The Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Horizon League for the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. They are coached by Doug Gottlieb. The Phoenix have appeared five times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2016.
History The Green Bay men's basketball team began play in the 1969–70 school year where it competed at the NAIA level before moving to NCAA Division II in 1973. In 1982, it moved to NCAA Division I, where it competed in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (now the Summit League). Since 1994, Green Bay has competed in the Horizon League (formerly the Midwestern Collegiate Conference). The Phoenix saw success in the early-to-mid-1990s, making their first NCAA tournament appearance in 1991 and their first second-round appearance in 1994. The team made another first-round appearance in 2016.
Division I seasons Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason 1981–82 Dave Buss 14–13 Independent - - 1982–83 Dick Lien 9–19 Mid-Continent Conference 8th - 1983–84 Dick Lien 9–19 Mid-Continent Conference 6th - 1984–85 Dick Lien 4–24 Mid-Continent Conference 8th - 1985–86 Dick Bennett 5–23 Mid-Continent Conference 7th - 1986–87 Dick Bennett 15–14 Mid-Continent Conference 4th - 1987–88 Dick Bennett 18–9 Mid-Continent Conference 3rd - 1988–89 Dick Bennett 14–14 Mid-Continent Conference 4th - 1989–90 Dick Bennett 24–8 Mid-Continent Conference 2nd NIT second round 1990–91 Dick Bennett 24–7 Mid-Continent Conference 2nd Mid-Con Tournament ChampsNCAA first round 1991–92 Dick Bennett 25–5 Mid-Continent Conference 1st Mid-Con Regular Season ChampsNIT first round 1992–93 Dick Bennett 13–14 Mid-Continent Conference 4th - 1993–94 Dick Bennett 27–7 Mid-Continent Conference 1st Mid-Con Regular Season ChampsMid-Con Tournament ChampsNCAA second round 1994–95 Dick Bennett 22–8 Midwestern City Conference 2nd MCC Tournament ChampsNCAA first round 1995–96 Mike Heideman 25–4 Midwestern City Conference 1st MCC Regular Season ChampsNCAA first round 1996–97 Mike Heideman 14–14 Midwestern City Conference 4th - 1997–98 Mike Heideman 17–12 Midwestern City Conference 4th - 1998–99 Mike Heideman 20–11 Midwestern City Conference 3rd - 1999–00 Mike Heideman 14–16 Midwestern City Conference 4th - 2000–01 Mike Heideman 11–17 Midwestern City Conference 7th - 2001–02 Mike Heideman 9–21 Horizon League 8th - 2002–03 Tod Kowalczyk 10–20 Horizon League 6th - 2003–04 Tod Kowalczyk 17–11 Horizon League 3rd - 2004–05 Tod Kowalczyk 17–11 Horizon League 2nd - 2005–06 Tod Kowalczyk 15–16 Horizon League 3rd - 2006–07 Tod Kowalczyk 18–15 Horizon League 3rd - 2007–08 Tod Kowalczyk 15–15 Horizon League 4th - 2008–09 Tod Kowalczyk 22–11 Horizon League 2nd CBI first round 2009–10 Tod Kowalczyk 22–13 Horizon League 3rd CBI second round 2010–11 Brian Wardle 14–18 Horizon League 7th - 2011–12 Brian Wardle 15–15 Horizon League 6th - 2012–13 Brian Wardle 18–16 Horizon League 3rd CIT first round 2013–14 Brian Wardle 24–7 Horizon League 1st Horizon Regular Season ChampsNIT first round 2014–15 Brian Wardle 24–9 Horizon League 2nd NIT first round 2015–16 Linc Darner 23–12 Horizon League 4th Horizon Tournament ChampsNCAA first round 2016–17 Linc Darner 18–14 Horizon League 3rd CBI first round 2017–18 Linc Darner 13–20 Horizon League 7th - 2018–19 Linc Darner 21–17 Horizon League 4th CIT Runner-Up 2019–20 Linc Darner 17–16 Horizon League 3rd - 2020–21 Will Ryan 8–17 Horizon League 8th - 2021–22 Will Ryan 5–25 Horizon League 11th - 2022–23 Will RyanFreddie Owens (interim) 3–29 Horizon League 11th - 2023–24 Sundance Wicks 18–14 Horizon League 3rd - 2024–25 Doug Gottlieb 4–28 Horizon League 11th - 2025–26 Doug Gottlieb 18-15 Horizon League T-3rd -
Postseason
NCAA Division I tournament results The Phoenix have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament five times. Their combined record is 1–5. Their highest seed was #8 in 1996.
1991 #12 First round #5 Michigan State L 58–60 1994 #12 First roundSecond Round #5 California#4 Syracuse W 61–57L 59–64 1995 #14 First round #3 Purdue L 48–49 1996 #8 First round #9 Virginia Tech L 49–61 2016 #14 First round #3 Texas A&M L 65–92
NCAA Division II tournament results The Phoenix have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament six times. Their combined record is 13–8.
1974 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game St. Joseph's (IL)Evansville L 54–70L 75–87 1976 Regional semifinalsRegional Finals Minnesota State–MankatoNorth Dakota W 72–67 2OTL 61–65 1977 Regional semifinalsRegional Finals Nebraska–OmahaNorth Dakota W 89–63L 43–45 1978 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational Championship Game South Dakota StateAugustanaLincoln (MO)Eastern IllinoisCheyney W 80–57W 72–60W 63–61W 58–43L 40–47 1979 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational Championship Game North DakotaNorthern IowaPuget SoundCheyneyNorth Alabama W 63–48W 56–50W 65–53W 46–45L 50–64 1981 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational 3rd-place game North Dakota StateNorth DakotaNorth AlabamaMount St. Mary'sCal Poly W 82–76W 72–60W 65–39L 60–76L 61–62 2OT
NAIA tournament results The Phoenix have appeared in the NAIA Tournament one time. Their record is 2–1.
1973 First roundSecond RoundQuarterfinals Dallas BaptistSouth Carolina StateSlippery Rock W 77–66W 72–55L 58–60
NIT results The Phoenix have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) four times. Their combined record is 1–4.
1990 First roundSecond Round Southern IllinoisSaint Louis W 73–60L 54–58 1992 First round Manhattan L 65–67 2014 First round Belmont L 65–80 2015 First round Illinois State L 56–69
CBI results The Phoenix have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) three times. Their combined record is 1–3.
2009 First round Vermont L 72–76 2010 First roundQuarterfinals AkronSaint Louis W 70–67L 62–68 2OT 2017 First round UMKC L 82–92
CIT results The Phoenix have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) two times. Their combined record is 4–2.
2013 First round Bradley L 69–75 2019 First round Second RoundQuarterfinals SemifinalsChampionship East Tennessee StateFIUCal State BakersfieldTexas SouthernMarshall W 102–94 W 98–68 W 80–64 W 87–86 L 70–90
Horizon League awards
Player of the Year Jeff Nordgaard (1996) Keifer Sykes (2014, 2015)
Newcomer of the Year Noah Reynolds (2024)
Defensive Player of the Year Terry Evans (2008) Alec Brown (2014)
Sixth Man of the Year Ryan Tillema (2009) Warren Jones (2017)
Freshman of the Year Amari Davis (2020) David Douglas Jr. (2024)
Coach of the Year Mike Heideman (1996) Brian Wardle (2014) Sundance Wicks (2024)
All-League First Team
Jeff Nordgaard (1995, 1996) Ben Berlowski (1996) Javier Mendiburu (2005) Ryan Tillema (2009) Rahmon Fletcher (2010) Alec Brown (2012, 2014) Keifer Sykes (2013, 2014, 2015) Carrington Love (2016) Khalil Small (2018) Sandy Cohen III (2019) JayQuan McCloud (2020) Noah Reynolds (2024)
Additional source:
All-League Second Team Wayne Walker (1998) B.J. LaRue (1999, 2000) Jerry Carstensen (2000) Brandon Morris (2004) Benito Flores (2005) Ryan Evanochko (2006, 2007) Mike Schachtner (2007, 2008) Rahmon Fletcher (2009, 2011) Alec Brown (2013) Greg Mays (2015) Jordan Fouse (2016) Charles Cooper (2017) Amari Davis (2021) Preston Ruedinger (2026)
Additional source:
All-League Third Team Amari Davis (2020) C.J. O'Hara (2026)
All-Freshman Team/All-Newcomer Team Mike King (2000) Chris Sager (2001) Brandon Morris (2004) Benito Flores (2005) Mike Schachtner (2006) Rahmon Fletcher (2008) Alec Brown (2011) Keifer Sykes (2012) Jordan Fouse (2013) Amari Davis - FOY (2020) Lucas Stieber (2021) Cade Meyer (2022) Kamari McGee (2022) David Douglas Jr. (2024) Marcus Hall (2024)
Additional source:
All-Defensive Team Gary Grzesk (1996) Eric Jackson (1996) Kevin Olm (1997, 1998) Luke Kiss (1999) Jerry Carstensen (1998, 2000) Terry Evans (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) Alec Brown (2013, 2014) Jordan Fouse (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Carrington Love (2016) Kenneth Lowe (2017) Khalil Small (2017, 2018)
Additional source:
Mid-Continent Conference awards
Player of the Year Tony Bennett (1991,1992)
Freshman of the Year Tony Bennett (1989)
Coach of the Year Dick Bennett (1990,1992)
All-League First Team Jeff Nordgaard (1994) Dean Rondorf (1993) Tony Bennett (1990,1991,1992)
All-League Second Team Tony Bennett (1989) Frank Nardi (1988) Richard Sims (1984,1987,1988)
Additional source:
References
External links