Friday, November 8 at Gentile Arena (7:00 p.m. CT)
UWM is coming off a dismal, injury-plagued season in which they went 8-24 (6-24 against D-I opponents) en route to a 310 RPI. Yet despite the Panthers' mostly forgettable season in 2012-13, they still managed to post a few shockers and upsets, including a home win against a 25-win Davidson team that gave Marquette all they could handle in the NCAA Tournament. One of UWM's 5 other D-I wins was an upset home blowout over the Ramblers, 71-53, late in the season.
Things aren't looking much better for Rob Jeter's Panthers this year, as they were picked 9th (last) in the Horizon League preseason poll. Four of UWM's top seven players in minutes from last year are gone, including top scorer Parris Gulley and top rebounder Demetrius Harris.
UWM is led by their 5'10" senior point guard Jordan Aaron, who was named to the HL Preseason 2nd team. J.J. Panoske, a 6'10" 225 senior is the top returning rebounder. Sophomore Austin Arians, a 6'6" forward and a top three point percentage shooter, also returns. Likely to augment that core will be 6'8" 230 sophomore JUCO transfer Matt Tiby, junior Indiana State transfer Steve McWhorter at guard, and 6'1" senior shooting guard Thierno Niang who missed almost all of last season with a back injury.
The Panthers scored an 80-52 blowout over Marian in their exhibition contest, in which they started three guards (Aaron, McWhorter, Niang) and two forwards (Tiby and Panoske). Thanks to opening a comfortable first half lead, 11 UWM players saw double digit minutes, and 13 Panthers played 7 minutes or more. UWM forced 19 turnovers in their exhibition, but made 13 of their own. Tiby impressed in his debut, notching 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks in 26 minutes. Veteran Pankoske nearly recorded a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds (5 offensive) in only 19 minutes. Expect the Panthers to shoot a lot of threes. They hoisted an average of 22.1 per game last year, and their 708 total attempts tied for 29th in all of D-I hoops last year. They attempted 25 three point attempts in their exhibition opener this year. (By comparison, the Ramblers shot an average of 16.2 last season.) Rambler fans should be familiar with UWM's style under Coach Rob Jeter, who holds a 12-7 record against Loyola in his eight seasons as UWM coach, including 5 wins in his last 6 trips to the Gentile Center/Arena.
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