UWGB-UWM rivalry heats up after allegations on both sides from Horizon League quarters
GREEN BAY – There were more storylines off the basketball court than on for the Horizon League men’s quarterfinal game between the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee last Thursday at the Kress Center.
UWM coach Bart Lundy did not find UWGB to be a gracious host, at least according to comments made to a Milwaukee media outlet after the Panthers’ 95-84 win over the Phoenix.
There also was potential camera equipment damage by UWM. A possible altercation between assistant coaches for UWM and UWGB. Allegations going back to a season ago that UWGB played three ineligible players in its upset at UWM that helped cost the Panthers the Horizon League regular-season championship.
The Horizon League was asked about the damaged equipment, UWGB being rude hosts and a pregame altercation, but it did not address any of the specific questions.
“We have staff members on site at each tournament game,” said Shawn Sullivan, who is the league’s associate commissioner for branding, messaging and strategic initiatives. “We are interacting with administrators and coaches from both home and away teams in every scenario including in the lead-up of those contests with the goal of providing a top-notch studentathlete experience and fan experience. We evaluate each situation in real time and after the game.”
With that said, let’s start with Lundy’s issue with practices and shootaround times after his team arrived in Green Bay.
“I hope some people are listening,” Lundy said in his postgame radio interview with the Black and Gold Network. “They tried not to give us practice (Wednesday). Tried to switch the shootaround before the game at 4 p.m. (Thursday). We had to get the commissioner involved twice. I mean, they diminished the league today. I don’t think it’s right. I’m going to make my voice heard on this. We will take the win, our guys played hard. They played in a hostile environment, and I’m proud of them.”
UWGB disagreed with Lundy’s concerns.
UWM had a shootaround Thursday morning in the Kress Center, hours before the UWGB women hosted Youngstown State in a quarterfinal as part of a doubleheader with the men’s game that night. Along with the shootaround, the Panthers received access to the Dick Bennett gym next to the Kress for warmup time before the game.
UWM reiterated a few days afterward that UWGB did not make it easy for the team to prepare for the game and that it had to get Horizon League administration involved to help resolve the issues.
“We don’t want to get into weeds with whatever they are saying there,” UWGB athletic director Josh Moon said. “All that stuff about pregame, I’d just say that we all have things we need to get better at. The communication processes, I think (Thursday), were magnified in the heat of a rivalry game.”
Broken equipment leaves questions
It is believed UWM broke some of UWGB’s equipment during that shootaround in the Kress. It included some of the team’s broadcast equipment and security cameras.
UWM did not provide comment about whether any of its coaches or players broke equipment.
“We will work together with Milwaukee on figuring that out” Moon said. “Shootarounds, cameras, whatever took place. We will just work internally with our friends at Milwaukee and the Horizon League and just say, ‘Here is where we are at,’ and leave it at that.”
There was enough tension between the teams that the traditional postgame handshake line was called off. Both sides went directly to their locker room after the final buzzer.
It is believed a UWM assistant made physical contact with a UWGB assistant before the game.
The UWM assistant was not seen on the bench for the Panthers’ semifinal game against Northern Kentucky in Indianapolis on Monday but was on the bench for the title game against Oakland.
The Horizon League did not directly respond about whether it received any footage of the incident and if there was, or would be, any discipline handed out.
UWM did not provide comment when asked if one of its coaches made physical contact with a UWGB coach.
Moon was aware of a potential tussle before the game.
“There are probably 10 different things,” Moon said. “That’s one of them that we will have a conversation about. We will address it with Milwaukee and with the league. I just don’t have that information. It’s just people talking.”