Wisconsin basketball: UW-Green Bay 2019-20 preview

University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

Nickname: Phoenix

Conference: Horizon League

Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin

Website: https://greenbayphoenix.com/index.aspx?path=mbball

Head coach: Linc Darner, fifth season

2018-19 record: 21-17 (10-8 in Horizon League)

Last time in NCAA Tournament: 2015-2016, lost in first round to Texas A&M

Top three returning scorers: JayQuan McCloud, senior, guard, 13.7 ppg; ShanQuan Hemphill, senior, forward, 11.7 ppg; Kameron Hankerson, senior, 8.1 ppg.

Key loss: Sandy Cohen, guard, 17.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 58 3PTM, graduated.

Exciting newcomer: Amari Davis, a 6-foot-3 combo guard, was a three-star recruit from 247Sports out of high school. While the Phoenix have a solid backcourt returning, the incoming freshman is talented, and could be a nice piece off of the bench.

Date of game: Thursday, November 21st, at 8pm on BTN.

Location: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin.

Preview: Losing Sandy Cohen, their talented leading scorer from a year ago, will definitely hurt UW-Green Bay this year, but Linc Darner’s squad should be good in the Horizon League this year. This Phoenix team is experienced and return a lot of very good players. The five seniors: ShanQuan Hemphill, JayQuan McCloud, Josh McNair, Kameron Hankerson, and Cody Schwartz will be a strong nucleus the could compete for a conference title.

Green Bay made a good run in the CIT postseason tournament last year, losing in the championship game, and that has created an excitement for this season. While I do not think that the Phoenix are strong enough to beat the Badgers in Madison, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them have a chance to be relevant in the NCAA tournament landscape near the end of the season with so much returning talent and experience.

Prediction: Badgers win 81 - 58