It will be a battle between Horizon opponents when the Milwaukee Panthers (14-7) welcome the Green Bay Phoenix (13-8) to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 29 and will air on EFC and ES3.
The Panthers lost a winnable game to Oakland 82-79 on Monday. Jordan Johnson finished with 20 points to lead the team. The Phoenix, meanwhile, are coming off a 115-108 win over Detroit on Monday. Jordan Fouse had a good game and claimed his fifth double-double of the season, recording 30 points and 14 rebounds.
Johnson has really been playing well as of late for the Panthers, averaging 16.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.6 three-pointers over the last five games. On the other side, the Phoenix have been led by Charles Cooper. He has been on fire, averaging 17.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.4 steals, and 0.6 three-pointers in the same time frame.
The Phoenix should minimize miscues in this matchup. They rank 31st in the nation at avoiding errors (TO% of 15.9%). Meanwhile, Milwaukee forces the 36th-fewest mistakes in the nation, with just 16.2% of opponents’ possessions ending in a turnover.
Milwaukee is a three-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 164 points. The Panthers enter the game with records of 14-7 Straight Up (SU) and 9-10 Against The Spread (ATS). The Panthers are an impressive three-point shooting team with 8.0 made per game, one of the highest marks in Division I. Milwaukee has the 16th-most assists in Division I, averaging 17.5 per game. Green Bay has a habit of getting in foul trouble (21.6 fouls per game), so expect the Panthers to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
On the other side, Green Bay has a SU record of 13-8 and an ATS record of 10-8.
Milwaukee and Green Bay will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Phoenix were winners, bringing their SU record in their most recent games to 6-4. Additionally, with a 6-4 record, Green Bay has the advantage ATS. Green Bay topped the Panthers in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once over the last five matchups. Milwaukee has never had the edge in all three categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – GB, ATS Winner – GB, O/U – Over
Notes
Wisc-Milwaukee is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Wisc-Milwaukee’s last 7 games.
Wisc-Milwaukee is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
Wisc-Milwaukee is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Wisc-Green Bay.
Wisc-Milwaukee is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Wisc-Green Bay.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Wisc-Milwaukee’s last 5 games when playing at home against Wisc-Green Bay.
Ranked 50th, the Milwaukee Panthers have an offensive rating of 113.0. The Green Bay Phoenix rank 155th with a defensive rating of just 101.9.
The Milwaukee Panthers average a field goal percentage of 45.9% this season. The Green Bay Phoenix have a losing record of 5-8 when opponents have a FG% of 45.9% or greater.
The Milwaukee Panthers rank lower for their field goal percentage (84th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (42nd), but the Green Bay Phoenix have a better FG% ranking (148th) than eFG% ranking (200th).
The Milwaukee Panthers rank 16th in assists per game with an average of 17.5. The Green Bay Phoenix are among the worst in the country with 14.0 assists per game (ranked 148th).
Green Bay, the 76th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.4 per game. Milwaukee does worse, ranked 261st with 2.7.
The Green Bay Phoenix rank 31st in offensive rebounds. The Milwaukee Panthers rank 138th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Though Green Bay is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 22.9% (ranked 18th), Milwaukee is undefeated (3-0) when its TO% is 22.9% or greater.
