Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix
Record: 23-12 (11-7 Horizon)
Head Coach: Linc Darner (1st season)
Season Recap: Wisconsin-Green Bay enters the NCAA tournament with the automatic bid from the Horizon League after upsetting conference favorite Valparaiso in the semifinals. The Phoenix had previously lost twice to the Crusaders, but escaped with an overtime victory in Detroit last week before beating Wright State in the finals. Wisconsin-Green Bay picked up just one signature win out of conference—against Akron at home in November—but still managed to compete with major conference powers Stanford and Wisconsin, as it lost by just single digits in each of those games.
The Phoenix had an up-and-down conference season and were led senior guard Carrington Love and his 17.7 points per game. Throw in Charles Cooper's 13.9 points per game and Jordan Fouse's 8.4 boards per contest and eighth-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay was able to win four straight and eight of their last nine to close out the season.
How they make a run: The Phoenix extend their winning streak to five, pulling off the first-round upset of third-seeded Texas A&M thanks to an experience-laden starting lineup that includes a pair of seniors and two juniors.
How they falter: The team that came up just short against Power Five teams in November and December shows its vulnerabilities, and Wisconsin-Green Bay fails to become the 21st 14-seed to win an opening round matchup.
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Twitter: @mpgladstone13
A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak."