By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The Green Bay men's basketball team will begin 2012 as it spent much of 2011, with a road contest against a tough opponent. Ending a three-game post-Christmas road trip, the Phoenix will play at in-state rival Milwaukee at U.S. Cellular Arena on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

The contest between Green Bay and Milwaukee will be televised live on Time Warner Sports32 with Milwaukee's broadcast team of Daron Sutton and Adrian Tigert on the call. Fans can also listen to a live radio broadcast on WDUZ The Fan with Matt Menzl serving as the play-by-play announcer and Cordero Barkley handling the color analyst duties.  

Green Bay has dropped four road contests by four points or less, including a four-point loss (53-49) at Butler on Dec. 29 and a three-point defeat (90-87) at the hands of Valparaiso a week ago Saturday. The Phoenix had one of its best offensive efforts of the year at Valpo, setting season highs in field goal percentage, three-point field goals made and assists. Sophomore Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the game.

Saturday's game will be the team's ninth road contest compared to just six on its home floor, contributing to the seventh-toughest strength of schedule in the nation. The eight previous road games have been against teams with a combined record of 83-35 and seven of the eight opponents are in the top-100 nationally in RPI.

In Milwaukee, it will be more of the same. The Panthers are 10-6 on the season and among the numerous Horizon League teams with just a lone conference loss. However, like the Phoenix, the Panthers are coming off a pair of tough road losses. Milwaukee fell at Hinkle Fieldhouse by nearly an identical score as Green Bay did, losing 54-50 last Saturday. The Panthers then stepped out of conference and fell 72-61 at Western MIchigan on Tuesday.

• INSIDE THE SERIES: Green Bay leads the all-time series with Milwaukee 26-19 but the Panthers hold a 12-9 edge on their home floor. Last season, the in-state foes each won on their respective home courts. Milwaukee won 88-75 at U.S. Cellular on Feb. 5, 2011, and Green Bay will be happy to not see big man Anthony Hill, who as a senior averaged 20.5 points and 13.5 rebounds against the Phoenix.

• MATCHUP TO WATCH: Among others, freshman point guard Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) has gone up against Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor, Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom and Butler's Ronald Nored this season. Now, in just his second game as an 18-year old and coming off a 17-point game, Sykes will be pitted against Milwaukee senior Kaylon Williams, the Panthers' leading scorer and the league's assist leader. With the battle of tempo playing a key role, this matchup will be important to watch.

• BENCH SCORING: The Green Bay bench provided a nice scoring punch at Valparaiso on Saturday, with freshman Aaron Armstead pouring in a career-high 19 points and draining 5-of-6 three-pointers. Sophomore Daniel Turner added 11 points for the reserves, who totaled 32 points.

• OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: After scoring just 49 points at Butler and struggling to a season-low field goal percentage, Green Bay exploded offensively against Valparaiso last Saturday. The Phoenix set offensive season highs for field goal percentage (59.4%), three-pointers made (12), three-point percentage (50.0%) and assists (12).

• FRESHMAN DUO: Armstead (19 points) and Sykes (17 points) combined for 36 points at Valparaiso last Saturday. The Phoenix duo combined for more points than any two freshmen since Ryan Tillema (23) and Mike Schactner (14) combined for 37 points at Cleveland State on Feb. 25, 2006. Armstead made five of his six three shots from long range.

• LONG BALL BARRAGE: The 12 threes that Green Bay made against Valpo marked the first time that the Phoenix had made 10 or more threes under head coach Brian Wardle and the first time hitting 10 since Feb. 27, 2010. It marked the most for the program since hitting 12 on Nov. 14, 2009 against Samford.

• BLOCK PARTY: Brown now has 104 blocked shots in his 46-game Green Bay career. He ranks third in the Horizon League this season at 2.6 blocks per game, and has blocked a shot in 40 of 46 career games. The school record is 132 (Terry Evans, 1995-99).

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With voting open through Sunday evening, a Facebook fan poll is ongoing now to determine whether the Green Bay at Cleveland State game on Jan. 20 will be televised nationally on ESPNU. To vote for the Phoenix-Vikings game and ensure your chance to watch the contest next Friday, click here.

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