Off to the best 10-game start to a season in seven years at 7-3, the Milwaukee men’s basketball team looks to keep things rolling with a road trip to take on Chattanooga Tuesday evening. The matchup with the Mocs – a team that won 27 games and played in the NCAA Tournament last season – is set to tip off at 6 p.m. CST on ESPN+ and will have live statistics available. It will also feature the “Educators Credit Union Milwaukee Panther Men’s Basketball Radio Broadcast”, which airs on 101.7 FM The Truth and streaming services. Scott Warras is on the call for his seventh season as the voice of the Panthers and all links are posted on the MKE website.
LOOKING AT THE MOCS
Chattanooga went 27-8 a season ago, appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history and first since 2016. The Mocs earned the Southern Conference’s automatic bid after defeating Furman on a three-pointer at the buzzer in a 64-63 overtime thriller.
Dan Earl was named the 22nd head coach in program history this offseason, coming to UTC following seven years at VMI. The team was selected second in the preseason media poll behind Furman, as well as fourth in the coaches poll. Graduate transfer Jake Stephens was tabbed as the SoCon Preseason Player of the Year, following four seasons at VMI. He finished second in the league a year ago at 19.6 ppg.
The team is off to a 5-3 start this winter, running its current win streak to three with an 82-71 victory over Gardner-Webb Saturday. Stephens has been dominant, putting up per-game totals of 21.0 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the floor and 50 percent (18-of-36) from long range. Jamal Johnson is also in double-figures at 10.4 ppg.
SERIES HISTORY
The teams will be playing for the first time in over 30 years, with the all-time series tied at 1-1. Both of those games came in the early 1990’s, with MKE taking a 72-69 victory in November of 1990 at home and the Mocs winning, 85-80, on their home court the following season.
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee used a strong first-half performance and eventually led by as many as 19 points before claiming a 74-61 victory over IUPUI Saturday night at UWM Panther Arena. The Panthers (7-3, 2-0 Horizon League) hit eight three-pointers and shot 52 percent in the opening period to take a 46-33 lead at the break over the Jaguars (1-7, 0-1 Horizon League) and have now won five games in a row overall.
The 7-3 record though 10 games marks the best 10-game start for Milwaukee since a 7-3 ledger to open the 2015-16 campaign.
Kentrell Pullian led the way with an 18-point night, adding three rebounds and a pair of steals.
Markeith Browning II added 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Justin Thomas joined them in double-figures with 11, chipping in six assists and three steals. Ahmad Rand played big again, finishing with a line of 8 points/6 rebounds/5 blocks on the evening.
CHECK THAT START
After defeating IUPUI, Milwaukee has now won five in a row overall and is 7-3 through 10 games for the first time in seven years. The team will look to move to 8-3 through 11 games for the first time since that same start in 2015-16. MKE has won five consecutive games in the same season for the first time since the end of the 2013-14 campaign, when the Panthers topped Detroit in the regular-season finale and then won four straight games in the Horizon League Tournament to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Technically, the program did record seven straight wins more recently, but it consisted of four straight to end the 2014-15 season before adding three more to it to begin the 2015-16 slate. Also, the recent win over the Phoenix was the fifth in a row in the all-time series against GB, the longest streak for the Panthers in the battle between the two state schools that dates back to 1993 (over 70 games).
LEAGUE LIFTOFF
Milwaukee broke a recent skid in Horizon League openers two years ago, topping Green Bay (68-65) after having dropped the initial game of the conference slate each of the prior six occasions, dating back to an 82-76 victory over Youngstown State in 2013-14. Since joining the MCC/Horizon League, Milwaukee is now 15-14 in league openers following the impressive victory over GB this season.
BROWNING BREAKOUT
Markeith Browning II has been enjoying the beginnings of a breakout season for the Panthers. A year ago, Browning saw action in 14 games, scoring in double-figures on three occasions. This year he has already scored in double-figures on five occasions, tying his NCAA career-best of 12 points four times in the past five contests. In that five-game stretch (four starts), he is shooting 58.8 percent (20-of-34) from the field and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from three-point range while averaging 11.8 ppg.
GET THAT SHOT OUTTA HERE!
With Ahmad Rand and Moses Bol leading the way, the MKE defense has been very impressive with its shot-blocking ability. Rand leads the Horizon League – and stands seventh in the nation – with 25 total blocks (2.5 bpg) and has blocked four-plus shots in back-to-back-back outings against Green Bay (4), SEMO (4), and IUPUI (5). Bol is sixth in the conference at 0.9 bpg, while Jalen Johnson is 13th with 0.7 per night. The team total of 60 is nearly double the second-best in the conference (YSU has 34) and is on an early pace to easily set a new school record, which is currently the 125 rejections by the 2017-18 squad. The Panthers head into play Tuesday ranked 11th in the nation in blocks per game at 6.0.
JT HITS ‘THE SHOT”
Justin Thomas added to the list of the most memorable finishes in school history against UC Davis Nov. 26, hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Panthers the improbable 87-85 victory. The video of the play has garnered over 660,000 impressions and almost 160,000 views on Twitter and was named one of ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of the Day on SportsCenter, checking in at No. 3. Two days later, Thomas became the first Panther to record a double-double this season, helping MKE to a win over SEMO with a 19-point/13 rebound performance.
KP LEADS THE BENCH BRIGADE
Kentrell Pullian led the way with a huge outing, scoring a team-high 20 points off the bench in the win over UC Davis Nov. 26. It marked the first 20-plus point outing off the bench for a Panther since Josh Thomas scored 22 against Oakland Jan. 20 of last season and was part of a huge effort in the scoring column by the MKE bench. Pullian’s 20 points was over 1/3 of the 59 total bench points, as Elijah Jamison (13) and Markeith Browning II (12) were also in double-figures. It’s been a common theme for the deep MKE lineup this season, also seeing 56 points off the bench against Cardinal Stritch and 43 against MSOE. In fact, the 59 marks the most since the Panthers had 60 by the non-starters in a 125-74 victory over Judson back on December 13, 2015. This season, the team currently checks in at No. 12 in the NCAA in bench points, averaging 34.6 ppg (Sam Houston leads with 43.1 ppg).
SCORING UP AND DOWN THE LINEUP
The Panthers have seen great balance in the scoring all season long and had five players in double-figures against Green Bay Dec. 1. That was the sixth different time this season that MKE has seen at least four players crack the double-digit column and the team is now 5-1 in such games. Against the Phoenix, it was Keon Edwards reaching the level for the first time this season, finishing with a career-best 10 points in just 10:30 of playing time, connecting on a pair of 3’s along the way. The team has seen nine different players score in double-figures already this season, as well as five different players lead the way in scoring.
THE ROAD TO 1,000
Jalen Johnson joined the Panthers with quite an extensive career at the NCAA Division I level under his belt at Alabama A&M in which he was named a BoxToRow All-American in each of his final two seasons. He averaged 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last winter and started the season with 893 career points (now at 974 heading into the Chattanooga game). Once he gets to 1,000, he would be the 29th player in program history to do so wearing a Panther uniform, while also joining Te’Jon Lucas (2/19/20) and Jake Wright (final game of 2018-19 campaign) as the third consecutive to have reached the mark while not spending most of his career at Milwaukee. The most recent to hit the mark in MKE-only games was Matt Tiby in 2016, finishing with 1,332 points (in three seasons).
NOT RAND-DOM AT ALL
Ahmad Rand has already proven he can put the ball in the hoop at a very high level. Against St. Thomas Nov. 23, Rand led the team with 18 points and 8 rebounds, setting a new NCAA DI-scoring high, topping the 15 he scored against Samford in November of 2021. What was even more impressive is the fact that he did not miss – finishing 9-for-9 from the field. That marked the most makes without a miss in program history, finishing one make (minimum is 10 makes for the category) of the highest single-game field goal percentage in program history as well. That record is currently .846 (10-13), a mark held by Adrian Tigert (2006) and Dylan Page (2003). Through 10 games, Rand has had four perfect outings (7-7 vs. MSOE, 5-5 vs. Purdue, 2-2 vs. Cardinal Stritch, 9-9 vs. St, Thomas), and is currently making 74.1 percent (40-of-54) of his shots from the field so far this season. For perspective, the school record for field goal percentage in a season is .664, set by Brett Prahl (99-of-149) in 2016-17.
KEEPING THE TERRIERS DOWN
Milwaukee continues to lock things down on defense this season and put together of the best efforts in school history to claim a 67-46 victory over Boston U. Nov. 27. The Panthers raced out to a 24-3 lead over the Terriers and never looked back, holding the visitors to a near-school record 13 points in the first half as well as limiting them to 25 percent from the floor overall.
The scoreboard read 32-13 at intermission, with only a BU 3-pointer with 10 seconds left keeping Milwaukee away from a new school record for first-half fewest points allowed. The record of 11 was set back in 2000 (vs. Mount Senario, 12/27/00) and the total of 13 ties for the third-fewest in school history. The 25.9 percent (15-of-58) FG shooting by BU checked in as the fifth-lowest shooting percentage for an opponent in school history.
A FIRST IMPRESSION WITH PUNCH
Bart Lundy earned a big victory in his first game as head coach against MSOE Nov. 7 and did it in impressive fashion historically. The 56-point margin of victory went down as the third-highest in the record book all-time as well as the biggest since a 51-point victory over Judson in December of 2015 (125-74). Lundy then topped that just two games later with a 74-point win against Cardinal Stritch Nov. 12 and now already owns two of the top four largest victories in program history.
+79 Mount Senario (100-21) 12/27/00
+74 Cardinal Stritch (112-38) 11/12/22
+62 Prairie View A&M (117-55) 11/20/04
+56 MSOE (102-46) 11/7/22
HOW-WELL? … VERY
Zach Howell put in a solid 14 minutes of work on the court against Iowa State Nov. 20, connecting on a couple of late 3’s to help get the Panthers back within striking distance. The eight points marked a season-best for the freshmen sharpshooter. He also came up with four steals – his second consecutive game of four.
THE BAKER IS A THIEF
Vin Baker Jr. accomplished something against Cardinal Stritch that hadn’t been done in a span of 66 games … and he did it in just 12 minutes and 47 seconds of playing time. Baker pulled off five steals to set a new career-high – topping his former best of two – marking the first time a Panther had at least five steals in a single game since Darius Roy pulled off six against Cleveland State back in January of 2020 (the school record is eight).
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
Not only did the MKE offense put up 100+ points for the second time in four games this season against Cardinal Stritch Nov. 12, but the defense put up a historical performance on Homecoming as well. It had been 179 games since the team last allowed under 40 points to an opponent, dating back to the 37 scored by UC Irvine back in November of 2016.
The 38 allowed to the Wolves goes down as a tie for the third-fewest all-time.
21 vs. Mount Senario, 12/27/2000
37 vs. UC Irvine, 11/26/2016
38 vs. Cardinal Stritch, 11/12/22
38 vs. Wright State, 1/12/12
38 vs. Texas Southern, 11/20/11
The defense came to play, limiting the Wolves to 21.9 percent (14-of-64) from the floor, the lowest mark since the school record was set in 2000.
.189 (7-37) vs. Mount Senario, 12/27/2000
.215 (14-65) vs. UIC, 2/17/96
.219 (14-64) vs. Cardinal Stritch, 11/12/22
TOP OF THE CHARTS
The new-look Panthers have been fun to watch, throwing down dunks with regularity and topping the 100-point barrier twice in the first four games. The 112 points scored against Cardinal Stritch Nov. 12 mark a tie for the fourth-most points scored in a game in MKE’s NCAA Division I history.
125 vs. Judson, 12/13/15
117 vs. Prairie View A&M, 11/20/04
116 vs. Illinois, 12/3/90
112 vs. Northeastern Illinois, 2/2/91
112 vs. Cardinal Stritch, 11/12/22
The game also featured a trio of other entries into the record book. The 41 made field goals finished tied for fourth (record is 47), 55 rebounds was tied for fifth (record is 59), and 17 steals was tied for seventh (mark is 22).
A PERFECT NIGHT
Jalen Johnson put up one of the best statistical nights any Panther has had in some time against Cardinal Stritch Nov. 12, wrapping up the evening with a season-high 17 points. More impressively … he did not miss a shot – making all eight of his field goals as well as a 1-for-1 showing from the line. He would have needed two more makes (10 is the minimum) to qualify for the school record for a single game, which currently sits at .846 (11-of-13), done twice (Adrian Tigert vs. Florida in 2006 and Dylan Page back in 2003 vs. Loyola).
STUART STEPPING UP
It didn’t take Angelo Stuart long to make a great impression with the Panthers, leading the way with 24 points in the 102-46 blowout of MSOE in the season opener Nov. 7. He hit 8-of-11 shots on the night, sinking five 3’s while adding 5 assists. His 24 points were the most for a Panther in a season opener since Paige Paulsen went for 27 in the opener against Radford in 2006-07.
SPREAD THE WEALTH
Not only did the team break past the 100-point barrier in regulation for the first time since November 12, 2019 (a span of 82 games), but the entire lineup chipped in, with 14 players seeing action and 11 of that total seeing 10-plus minutes on the court. The team made 38 field goals and assisted on 26 of them, marking a tie for the fifth-most assists in a game in school history.
32 Judson 12/13/15
32 Prairie View A&M 11/20/04
29 Mount Senario 12/27/00
28 Cleveland State 2/28/04
26 five times total, including vs. MSOE
OFFENSIVE FIRE
The Panthers were consistent each half against MSOE in the opener Nov. 7, hitting on 63.3 percent in the first half and then 59.4 percent in the second half to finish at 61.3 percent (38-of-62) on the night. That field-goal percentage checks in as the 10th-best in program history.
.678 (40-59) Cleveland State 2/8/96
.650 (26-40) UMKC 11/30/13
.639 (39-61) Chicago State 1/19/91
.628 (27-43) South Dakota St. 12/11/10
.627 (47-75) Judson 12/13/15
.625 (30-48) La Crosse 11/10/17
.623 (33-53) IUPUI 1/15/22
.622 (24-45) Youngstown State 1/14/15
.617 (29-47) DePaul 12/5/11
.613 (38-62) MSOE 11/7/22
MORE RECORD BOOK ENTRIES
A look through the record book shows just how impressive the 102-46 victory over the Raiders in the season opener was Nov. 7, adding entries with its nine blocks and +24 rebound margin in addition to the FG% and assists marks. The nine blocks mark a tie for fourth place in a single game all-time:
14 Northern Kentucky 1/4/16
11 Illinois Tech 11/24/95
10 San Diego 12/23/00
9 now 7 times, including MSOE 11/7/22 and St. Thomas 11/23/22
The +24 rebound margin (44-20) now sits in a tie for sixth place.
+36 Loyola 1/28/09
+28 Judson 12/13/15
+28 Wright State 1/20/15
+25 Wright State 2/27/03
+25 Chicago State 3/2/94
+24 MSOE 11/7/22
AND WE’RE OFF
A couple of different looks to the season opener, which saw Milwaukee playing its opening game of the season at home for just the fourth time in the past 10 years. The team is now 20-13 in season openers since returning to the NCAA Division I ranks full-time in 1990-91, which includes the 75-60 victory at North Dakota to start the 2021-22 campaign as well as the big win over MSOE this season. In all, the team is 27-6 in that same span in home openers (while 14-1 in season openers at home), claiming wins in 20 of the past 23 (13 in a row at one point). Also, the Panthers have not lost the season opener when it was played at home since dropping an 80-79 decision to Platteville in November of 1994 (have won the previous 14 in that scenario).
ROSTER UPDATE
Jordan Ratliffe, a redshirt senior who comes to the Panthers after earning multiple postseason honors in three years at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, including First-Team Conference Carolinas All-Conference following the 2021-22 campaign, will unfortunately miss the 2022-23 season due to a knee injury that happened prior to the start of the season.
THERE WILL BE SHOES TO FILL
With such a large list of players having moved on due to graduation and transfer, Milwaukee will be among the teams with the biggest need for newcomers to step into large roles across the entire country.
Milwaukee returns just 11.8 percent of total points from last season, as Vin Baker Jr. (139/5.1 ppg), Markeith Browning (62/4.4 ppg), and Moses Bol (43/1.7 ppg) accounted for just 244 of the 2,073 points the offense accumulated last season, a cumulative average of 11.2 ppg combined.
For rebounds, the number is 17.5 percent returning, with Bol (87), Baker Jr. (86), and Browning (28) grabbing 201 of the 1,149 rebounds overall.
Lastly, will be the experience factor, as Baker Jr. (11), Bol (4), and Browning (0), accounted for just 15 of the 160 total starts that the lineup consisted of during the 32-game season.
Fewest Returning Points Per Game in NCAA
9.1 IUPUI
9.1 West Virginia
11.0 Monmouth
11.2 Milwaukee
12.0 Tennessee Tech
15.4 Southern Mississippi
17.3 Ohio State
17.7 UTRGV
18.4 Northwestern State
19.0 Texas-Arlington
19.9 Illinois State
20.7 South Alabama
24.9 Iowa State
ROSTER OVERHAUL
The Panthers will enter the 2022-23 season with very few familiar faces from a year ago, as the only four returning players include Vin Baker Jr., Markeith Browning, Moses Bol, and Vincent Miszkiewicz. Baker Jr. is the most experienced player in an MKE uniform, having played in 27 games a season ago. Miszkiewicz has technically not yet played for Milwaukee after sitting out last season due to transfer regulations.
The roster includes 13 total newcomers, with a wide variety of backgrounds.
True Freshman (4): Zach Howell, Elijah Jamison, Vinko Polovic, Brian Taylor II
Redshirt Sophomores (2): Markeith Browning II, Vincent Miszkiewicz
Sophomores (4, all transfers): Keon Edwards, BJ Freeman, Kentrell Pullian, Justin Thomas
Redshirt Juniors (2, both transfers): Angelo Stuart, Jalen Johnson
Juniors (1): Dominic Ham
Redshirt Seniors (2): Vin Baker, Jr., Jordan Ratliffe
Seniors (1): Ahmad Rand
Grad Students (1): Moses Bol
LUNDY’S LINE
Head coach Bart Lundy brings an extensive background of success to the Panthers, which includes an impressive run through the postseason that extends many years and a pair of trips to the NCAA DII Final Four in his career. A look back at his past seven seasons reveals the gaudy numbers that were posted.
2021-22: 30-4 overall, 2-1 in NCAA Tournament
2020-21: 16-6 overall, 0-1 in NCAA Tournament
2019-20: 24-7 overall, NCAA’s cancelled
2018-19: 31-5 overall, 3-1 in NCAA Tournament
2017-18: 32-4 overall, 1-1 in NCAA Tournament
2016-17: 30-4 overall, 2-1 in NCAA Tournament
2015-16: 25-7 overall, 1-1 in NCAA Tournament
Lundy enters season No. 21 of his collegiate career with an overall mark of 429-190, a .693 winning percentage.
LOOK AT THAT RESUME
Lundy brings an impressive career resume, most impressively over the past six seasons where he has earned 30-plus victories in four of them while registering a 163-30 mark (.845 winning percentage) in that stretch. His run of three consecutive seasons of 30-or-more victories from 2016 to 2019 (32/30/31) was matched only by Gonzaga across all NCAA levels in that timeframe.
The Royals reached the NCAA Division II Final Four in 2017-18 and the Elite Eight again in 2018-19, as well as advancing to the Sweet 16 on two occasions (2017/2022). Lundy had his team as the top seed in the tournament in 2017 and 2019 and the No. 2 seed in 2019, 2020, and 2022. His overall record in the NCAA Tournament is an impressive 13-6.
AMAZING AHMAD
One of the newcomers to the MKE roster, senior Ahmad Rand, has quite the resume when it comes to shot blocking. Listed at 6-8, he finished eighth in the Pac-12 in blocked shots per game (1.14) last year while appearing in 29 games for Oregon State (33 total blocks). Rand spent his first two years at USC Salkehatchie in Allendale, South Carolina, leading the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in blocked shots per game both seasons, finishing at 4.4 bpg in 2018-19 and 4.98 bpg during the 2019-20 campaign.
His MKE debut was fun to watch as well, finishing with 14 points against the Raiders Nov. 7, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. Included in those seven made field goals were five dunks, part of the eight total MKE dunks on the night.
DEEEEEEEE-FENSE!
The Panthers were very good on defense last season, leading the Horizon League with their .401 opponent field-goal percentage – a number that finished No. 37 in the country. Milwaukee held Green Bay to just 26.0 percent (13-of-50) shooting from the floor Feb. 13, the sixth time last season they held an opponent below .300 (North Dakota was held to .290/Saint Xavier to .297/Northern Kentucky to .294/Green Bay to .278/Wright State to .290). In addition to those six stellar outings, the Panthers also held six other opponents to .388 or less on overall field goal attempts in a game. The 49 points scored by the Phoenix Jan. 5 marked the first time MKE held an opponent under 50 since a 72-49 victory over Detroit Mercy back on Feb. 22, 2018 – a span of 101 games. The team also set a new program record in the category in the NCAA DI era, topping the .413 mark allowed by the team back in the 2004-05 campaign.
Also for perspective, that day against the Titans was the last time an opponent was held under 30 percent (UDM connected on .286 that day) prior to this season. The last time a Milwaukee defense held opponents under 30 percent even TWICE during a season was way back in 2011-12 (.255 vs. Wright State and .276 against Butler).
TURN THE RADIO UP
This marks the first full hops season that 101.7 FM The Truth will serve as the radio home of the “Educators Credit Union Milwaukee Panthers Men’s Basketball Radio Broadcasts”. Fans can listen to veteran broadcaster Scott Warras, now in his seventh season, call all the play-by-play action on air at 101.7 FM and via live online streaming services. Plus, head coach Bart Lundy will appear on 101.7 FM The Truth’s “MKE in the Morning” shows with Mel and DZ on the first and third Wednesday of every month throughout the 2022-23 basketball regular season.
IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT
It was a long time coming for Vin Baker Jr., taking the court November 9 of last season for the first time since the end of the 2019 season – a span of 993 days. Since that date, Baker Jr. spent the 2019-20 season sitting with Milwaukee due to transfer regulations and then missing all of the 2020-21 campaign due to injury. But he came up big against North Dakota, contributing 11 points off the bench, including an emphatic dunk in the closing minutes that put the game away and set off a huge celebration on the MKE bench. His 11 points tied his career-best, matching the 11 he scored against Pittsburgh in Feb. 2018.
IT’S OUR HOUSE
Although the building is not new and has been the site to many historic basketball moments in Milwaukee history, this is Milwaukee’s eighth season in an arena that bears its name – UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. In July of 2014, the University and Wisconsin Center District entered into a 10-year partnership that included naming rights to the facility formerly known as The MECCA and U.S. Cellular Arena.
UP NEXT
The team returns home to host North Park Sunday, set for a 2 p.m. tip time at UWM Panther Arena.
