By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The Green Bay men's basketball team will open league play on the road for the first time in five years and conclude its 2012-13 season with home contests against Milwaukee and Valparaiso, the Horizon League announced on Thursday morning. The League office released full 16-game conference schedules for each of its nine members.

Green Bay's full 2012-13 schedule will be finalized and released soon.

While the conference's full television schedule will be released in September, the Horizon League also announced select televised games. Green Bay will appear on the first Horizon League Game of the Week at Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 5.

Head coach Brian Wardle's team will carry a four-game regular season league winning streak into this coming season. The Phoenix concluded 2011-12 by winning eight of its last 10 regular season contests.

The Phoenix will open the Horizon League schedule with games at Wright State (Jan. 3) and Detroit (Jan. 5), with the game at Detroit marking the season's first Horizon League Game of the Week. Green Bay begins a season-long four-game homestand in mid-January, welcoming Loyola (Jan. 9), UIC (Jan. 12), Youngstown State (Jan. 17) and Cleveland State (Jan. 19) in an 11-day stretch. Green Bay's last home conference game was a 71-67 win over Cleveland State on Feb. 21, 2012.

A four-game road stretch follows with trips to Valparaiso (Jan. 23), Milwaukee (Jan. 25), UIC (Jan. 31) and Loyola (Feb. 2). The UIC Pavilion was the scene of Keifer Sykes' (Chicago, Ill.) 27-point outburst and Green Bay's last Horizon League game, a 71-63 win on Feb. 25, 2012. The contest at Loyola will mark another Horizon League Game of the Week television appearance.

Wright State and Detroit will make return trips to the Resch Center on Feb. 7 and Feb. 9, respectively. In Wright State's last visit to the Resch Center, on Jan. 14, 2012, sophomore Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) swatted a conference-record 11 blocks as Green Bay came back from 17 points down in the second half to win 57-56.

The Detroit game will feature two of the Horizon League's top players - Brown and the Titans' Ray McCallum - and will also be included in the league's television package as an ESPN wild card. The game will be selected to either be televised on ESPN2 or as a Game of the Week.

The last conference road trip of the season will see the Phoenix land in Ohio to play at Cleveland State (Feb. 15) and Youngstown State (Feb. 17).

The conclusion of the regular season will end in the Resch Center for the first time since 2007-08, with Green Bay hosting both Milwaukee and Valparaiso. The rival Panthers visit on Tuesday, Feb. 26 before Green Bay hosts the defending league champion Crusaders on March 2. The Valparaiso contest will also mark Senior Day for fan favorite and lone Phoenix senior Brennan Cougill (Sioux City, Iowa).

2012 Green Bay Men's Basketball Horizon League Schedule
Jan. 3 - at Wright State
Jan. 5 - at Detroit (Horizon League Game of the Week)
Jan. 9 - Loyola
Jan. 12 - UIC
Jan. 17 - Youngstown State
Jan. 19 - Cleveland State
Jan. 23 - at Valparaiso
Jan. 25 - at Milwaukee
Jan. 31 - at UIC
Feb. 2 - at Loyola (Horizon League Game of the Week)
Feb. 7 - Wright State
Feb. 9 - Detroit (ESPN2 or Horizon League Game of the Week)
Feb. 15 - at Cleveland State
Feb. 17 - at Youngstown State
Feb. 26 - Milwaukee
March 2 - Valparaiso

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