWM's first since the loss at Miami (Ohio) Dec. 11. Then, after this game, the Panthers will take an extended break for the Christmas holiday, with the next game on tap set for Dec. 30 at UIC. The Panthers are planning to return to practice Dec. 26. The schedule does get much busier very quickly, as from Jan. 3-Jan. 17 UWM will play six games.
• On The Homefront
UWM will be playing its fifth regular season home game of the season when Bradley visits the U.S. Cellular Arena. The Panthers are now 55-21 in regular season and postseason contests at The Cell since their return in 2002-03. If you combine games at both the Klotsche Center and the U.S. Cellular Arena, UWM is 59-14 in regular season Horizon League home contests over the last nine seasons.
• Another Good Test
Saturday's game with Bradley marks the fourth game this season UWM is playing against a team that played in the postseason a year ago. The Panthers have suffered losses to Marquette, Wisconsin and Miami (Ohio) so far this season. In all, UWM will play 10 games against postseason qualifiers.
• Last Time Out
Michael Bramos scored 26 points and Miami (Ohio) limited UWM to just 32.1 percent shooting from the field in claiming a 69-45 win Dec. 11 at Millett Hall. The RedHawks used a 23-4 run to build a 35-17 lead and take control of the game by halftime. Tone Boyle, Avery Smith and Charlie Swiggett each scored eight points apiece for Milwaukee, which was held to season-lows for points and shooting percentage. UWM could never get its best shooters on track offensively, as Boyle hit on just 3-of-11 from the field while Tony Meier made just 1-of-8.
• Rough Night For The `O'
UWM could never get on track offensively in the loss Dec. 11 at Miami (Ohio). The Panthers shot a season-low 32.1 percent from the field while scoring a season-low 45 points. UWM had just 17 points at halftime and did not see a player reach double figures in points for the first time this season.
• At The Top Of The Horizon
UWM's 2-0 start 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 just three league wins behind Butler. Those two schools have also combined to win or share the last seven league regular season titles. The league standings starting in 2001-02:
Butler 83-33
Milwaukee 80-36
UIC 65-50
Wright State 64-52
Detroit 56-60
Green Bay 55-61
Loyola 54-61
Cleveland State 36-80
Youngstown State 28-88
Valparaiso 9-9
• Nice Start In The League
With the addition of Valparaiso to the Horizon League prior to last season, the league schedule gets off to an early start. This year, the Panthers took advantage of that early start to claim a pair of league victories and become one of three 2-0 league squads. UWM knocked off Detroit in the league opener Dec. 4 and then beat Wright State two days later. It is UWM's first 2-0 start in league play since the 2005-06 season. UWM's best-ever league start came in 2003-04, when Milwaukee won its first 10 league contests. Overall, UWM collected its fifth win on Dec. 6. Last season it took until Dec. 29 for the Panthers to get a fifth victory, while in 2006-07 the fifth win didn't come until Jan. 11. The Panthers still have one more league game to play in December, with a contest at UIC slated for Dec. 30.
• Shooting Arrow Pointing Up
In spite of its poor shooting effort last Thursday at Miami, UWM is starting to show a little consistency when it comes to shooting from the field. While the Panthers' numbers are far from spectacular overall, UWM still stands third in the league in field goal shooting, making shots at a 41.7 percent clip. The Panthers shot a stellar 60 percent from the field 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. Milwaukee also shot 51.8 percent against Cal Davis Nov. 15, which at that point was the best by the Panthers since a 56.8 percent effort vs. Youngstown State in February of 2006.
• Defense Holds The Key
An improved offense by the Panthers has been nice, but thus far the key to victory for UWM has come on the defensive end. In Milwaukee's five victories, opponents have shot just 38 percent from the field and averaged just 61.2 points per game. But, in UWM's five losses, opponents are shooting better than 47 percent from the field and averaging more than 79 points per game.
• A Charity Case
Another positive development on offense for the Panthers during the early season has come at the foul line. Not only is UWM getting there on a regular basis, but the Panthers are taking advantage of their opportunities. Milwaukee is averaging more than 21 free-throw attempts per game while converting 71.6 percent of its opportunities. The 37 attempts Dec. 4 against Detroit were a season-high and the most since UWM attempted 41 against Cleveland State Jan. 26 of last season.
• The Bench Is Bringing It
UWM's bench continues to make its mark. The Panthers have already had a pair of bench players reach double figures in the same game twice this season. Avery Smith and James Eayrs did it against Upper Iowa while Eayrs and Deion James did it in the season-opening win over Loyola Marymount. Some of the best outings by the bench this season include a 45-point effort against Upper Iowa and a 38-point outing against Marquette.
• Plenty Of Contributions
The Panthers have now had eight different players record a double-figure point outing already this season, while Tone Boyle (3) and Avery Smith (2) have combined for five 20-point efforts. Boyle has reached double-figures six times in his first 10 games while freshman Tony Meier has been in double digits four times. Smith, Ricky Franklin, Anthony Hill and James Eayrs have done it three times overall while Deion James has done it twice this season. Five players are averaging at least 7.7 points per game with two more at just under seven points per contest.
• Big Games From Big James
Junior James Eayrs has made his presence known of late. He scored seven points and added five rebounds off the bench in the loss at Miami. That performance came on the heels of a pair of strong games in league play. In the contest against Detroit, Eayrs scored all nine of his points in the second half. In fact, seven of the nine came in the final 2:52 of the game. Then against Wright State, Eayrs scored 14 points, making 4-of-4 from three-point range. One of his threes came with just 1:08 left and gave UWM a six-point lead and control of the game. Eayrs has trimmed himself from 340 pounds early in the preseason to 310 pounds as the league schedule got underway. He is averaging 6.7 points per game off the bench.
• Long-Range Bombers
UWM continues to show off its improved shooting abilities from long range. In fact, the Panthers made 16-of-33 (48.5 percent) from three-point range in its first two league wins. As a team, the Panthers are third in the league in three-point field goals made (6.9) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (35.2). Individually, Tony Meier is fourth (45.7%) and James Eayrs sixth (42.3%) in three-point field goal shooting while Tone Boyle is fourth (1.9) and Meier (1.8) fifth in three-point field goals made. Last season, UWM shot just 30.7 from three-point range, while the Panthers shot just 32.6 percent from beyond the arc two seasons ago.
• Stat-Stuffer
Avery Smith may not have had his best shooting touch of late but he continues to find a number of other ways to contribute. Over the last three games, Smith is averaging 7.3 points, 5.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds per contest. He has done his fair-share of scoring earlier this season, recording back-to-back 22-point outings against Upper Iowa Nov. 19 and Marquette Nov. 22. Smith hadn't played in a regular season game in 20 months when he took the floor Nov. 16 against Iowa State. He was dismissed from the squad last November and then slowly worked his way back onto the team. He did appear in a closed-door scrimmage with IUPUI last season, meaning he had to appeal to the NCAA to restore his eligibility for this - technically a fifth - season. The NCAA did oblige, instituting a two-game penalty for Smith, which he served during the first two regular season games. Smith was the Panthers' leading scorer in 2006-07, averaging 15.5 points per game. He then was a preseason all-league selection last year before being dismissed.
• Mega-Meier
Despite a battle with the flu during the early season, the Panthers are getting plenty out of true freshman starter Tony Meier. Meier reached double figures for the fourth time on offense this season when he scored 10 points in the win over Wright State. This came on the heels of what was almost his second double-double of the season against Detroit, when he had nine points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocks. He made quite the debut Nov. 14 in the win over Loyola Marymount, collecting 14 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. He became the first true freshman to record a double-double in his first appearance as a Panther in UWM's Division I history. Adrian Tigert had a double-double in his fifth game as a true freshman in 2001-02.
• Comeback Kids
One of the most memorable games in recent Panther history came Nov. 15, as UWM rallied from a 24-point halftime deficit to beat Cal Davis, 81-75. The Panthers actually outscored the Aggies, 54-24, in the second 20 minutes, after trailing 51-27 at the break. The comeback is the largest in UWM's Division I history, besting the comeback from a 21-point second-half deficit against Virginia Tech in December of 2001. Last season, the Panthers actually made a pretty good habit of recording comeback victories, rallying from double-digits down to win four times last year.
• Honorable Performances
Guards Tone Boyle and Ricky Franklin each put together strong performances at the World Vision Classic to open the season, with both players earning spots on the all-tournament team. Boyle scored 20 points in his debut and wound up averaging 16.3 points per game in the three contests. Meanwhile, Franklin averaged 12.3 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds over the three games.
• Laying In The Weeds
UWM is hoping to surprise the field in the Horizon League during the 2008-09 season. The Panthers were picked to finish sixth in the league, according to a poll of coaches, SIDs and media members. Cleveland State, last season's regular season and tournament runner-up, was picked to win the league crown. Wright State was picked second with UIC third and Green Bay fourth. A number of other publications have also published their preseason picks for the Horizon League. UWM was actually picked eighth in three different publications, with The Sporting News, Lindy's and Athlon Sports all selecting the Panthers in that position.
• On The Air
UWM has again put together an extensive television and radio package for the 2008-09 men's basketball season. On the television side, Panther games will air on Time Warner Cable Sports 32 for the second-straight season. At least 10 games will be a part of the package, with most of those broadcasts also available nationally on ESPN Full Court and ESPN360. UWM also has an ESPNU appearance slated for Jan. 9 when the Panthers host Green Bay. On the radio side, UWM games are back on WISN (AM 1130) for a second-straight season. Home games also include a live postgame show from Major Goolsby's in downtown Milwaukee on WISN. WISN also airs "Rob Jeter on Basketball" Mondays from 6-7 p.m.
• Up Next
The Panthers play at UIC Dec. 30.
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