GREEN BAY, Wis. – Coming off its second win in six days, the Green Bay men's basketball team will travel to face the St. Thomas Tommies tomorrow evening.
Tuesday, December 13 – St. Paul. Minn. - SCHOENECKER ARENA
Green Bay (2-8, 1-1 HL) vs. St. Thomas (8-4, 0-0 Summit League)
7:00 PM
Follow the action: Watch (Tommies All-Access) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats
The matchup will be the fourth overall between the teams and the first in over fifty years. St. Thomas has won all three previous matchups. The series kicked off during GB's first season when they played the Tommies in St. Paul, falling 77-58 on Dec. 13, 1969. Less than a month later, the two teams met in the Northern State Holiday tournament, with UST winning 68-62 in Aberdeen, S.D. On Dec. 7, 1971, St. Thomas came to Green Bay, where they prevailed in a close game, 83-80.
ABOUT THE TOMMIES
St. Thomas is in their second season as an NCAA Division I program and Summit League member, making the jump from Division III's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UST alum John Tauer is in his 12th season at the helm of the Tommies; he has won a staggering 76 percent of his contests, amassing a 236-74 record.
Andrew Rohde is the driving force for the Tommies. He leads the team in points (14.8), assists (3.5), and steals (1.5). Riley Miller provides a nice compliment, averaging 14 points per game as part of an offense that averages nearly 77 points per game.
LAST MATCHUP
The Phoenix defeated Kansas City 70-64 at the Resch Center on Saturday. It was a career night for Cade Meyer, who scored 25 points. In his first game back from illness, Brock Heffner made his presence known, exploding for 17 points and 4 blocks. Green Bay shot over 50 percent from the field for the first time this season while holding the Roos to a 37-percent shooting effort.
MAKE WAY FOR MEYER
Meyer, a sophomore forward, scored a career-high 25 points in GB's win against Kansas City. Meyer's presence was mostly inside, scoring 18 points in the paint and the remainder of his points on free throws. The effort made Meyer the leading Green Bay scorer for the season at 11.0 points per game. He has been a defensive force as well, registering a block in seven of ten games this season and leading the Phoenix in total rebounds.
FREE THROWS, FREE POINTS
The Phoenix ranks 84th nationally and second in the Horizon League in free throws made per game. GB has made 143 free throws in its first ten games for an average of 14.3. It only trails Milwaukee (15.0) for tops in the Horizon League. Redshirt freshman Brock Heffner leads Green Bay with 23 made free throws, followed by Clarence Cummings III with 21 and the pair of Zae Blake and Cade Meyer with 20 each.
WHAT DO YOU ZAE?
Sophomore Zae Blake has been a difference-maker in his first season as a Phoenix. Despite missing a game, Blake ranks at or near the top of most statistical categories on the team, including:
- 2nd in points (10.8 PPG)
- 1st in assists (2.0 APG)
- 1st in steals (1.4 SPG)
- 1st in field goal percentage (33-of-57, 57.9 percent)
- 1st in three-point percentage (11-of-22, 50 percent)
- 2nd in rebounds (3.4 RPG)
RANDY ON A ROLL
Redshirt junior guard Randy Tucker has been impactful off the bench for Green Bay. He is shooting 21-of-51 (41.2-percent) from the floor and has been dominant from the charity stripe, knocking down five free throws in six attempts. Tucker, a Rock Island, Illinois native, is third on the team with 3.1 rebounds while averaging 21.7 minutes per game.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After enjoying two wins in six days at the Resch Center, the Phoenix will say goodbye to Wisconsin for the next month. GB will face Pac-12 teams Stanford on Dec. 16 and Oregon State on Dec. 18. The squad will then travel to Michigan for two Horizon League games in between the holidays, facing Detroit Mercy on Thu, Dec. 29, and Oakland on Sat, Dec. 30. Three more Horizon games round out the road trip, with games against Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 5), Cleveland State (Jan. 7), and Wright State (Jan. 12). Green Bay's next home game is January 14 when they face Northern Kentucky.
NEW PHOENIX FACES
Green Bay welcomes 10 new players for the 2022-23 season.
TRANSFERS
Garren Davis (6-4, G | Clarendon College)
Clarence Cummings III (6-5, F | State College of Florida)
Zae Blake (6-1, G | Southwest Mississippi CC)
Brock Heffner (6-8, F | Hawaii)
Davin Zeigler (6-3, G | Indian Hills CC)
Ryan Wade (6-2, G | Central Michigan)
TRUE FRESHMEN
Donavan Short (6-10, C | Denmark, Wis.)
Amari Jedkins (6-7, F | Racine, Wis.)
Jack Rose (6-5, G | Bristol, Wis.)
PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
Pl. Team (1st-place votes) – Pts.
T1. Purdue Fort Wayne (17) - 394
T1. Northern Kentucky (15) - 394
3. Wright State (3) - 329
4. Oakland (2) - 321
5. Youngstown State (1) - 291
6. Detroit Mercy (2) - 268
7. Cleveland State - 188
8. Robert Morris - 163
9. Milwaukee - 132
10. Green Bay - 111
11. IUPUI - 49
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