Take away the Cleveland State game and Milwaukee is completely unsuccessful outside the friendly confines of the U.S. Cellular Arena.

After two successive victories over the incumbent leaders in the Horizon League, spirits were flying high.

It was a great week for Panther basketball, as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee quickly pinned rival University of Illinois-Chicago with a record-setting first half, and then carried the momentum into an afternoon triumph over then first-place Wright State.

That“s about where Milwaukee ran out of gas.

However, since that stellar home stand, the Panthers have gone 1-4, dropping all three of their road contests. The bottom hasn“t dropped out, but the euphoria of the week during which Milwaukee surged up the standings is gone.

All four losses were heartbreakers; in Detroit and against Green Bay, Milwaukee was within reach with under a minute remaining. Butler and Wright State, the current top seeds in the conference, smothered UWM in lopsided defeat.

They did win a game, yes. Is it really a victory to beat Cleveland State? This team is the cellar-dweller of the conference, yet the Panthers had to wait for a clank off the rim after the buzzer before they could exhale.

If the Panthers really were ready for a deep Horizon League tournament run, they would have slapped the Vikings around. They are capable, but they“re not ready. Cleveland State shot 37 percent against Milwaukee, which isn“t altogether good, but it was better than the Panthers“ 33.9 percent.

The shots that UWM have been taking all season should have started going through the nets by now. In spurts, they have been scoring; anyone at the UIC game will admit that the first half was a torrential downpour of buckets all over the court. However, like any other part of the team, it has been inconsistent. The Panthers are still shooting under 40 percent for the year, which is dead last in conference.

The Panthers need to win away from home to be serious contenders in the Horizon League. Take away the Cleveland State game and Milwaukee is completely unsuccessful outside the friendly confines of the U.S. Cellular Arena. This column has already talked about the troubles UWM has had on the road.

Butler showed the Panthers that they aren“t contenders when they spanked UWM at Hinkle on Saturday. Smith, the unorthodox scorer for Milwaukee, was held to five points.

Nearly the entire team has been inconsistent. Individuals have gotten better; Ricky Franklin, Kaylan Anderson, Ryan Thornton and Roman Gentry have all made great strides in their game since the beginning of the season. The team, however, is still stuck in the improving stage, and that“s not all bad.

This season is already a success, given the fact that UWM was picked to be buried at the bottom of the Horizon League, yet they are still hanging around, within range for a tournament home game. But you“d be branded crazy if you were expecting UWM to make a miraculous drive and dance again come March by way of an automatic bid.

If you“re a bandwagon jumper, don“t worry. The wagon will be full enough the next few years. Milwaukee has an incoming recruiting class that has the potential to immediately retake the Horizon League throne for the Panthers.

Torre Johnson, Oklahoma State“s third leading scorer, is sitting out this season and is a shoo-in for an all-conference senior season. Joe Allen, the Army wunderkind who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 230 pounds, will bring a welcome dose of toughness to the Milwaukee frontcourt.

Deion James, the former Tulsa point guard and former McDonald“s All-American nominee, comes home to Milwaukee and will be a solid point guard to run the floor. And those are just the guys that have to sit out this season because of NCAA transfer rules.

Kevin Johnson, Tim Flowers, Deonte Roberts and Anthony Hill all signed Letters of Intent and are East Side-bound come September.

Hopefully Milwaukee can shake off its road rust and get back in the win column this season. If they do, and the players benefit from the boost of confidence a road victory entails, then the next few years will be all the more promising.

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