University of St. Thomas Athletics
Wednesday, November 23
Milwaukee, Wis.
2:00 p.m. Central
at
Milwaukee
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Men’s Basketball travels to Milwaukee for mid-week tilt
11/22/2022 11:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. -- The St. Thomas Men's Basketball team travels to Milwaukee, Wis., to take on Milwaukee Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. from the UWM Panther Arena.
Tommie Watch
St. Thomas went 2-1 at the Zootown Classic hosted by Montana Nov. 17-19 in Missoula, Mont. The Purple first fell to the host Grizzlies, 78-59, before coming away with a buzzer-beater over Troy, 78-76, and a win over Merrimack, 72-61.
Riley Miller led St. Thomas with 16.7 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting from the field (13-30) and 46.4 percent from 3-point range (13-28). He also went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line while playing 32.2 minutes per game.
Andrew Rohde's performance at the Zootown Classic was highlighted by the game-winning basket to lift St. Thomas over Troy. He tied Miller for a team-high 16 points against the Trojans, including shooting 7-of-7 from the free throw line, with three 3-pointers, two assists and one block.
Miller and Rohde were both selected to the Zootown Classic All-Tournament Team.
Parker Bjorklund totaled 10.3 points per game on 58.3 percent shooting (14-24). Kendall Blue led the bench with 9.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He scored 10 points against Montana and Troy before adding nine against Merrimack.
Series History
St. Thomas and Milwaukee will meet for the first time in history.
Scouting Milwaukee
The Panthers are 2-2 this season, most recently taking a 68-53 loss at Iowa State on Sunday, Nov. 20 in Ames, Iowa. Milwaukee is 2-0 at home this season on the heels of hosting St. Thomas on Wednesday.
Sophomore BJ Freeman leads the team with 12.7 points per game followed by junior Angelo Stuart with 11.8. Freeman scored a season-high 19 points Nov. 8 against Purdue while Stuart scored 24 points in the season opener against the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
The Panthers are shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 31.7 percent from 3-point range and 68.3 percent from the free throw line. Their defense ranks 10th in the nation holding opponents to 33.7 percent shooting and 19th with 11.2 steals per game. Milwaukee is pulling down 42.0 rebounds per game compared to 37.3 for its opponents.
Above .500/Below .500
The Tommies have shot above 50 percent from the field in each of their four wins this season. In addition, the Purple shot exactly 42.9 percent from 3-point range in wins over Chicago State, St. Francis Brooklyn, and Troy.
St. Thomas has totaled four games shooting at least 50 percent from the floor this season after recording six such games last season. The Tommies were 5-1 in those games last season.
From the Parking Lot
St. Thomas' 3-point shooting has been on display in recent years, and this season is no different. The Tommies sank 17 3-point field goals against Merrimack on Saturday, totaling the Warriors' rebound total in the game.
The St. Thomas program record for 3-pointers in a game was 15 from 1992-2018. Since 2018, the Tommies have made at least 17 3-pointers in a game on 16 occasions. The current program record is 22, set twice during the 2021-22 season against Northland and North Central.
The Tommies are currently tied for 47th nationally with 9.7 3-pointers per game.
A First Above 74
The victory over Troy is the first time in the NCAA Division I era that St. Thomas has won when allowing its opponent to score more than 74 points. The Tommies were 0-19 when allowing 75+ points previously.
Reaching the Peak for the First Time
Riley Miller became the first Tommie to earn the TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week following his performance at the Zootown Classic.
The 38th Member of the Club
Riley Miller entered the 2022-23 season 27 points shy of 1,000 for his career. After scoring 13 points against No. 9 Creighton in the season opener, he scored 15 against Chicago State to hit the milestone. He became the 38th Tommie all-time to reach the mark, sinking the first of two free throws with 10:22 to play against the Cougars.
Miller began his Tommie career with 145 points as a freshman and 247 as a sophomore before further increasing his scoring average with 133 points in just seven games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Miller totaled nearly half of his career scoring total last season with 448 points while 645 of his scoring total have come behind the 3-point line.
Miller is the first Tommie to reach 1,000 career points since guard Anders Nelson during the 2020-21 season.
The 3-Point Veteran
Riley Miller surpassed 100 made 3-pointers last season and is at 228 made on his 100-game career. He made 103 treys as he converted 41 percent behind the arc last season. Miller was one of just four D-I shooters to make 100 or more threes and convert at 40 percent or better behind the arc.
His nine 3-pointers against Merrimack set a new career-high and was one shy of tying the program single-game record, set by Curt Kietzer with 10 in 1987.
Miller leads the Summit League and ranks 12th in the nation with 3.8 3-point field goals per game. He's also second in the league shooting 51.1 percent from long range, third with 15.2 points per game and third shooting 88.9 percent from the free throw line.
Freshmen Leading the Way
Andrew Rohde has led the Tommies in scoring during four of six games this season and is second overall scoring 13.5 points per game. He has a team-high 32 field goals made and 4.3 assists per game and is third on the team with 4.5 rebounds per game.
Rohde scored 20 points in the Nov. 13 win over St. Francis Brooklyn, becoming the first Tommie freshman to score at least 20 points in a game since Anders Nelson recorded six games with at least 20 points in 2018-19.
Kendall Blue leads the bench with 8.2 points per game on 54.5 percent shooting (18-33). He's also shooting 42.1 percent from beyond the arc (8-19) and is third on the team with 2.3 assists per game. Blue has scored double-digit points in three of the last four games, including a career-high 15 against St. Francis Brooklyn.
NCAA DI Recruiting Class: Part Two
After bringing in Ben Nau and Ryan Dufault during the 2021 Tommie Signing Class, the 2022 class was bumped up to four with the additions of Carter Bjerke (6-9, F), Kendall Blue (6-6, G), Ahjany Lee (6-9, F) and Andrew Rohde (6-6, G).
The 2022 class was ranked number 52 of 368 schools according to Rivals.com. Additionally, only three of the top 50 ranked classes were mid-major schools.
Opponents Across the Country
St. Thomas will face programs from across eight conference, outside of the Summit League: Big East (Creighton), Big Sky (Montana, Montana State), Horizon (Milwaukee, Green Bay), NEC (St. Francis Brooklyn, Merrimack), Pac 12 (Utah), Sun Belt (Troy), UMAC (Crown, North Central), WAC (Chicago State).
Jumping into NCAA Division I
The Tommies finished 2021-22 eighth in the conference and bring back 10 student-athletes from that squad, including two starters.
Graduate students Parker Bjorklund and Riley Miller chose to return to the Tommies this season, combining for 135 games played with the program since 2019-20. Miller led the team with 15.4 points per game and chipped in 2.2 assists per game while Bjorklund scored 12.6 points per game with 6.3 rebounds per game last season. Bjorklund was second in the Summit League for field goal percentage.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on Twitter at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2022 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
Tommie Watch
St. Thomas went 2-1 at the Zootown Classic hosted by Montana Nov. 17-19 in Missoula, Mont. The Purple first fell to the host Grizzlies, 78-59, before coming away with a buzzer-beater over Troy, 78-76, and a win over Merrimack, 72-61.
Riley Miller led St. Thomas with 16.7 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting from the field (13-30) and 46.4 percent from 3-point range (13-28). He also went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line while playing 32.2 minutes per game.
Andrew Rohde's performance at the Zootown Classic was highlighted by the game-winning basket to lift St. Thomas over Troy. He tied Miller for a team-high 16 points against the Trojans, including shooting 7-of-7 from the free throw line, with three 3-pointers, two assists and one block.
Miller and Rohde were both selected to the Zootown Classic All-Tournament Team.
Parker Bjorklund totaled 10.3 points per game on 58.3 percent shooting (14-24). Kendall Blue led the bench with 9.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He scored 10 points against Montana and Troy before adding nine against Merrimack.
Series History
St. Thomas and Milwaukee will meet for the first time in history.
Scouting Milwaukee
The Panthers are 2-2 this season, most recently taking a 68-53 loss at Iowa State on Sunday, Nov. 20 in Ames, Iowa. Milwaukee is 2-0 at home this season on the heels of hosting St. Thomas on Wednesday.
Sophomore BJ Freeman leads the team with 12.7 points per game followed by junior Angelo Stuart with 11.8. Freeman scored a season-high 19 points Nov. 8 against Purdue while Stuart scored 24 points in the season opener against the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
The Panthers are shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 31.7 percent from 3-point range and 68.3 percent from the free throw line. Their defense ranks 10th in the nation holding opponents to 33.7 percent shooting and 19th with 11.2 steals per game. Milwaukee is pulling down 42.0 rebounds per game compared to 37.3 for its opponents.
Above .500/Below .500
The Tommies have shot above 50 percent from the field in each of their four wins this season. In addition, the Purple shot exactly 42.9 percent from 3-point range in wins over Chicago State, St. Francis Brooklyn, and Troy.
St. Thomas has totaled four games shooting at least 50 percent from the floor this season after recording six such games last season. The Tommies were 5-1 in those games last season.
From the Parking Lot
St. Thomas' 3-point shooting has been on display in recent years, and this season is no different. The Tommies sank 17 3-point field goals against Merrimack on Saturday, totaling the Warriors' rebound total in the game.
The St. Thomas program record for 3-pointers in a game was 15 from 1992-2018. Since 2018, the Tommies have made at least 17 3-pointers in a game on 16 occasions. The current program record is 22, set twice during the 2021-22 season against Northland and North Central.
The Tommies are currently tied for 47th nationally with 9.7 3-pointers per game.
A First Above 74
The victory over Troy is the first time in the NCAA Division I era that St. Thomas has won when allowing its opponent to score more than 74 points. The Tommies were 0-19 when allowing 75+ points previously.
Reaching the Peak for the First Time
Riley Miller became the first Tommie to earn the TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week following his performance at the Zootown Classic.
The 38th Member of the Club
Riley Miller entered the 2022-23 season 27 points shy of 1,000 for his career. After scoring 13 points against No. 9 Creighton in the season opener, he scored 15 against Chicago State to hit the milestone. He became the 38th Tommie all-time to reach the mark, sinking the first of two free throws with 10:22 to play against the Cougars.
Miller began his Tommie career with 145 points as a freshman and 247 as a sophomore before further increasing his scoring average with 133 points in just seven games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Miller totaled nearly half of his career scoring total last season with 448 points while 645 of his scoring total have come behind the 3-point line.
Miller is the first Tommie to reach 1,000 career points since guard Anders Nelson during the 2020-21 season.
The 3-Point Veteran
Riley Miller surpassed 100 made 3-pointers last season and is at 228 made on his 100-game career. He made 103 treys as he converted 41 percent behind the arc last season. Miller was one of just four D-I shooters to make 100 or more threes and convert at 40 percent or better behind the arc.
His nine 3-pointers against Merrimack set a new career-high and was one shy of tying the program single-game record, set by Curt Kietzer with 10 in 1987.
Miller leads the Summit League and ranks 12th in the nation with 3.8 3-point field goals per game. He's also second in the league shooting 51.1 percent from long range, third with 15.2 points per game and third shooting 88.9 percent from the free throw line.
Freshmen Leading the Way
Andrew Rohde has led the Tommies in scoring during four of six games this season and is second overall scoring 13.5 points per game. He has a team-high 32 field goals made and 4.3 assists per game and is third on the team with 4.5 rebounds per game.
Rohde scored 20 points in the Nov. 13 win over St. Francis Brooklyn, becoming the first Tommie freshman to score at least 20 points in a game since Anders Nelson recorded six games with at least 20 points in 2018-19.
Kendall Blue leads the bench with 8.2 points per game on 54.5 percent shooting (18-33). He's also shooting 42.1 percent from beyond the arc (8-19) and is third on the team with 2.3 assists per game. Blue has scored double-digit points in three of the last four games, including a career-high 15 against St. Francis Brooklyn.
NCAA DI Recruiting Class: Part Two
After bringing in Ben Nau and Ryan Dufault during the 2021 Tommie Signing Class, the 2022 class was bumped up to four with the additions of Carter Bjerke (6-9, F), Kendall Blue (6-6, G), Ahjany Lee (6-9, F) and Andrew Rohde (6-6, G).
The 2022 class was ranked number 52 of 368 schools according to Rivals.com. Additionally, only three of the top 50 ranked classes were mid-major schools.
Opponents Across the Country
St. Thomas will face programs from across eight conference, outside of the Summit League: Big East (Creighton), Big Sky (Montana, Montana State), Horizon (Milwaukee, Green Bay), NEC (St. Francis Brooklyn, Merrimack), Pac 12 (Utah), Sun Belt (Troy), UMAC (Crown, North Central), WAC (Chicago State).
Jumping into NCAA Division I
The Tommies finished 2021-22 eighth in the conference and bring back 10 student-athletes from that squad, including two starters.
Graduate students Parker Bjorklund and Riley Miller chose to return to the Tommies this season, combining for 135 games played with the program since 2019-20. Miller led the team with 15.4 points per game and chipped in 2.2 assists per game while Bjorklund scored 12.6 points per game with 6.3 rebounds per game last season. Bjorklund was second in the Summit League for field goal percentage.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on Twitter at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2022 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
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