The season officially tips off for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s basketball team Monday night with an exhibition game against Lakeland University at the Klotsche Center.
Here’s a look at how things are shaping up for the Panthers in a highly anticipated season.
Reason to believe
Listen to coach Bart Lundy talk about this year’s team and it’s apparent he’s higher on his group than the teams in either of his first two years.
It isn’t difficult to look at the roster and see why.
The Panthers lost the scoring of BJ Freeman, who transferred to Arizona State, but replaced that bucket-getting ability with Queens University transfer AJ McKee.
Between McKee, Kentrell Pullian, Themus Fulks and Erik Pratt, the Panthers have plenty of offensive firepower in the backcourt and should be better positioned defensively than a year ago.
Faizon Fields is a force on both ends as the starting big man and the Panthers have plenty of length and athleticism in addition to the 6-foot-10, 220-pounder in Darius Duffy, Aaron Franklin, Bradley Tech product Learic Davis and Brown Deer alum John Lovelace Jr.
Those players alone give Milwaukee a versatile nine-man rotation, but there are still potential upside options on the roster when considering some of the newcomers.
Jamichael Stillwell is a 68 rebounding machine who transferred in from junior college. Esyah Pippa-White, another transfer, is a fundamentally sound sophomore guard. Danilo Jovanovich, a Whitnall graduate, comes with high-major pedigree, having spent his first two seasons at Miami (Florida) and Louisville.
This roster is, on paper, is as complete as any Milwaukee has had in recent memory.
Reason to doubt
In the two seasons since Lundy arrived, the Panthers haven’t played clean enough in a few key areas.
They were 337th out of 363 teams in the country in turnover rate on offense in 2022-23, then 235th a year ago. In both seasons, the Panthers turned the ball over more than they forced opponents to commit turnovers.
In both seasons, Milwaukee has been excellent on the offensive glass, including ranking 16th in the country in offensive rebounding rate last season (Fields set a program record with 101), but some of that impact has been negated by some of the worst defensive rebounding in the nation. Last season, the Panthers ranked 322nd; the year before they were 334th.
The personnel this time around, Lundy hopes, is better equipped for improvement in these areas, but we still need to see it in action.
Preseason conference prediction
The Panthers (15 first-place votes), in a tie with Purdue Fort Wayne (14), were picked to finish first in the Horizon League in the conference’s official preseason poll of coaches, sports information directors and media members.
Our prediction
A tough nonconference schedule that includes road games against Duquesne, Longwood, Northern Iowa, Southern Mississippi and Central Florida as well as home tilts against Akron, St. Thomas and Wofford will either vault the Panthers into conference play or expose critical cracks in the foundation. Conference play in the Horizon League is a battle of attrition, but as long as the Panthers can keep their heads above water, they should be in great position to do some damage at home.
Ultimately, a team that features a variety of new faces and new roles may take some time to hit its stride. But Lundy’s teams typically hit a new gear late in the season.
Our official prediction: 19-12 regular season, 13-7 conference record and second place in the Horizon League regular-season standings. But this time, the Panthers get over the hump to win the conference tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament for their first appearance in March Madness since 2013-14.
