Saturday, February 28, 2009

Live Blog: MBB at Detroit

The regular season comes to a close today as the Panthers take the floor at Calihan Hall for a battle with Detroit.

You can follow the live blog here.

UWM can still finish fourth with a win and a loss by Wright State this evening. Otherwise, the Panthers will be fifth.

Meanwhile, Detroit knows it will be 10th. The Titans have been competitive in a lot of their games this season but have just seven wins.

The Panthers will be shorthanded today, as Deonte Roberts injured his knee at the beginning of practice yesterday and will not dress today. He will be evaluated further upon our return to Milwaukee, but it looks like he'll have a hard time returning this year.

Some links for today's game ...
UWM game notes are here.
Detroit game notes are here.
Gametracker is here.
Bill Johnson on the radio is here.
ESPN360 video is here.

I'll be back when we get closer to tipoff.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Live Blog: MBB at Wright State

The Panthers are into the final week of the regular season and it begins tonight at the Nutter Center. We'll be courtside for the action.

You can follow the live blog here.

UWM enters play tonight tied with Wright State for fourth place in the league standings, with each team a game back of Cleveland State for third place. While there are a few wildcards in the mix, the Panthers will likely finish with the third seed if they win both games this weekend.

Wright State has recovered nicely from an 0-6 start to the year. Vaughn Duggins has never returned from injury while John David Gardner has been out of late, as well. So, it has been a shorthaded Raiders team.

On the UWM side, the focus is really on getting a road win, something that hasn't happened since Jan. 3 at Loyola. The Panthers have actually played reasonably well in their last three road outings, but came back with nothing to show for it.

Some links for tonight's game ...
UWM game notes are here.
Wright State game notes are here.
UWM coverage in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is here.
WSU coverage in the Dayton Daily News is here.
Gametracker is here.
Bill Johnson on the radio is here.
ESPN360 video is here.

I'll have a bit more before we tip off at just after 7 p.m. EST.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Live Blog: MBB vs. North Dakota State

It is BracketBuster Saturday and UWM takes part by welcoming Summit League leader North Dakota State to the U.S. Cellular Arena.

You can follow the live blog here.

I know we are expecting a very good crowd tonight, so hopefully the fans will still brave the weather and make it downtown for what should be a very entertaining contest.

UWM is coming off a win over nationally-ranked Butler Wednesday night, and then the Bulldogs went out and put a smackdown on Davidson today. Mixed bag overall for the HL so far in BBS, with Wright State and Cleveland State already posting losses.

NDSU is 20-6 and is trying to hang on to the top spot in the Summit. The Bison were surprised at home by Southern Utah a week ago but bounced back with a win over South Dakota State Tuesday. This is a senior-laden team with a lot of scoring ability, so it would be quite surprising if they did not put points on the board tonight.

Some links for tonight's game ...
UWM game notes are here.
NDSU game notes are here.
UWM coverage in the Journal Sentinel, including a nice column from Michael Hunt, is here.
NDSU coverage in the Fargo Forum is here. There is a nice story on big James in there today.
Gametracker is here.
Bill Johnson on the radio is here. I guess Wednesday night was a classic.
HLN video is here.

I'll be back right before tipoff with a little more.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Live Blog: MBB vs. Butler

The Panthers are finally back home and we'll be courtside at the U.S. Cellular Arena as UWM squares off with Butler.

You can follow the live blog here.

Milwaukee has dropped three-straight, all on the road, but is 10-2 at home. Tone Boyle has been practicing this week and seems to be as healthy as can be expected considering he was nearly immobile early last week.

Butler dropped a surprising 71-67 decision to Loyola Sunday but remains in position to clinch the league title with a victory. BU also beat UWM by 30 in the first meeting, so it has to be feeling confident against the Panthers.

Some links for tonight's game ...
UWM game notes are here.
Butler game notes are here.
Journal Sentinel preview coverage is here.
Indianapolis Star preview coverage is here.
Gametracker is here.
Bill Johnson on the radio is here.
HLN video is here.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Live Blog: Men at Youngstown State

A string of three-straight games on the road comes to an end tonight as the Panthers take the court at the Beeghly Center for a matchup with Youngstown State.

You can follow the live blog here.

UWM is looking to snap a two-game slide and remain in third place in the league standings. Wright State and Cleveland State are tied with UWM for that spot - WSU hosts Detroit tonight while CSU hosts Green Bay.

Also on the Panthers' side, we'll be watching closely to see if leading scorer Tone Boyle is ready to go tonight. He has been moving better the last day or so and I think will give it a shot during warmups.

On the YSU side, the Penguins have won three-straight games and beat Green Bay Thursday night. YSU shot it well early and then hung on. The Penguins also forced the Phoenix into turnovers and mistakes early in building a 22-point lead.

Some links for tonight's game ...
UWM game notes are here.
YSU game notes are here.
Gametracker is here.
Bill Johnson on the radio is here.
HLN video is here.

I'll have a little more from the Beeghly Center before the game.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Live Blog: MBB at Cleveland State

We are here in beautiful downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and we'll be courtside tonight at the Wolstein Center for a key battle between the Panthers and Cleveland State.

You can follow the live blog here.

The Vikings are rolling, having won four-straight with two teams ahead in the standings (UWM and GB) on the docket this weekend. I know they feel like this is their chance to live up to their preseason-favorite tag, even if getting all the way up to first place isn't possible now.

Meanwhile, the Panthers did play well at Green Bay Saturday. Upon further review, some very key whistles and a few missed free throws probably settle in as the biggest issues in the loss. The effort was very solid overall, and UWM will need a very similar effort this evening.

Some links for tonight's game ...
UWM game notes are here.
CSU game notes are here.
UWM Journal Sentinel coverage is here.
CSU Plain Dealer coverage is here.
Gametracker is here.
Bill Johnson on the radio is here.
ESPN360 video is here.

I'll have a bit more from you when we get over to the Wolstein Center.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Live Blog: MBB at Green Bay

We will be courtside tonight at the Resch Center in Green Bay as the Panthers and Phoenix put in-state bragging rights on the line in a key Horizon League battle.

You can follow the live blog here.

Yes, there is much at stake in tonight's game, as the end of the evening could bring everything from Green Bay atop the league standings to Milwaukee in second place just one game out of the top spot. In light of that, many eyes will also be on the battle between Butler and Wright State in Dayton this evening.

Green Bay won the first matchup between the two teams, a 77-75 overtime decision at the U.S. Cellular Arena. In that game, the Panthers trailed by double digits most of the way before rallying to force overtime. Actually, UWM had a shot to win it at the end of regulation and then lost in the extra session as the Phoenix paraded to the foul line.

Anyway, on to tonight, and some links for your enhanced entertainment of tonight's game ...

UWM game notes are here.
Green Bay game notes are here.
Journal Sentinel coverage is here.
Press Gazette coverage is here.
Gametracker is here.
Bill Johnson on the radio is here.
UWM TV coverage on ESPN360 is here.

I should note now that Bob Brainerd is calling the action tonight on TV because Daron Sutton had an obligation with the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. While we are happy to have Bob on board for tonight's game, his recent record in calling the Panther women's games is something like 1-10. We'll hope for a better result.

I'll have a little more when we get to Green Bay this evening.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Think Spring: Baseball Starts in Two Weeks

With the release of the Horizon League Preseason Baseball Poll today (Feb. 5), it’s time to start thinking spring here in Milwaukee.

The Panthers were picked to finish third in the league, behind seven-time defending champ UIC and also in a close race to second-place Wright State (UIC had 36 points, WSU 29 and UWM 26).

With the preseason prognosticators making all of their picks, I thought it would be time to take a look at what everyone is saying about UWM this season…

Rivals.com predicted the Panthers to finish fourth in the league standings, following UIC, Wright State and Youngstown State. However, they then went on to pick UWM as the league “Team on the Rise” and state that the Panthers could definitely finish third. Hmmm….

They also picked a preseason all-conference squad that included senior Shawn Wozniak.

Collegebaseballinsider.com did not project an order of finish, but did select the Flames as the team to beat. The website actually polled the league head coaches in late 2008 and came up with the following spots where UWM was represented:

The hitter you least want to face is: Shawn Wozniak, Milwaukee

The biggest power threats are: Shawn Wozniak, Milwaukee; Jeff Mercer, Wright State and Brett Schaefer, UIC

The best pure hitters are: Shawn Wozniak, Milwaukee; Kyle Schultz, Butler; Casey McGrew, Wright State and Brett Schaefer, UIC

The best base-runner is: Andy Gerhartz, Milwaukee

Pingbaseball.com selected its All-Ping! 2009 Preseason Teams and Wozniak was an honorable mention selection there as well. In December, Wozniak also became just the second Milwaukee player to ever be named to the College Baseball Foundation Brooks Wallace Watch List. The Wallace Award is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate baseball player.

UWM starts the 2009 season at Arizona State Feb. 20.