Gophers-Wisconsin Green Bay men's basketball preview

Preview: The Gophers (9-1) avoided a letdown in last Tuesday's 79-71 victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but they looked sloppy in the process with a season-high 28 turnovers. The struggles taking care of the ball was a surprise after averaging fewer than five turnovers during a tough stretch vs. Mississippi State, Michigan State and Michigan. Wisconsin Green Bay (2-8) played its second power conference opponent this season in an 82-64 loss Dec. 12 at Kansas State. Green Bay coach Will Ryan, the son of former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, saw his father honored before a 72-34 loss against the Badgers on Nov. 12. The Phoenix dropped the opener 99-69 against the Gophers at Williams Arena last season.

Players to watch: Gophers senior guard and co-captain Payton Willis had 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting from three-point range against Corpus Christi. Willis is one point shy of reaching 1,000 for his career, which includes 406 points with the Gophers in 2019-20 and this season. Green Bay freshman forward Japannah Kellogg III grew up in Iowa, but he played for D1 Minnesota's AAU program with current Gophers forward Jamison Battle. The 6-8 Kellogg had a team-high 15 points and six rebounds against Kansas State.

Numbers: The Gophers' nonconference home schedule is one of the weakest among Big Ten teams, according to Kenpom.com. Green Bay (332nd) is one of six opponents ranked 225^th or worst in the country.