Akron, one of the nations’s top mid-major teams this season with an elite offense, had not lost in its last 40 home games against non-conference opponents heading into a Nov. 29 tilt with the Milwaukee Panthers.
Make it 41.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn a disheartening 105-81 loss to the Zips at James A. Rhodes Arena, the Panthers were dismantled defensively once again by an opponent with major March Madness aspirations.
"This is the return game for playing them at Fiserv (Forum) last year. The other games where we've had trouble were guarantee games where we're trying to make money," Lundy said, referencing road games at Indiana, Texas Tech and Wichita State. "You go all the way back to Wofford, they've won 30 straight non-conference at home. Wichita has some crazy streak. These guys have won an insane number of games. These are tough venues.
"Not having a break from that other than the non D-I games has been brutal and probably not as well thought out as we need to make it. Now I've got a team whose confidence is shaken up heading into conference play. We'll have to figure it out."
Here are three quick takeaways from the loss.
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Defense struggles…again
A brief sequence with seven minutes, 10 seconds left about summed up the night. After Milwaukee was whistled for a foul on an Akron drive to the rim, guard Sharron Young cut to the basket on the inbounds play and caught a pass for a wide-open layup.
For the second time in three weeks, the Panthers allowed an opponent to put up more than 100 points, with Indiana doing so in a 101-70 win on Nov. 12.
So far this season, the only Milwaukee opponent to score fewer than a point per possession was Division-III Dominican.
Akron hit 12 of 23 threes against the Panthers, who came into the day with one of the worst three-point defenses in the country, allowing a percentage of 40.4% from deep. From inside the arc the Zips enforced their will even more, sinking 27 of 37 two-pointers (72.9%) to shoot 65% overall.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Zips dominated without any size advantage, either; their tallest contributor was 6-foot-7 Amani Lyles, who poured in 25 points on 9 for 13 shooting. Akron scored 50 points in the paint, getting to the basket with ease time and time again.
"We’ve got to figure out who can do it," Lundy said. "We had a good scout couldn’t stop them, couldn’t execute it. We're figuring out who can do it and who can't on defense."
Danilo Jovanovich continues to shine
UW-Milwaukee forward Danilo Jovanovich (3) goes to the basket against Dominican guard Elijah Daugherty (4) in a game Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.While Milwaukee hasn’t figured out its toughness on defense, it does have a go-to player on offense: forward Danilo Jovanovich.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Whitnall graduate scored in double figures for the seventh straight game by leading the Panthers with a career-high 21 points. He did it efficiently once again, too, by hitting nine of his 14 field goal attempts. Jovanovich is shooting 68.8% during that stretch with only four turnovers.
"He takes what the defense gives him," Lundy said. "He’s skilled and smart. We’re asking so much of him and he’s delivering for the most part. He’s banged up, too. And tonight I couldn’t get him a break he had to play damn near the whole game to stay efficient like he is being banged up shows he’s a really good player."
No Faizon Fields for Panthers
The Panthers were without starting forward Faizon Fields, who was sick and did not travel for the game due to a bug that's making its way around the team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAaron Franklin left the game because he was feeling ill and Amar Aguillard is also dealing with lingering effects.
Fields is averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. His interior presence will be critical to the Panthers’ attempts to sort out their current problems on the defensive end.
"Faizon covers up a lot of our deficiencies, and they shot 65%," Lundy said. "We've got a long road ahead if we don't find a group that can figure it out on defense."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UWM struggling to find the answers on defense as Horizon play begins
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