University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, February 1
Omaha, Neb. / Baxter Arena
7:00 p.m. Central
at
Omaha
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Tommies off to Omaha and Kansas City to continue road games
1/30/2024 4:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Men’s Basketball back on the road for first time in 14 days
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas men's basketball is set to face Omaha Feb. 1 and Kansas City Feb. 3 during a road weekend.
The Tommies (14-8, 4-3 Summit League) open the road and season series Thursday at the Mavericks (11-12, 4-4 Summit League) at 7 p.m. in Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb. St. Thomas closes its road swing and season series against the Roos (9-13, 3-4 Summit League) Saturday at 7 p.m. at Swinney Center in Kansas City, Mo.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can watch Thursday and Saturday's games on the Summit League Network and listen on ESPN 1500 radio, 94.5 HD3 for the start of Saturday's game, with Corbu Stathes calling the action. Live stats are available at omavs.com and kcroos.com.
SERIES HISTORY | OMAHA
St. Thomas and Omaha have played four times in the series history, all wins by the Tommies. The Purple have an average margin of victory of 11.5 points per game and last met Feb. 2, 2023 in Omaha, Neb.
Bjorklund has averaged 13.3 points in three career games against UNO, including 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting with six rebounds during the most recent game. Fidler has scored at least 14 points in all four games of the series for Omaha, averaging 21.0 points per game with 33 on 12-of-18 shooting Feb. 2 in Omaha.
THE OPPOSITION | OMAHA
Omaha snapped a three-game losing streak to enter this week 11-12 overall and 4-4 in Summit League play. Following two single-possession losses and a seven-point defeat at Oral Roberts, UNO came away with a 91-72 win at Denver during its last game out. Chris Crutchfield is in his second as head coach with a career record of 20-35.
The Mavericks are led in scoring by junior Frankie Fidler, whose 19.1 points per game is top 50 in the nation and third in the Summit League. He's third shooting 90.0 percent from the free throw line, fifth shooting 50.0 percent from the field, fifth with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio, tied for seventh with 2.4 3-point field goals per game, tied for seventh with 3.3 assists per game and 14th with 6.0 rebounds.
UNO is third in the Summit League with 79.9 points per game and fourth allowing 76.1 points. The Mavericks are second in both field goal percentage (.477) and field goal percentage defense (.442), and are 40th nationally and third in the league with 10.3 turnovers per game.
SERIES HISTORY | KANSAS CITY
St. Thomas and Kansas City's series history began with the Toms' transition to NCAA Division I, playing five times over the past three seasons. UMKC took the first three games of the series while the Toms have taken the past two, including a 77-56 win Dec. 31, 2023 in St. Paul, Minn. The 21-point win was the second straight 20+ point margin of victory for the Tommies to begin Summit League play. Graduate student Raheem Anthony led the Tommies with 17 points and four assists while fellow grad student Brooks Allen added 10 points along with team highs of eight rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Kendall Blue scored 15 points and senior Drake Dobbs totaled 14 points, both on 5-of-10 shooting.
THE OPPOSITION | KANSAS CITY
Kansas City enters the week 9-13 overall and 3-4 in the Summit League after nabbing two wins over its last three games. The Roos most recently took an 81-57 win over South Dakota on Jan. 27 in Kansas City.
Junior Jamar Brown paces the Roos and ranks 10th in the Summit League with 14.0 points per game, followed by junior Cameron Faas with 11.0 points. Brown is third in the conference with 2.55 offensive rebounds per game while Faas leads shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point range along with 2.68 3-pointers made per game. Grad student Khristion Courseault is second in the league with 4.0 assists per game and averages 9.5 points per game.
UMKC ranks last in the Summit League with 72.0 points per game and is second allowing 70.9 points. UMKC's defense is powered by 12.1 turnovers forced per game, which ranks second behind St. Thomas' 12.4, while it crashes the glass offensively with 12.9 offensive rebounds per game to lead the Summit and rank 38th nationally.
LAST TIME OUT | NORTH DAKOTA
Three-point shooting woes hindered the Tommies on Saturday evening as St. Thomas men's basketball suffered a 74-64 loss against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. St. Thomas moves to 14-8 on the season and 4-3 in conference play. St. Thomas shot 43.1 percent overall (22-51) and 23.5 percent from 3-point range (4-17) while going 16-of-19 from the free throw line. North Dakota shot 48.4 percent (30-62) from the field and 36 percent (9-25) from beyond the arc while winning the rebound margin 37-26 over the Tommies. After trailing 38-27 at halftime, the Purple outscored the Fighting Hawks 37-36 in the second half.
THE CAST | VS NORTH DAKOTA
Despite the defeat, graduate student Raheem Anthony recorded a season-high 32 points on 10-of-16 shooting including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. He also recorded a team high eight rebounds in addition to two steals and a block in an all-around performance. Anthony continued the Tommie 30-point streak as he followed up fellow graduate student Parker Bjorklund's 32-point performance in the previous game against North Dakota State.
BACK-TO-BACK FOR 32 POINTS
Bjorklund and Anthony recorded back-to-back 32-point performances during its home series against North Dakota State on Jan. 25 and North Dakota on Jan. 27, marking the first Tommie teammates with at least 32 points in consecutive games since at least the 2008-09 season.
Prior to the duo's 32-point games, the Tommies hadn't had multiple 30-point performances in a single season since 2019-20 when Anders Nelson scored 42 points Jan. 6 and 33 points Feb. 5.
A GRACEFUL TRANSITION
St. Thomas is one of 11 teams currently making the transition into NCAA Division I. Of those 11 teams, the Tommies are the only one making the jump from the Division III ranks (while the other 10 were previously members of Division II). Among those teams, St. Thomas is tied for the lead with 14 wins and is second in both the Ken Pom and NET Rankings.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Purple rank among the top 21 nationally in three categories this season, coming in ninth with 9.2 turnovers per game, tied for 16th with 63.7 points allowed per game and tied for 21st with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.53. The Tommies are also tied for 35th with a 3.2 turnover margin, tied for 40th with 9.1 3-pointers per game, tied for 49th shooting 75.1 percent from the free throw line, tied for 56th with a 9.5 scoring margin, and tied for 59th with an effective field goal percent of 54.3.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Toms' defense has been the best in the Summit League to start the conference schedule, holding its league opponents to 67.4 points per game, which is 6.2 points fewer than the next lowest. St. Thomas' conference scoring margin of +8.3 is the best in the league, 4.5 more than the next highest. Overall, the Toms rank tied for 16th in the nation with 63.7 points allowed per game.
MARGIN FOR SUCCESS
St. Thomas has made a statement with its margin of victories thus far, beating its DI opponents by an average of 12.0 points per game, including an average of 17.5 points in Summit League wins. The Purple's margins of loss have been slim at 5.0 points per loss, including two league defeats coming by a combined two points, with two double-digit losses this season overall. Six of the Toms' eight losses have been by two or fewer possessions.
TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
Tauer's teams have historically taken care of the basketball and this season is no different. The Tommies are currently 9th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.2) after ranking tied for 11th nationally in the fewest total turnovers (327) last season and leading the category in 2021-22. Only Houston and Virginia have a better scoring defense and fewer turnovers per game than St. Thomas nationally.
HOME COOKING
The Tommies have embraced playing in front of the hometown crowd, going 21-4 over its last 25 games at Schoenecker Arena. St. Thomas closed out the 2021-22 season with a home win and went 12-2 last season, including a 10-game home winning streak, before opening the 2023-24 season with seven straight home wins. The only three home losses over that span came Jan. 28, 2023 to South Dakota, Feb. 9, 2023 to Oral Roberts, and Jan. 11, 2024 to South Dakota State.
READY FOR THE HOME STRETCH
The 2023-24 schedule is down to the final nine games of the regular season, including four at home for St. Thomas. The Tommies set their top five attendance marks over its final five games of the 2022-23 season, while its most three most recent home games have topped that previous fifth-highest attendance number (1,505) set Jan. 26, 2023 against South Dakota State.
Following its current road trip, St. Thomas returns to Schoenecker Arena Thursday, Feb. 8 versus Oral Roberts presented by Wings Credit Union. The two programs drew a facility record crowd of 2,013 on Feb. 9, 2023, a 95-88 win by ORU.
Record Men's Basketball Attendances
1. 2,013 vs. Oral Roberts (Feb. 9, 2023)
2. 1,723 vs. South Dakota (Jan. 28, 2023)
3. 1,674 vs. Western Illinois (Feb. 18, 2023)
4. 1,619 vs. Kansas City (Feb. 11, 2023)
5. 1,614 vs. North Dakota State (Jan. 11, 2024)
6. 1,540 vs. North Dakota (Jan. 27, 2024)
7. 1,515 vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 11, 2024)
8. 1,505 vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 26, 2023)
NOTHING BUT NET
When the NCAA's first NET Rankings were released on Dec. 4, St. Thomas was slotted at 175 and currently ranks 154, first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (159) and Denver (191), through games on Jan. 29. The Tommies entered its matchup at No. 7 Marquette ranked 185 and jumped 20 spots to 165 following a five-point loss to the Golden Eagles. Omaha enters the week 235 in the NET rankings, fifth among Summit League teams.
I'M JUST KEN (POM RANKINGS)
The Tommies saw a more impressive ascent in the Ken Pom Rankings following the game at Marquette. The Purple entered Milwaukee, Wis., ranked 218 in the Ken Pom Rankings before moving up to 185 after the loss. St. Thomas, currently ranked 144, is first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (154) and Denver (208). Omaha is 216 in the rankings, fourth in the league, heading into the week.
Of 363 NCAA Division I programs, St. Thomas ranks 355 in adjusted tempo with 63.2 possessions per 40 minutes. The Tommies are 151 with an adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) of 107.5 and 164 with an adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 105.6.
GOING IN FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas has recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 11 games this season, going 9-2 in those games. The largest scoring run of the season came against Sacramento State when it went on a spurt of 21-0. The only losses came by one point against South Dakota State and South Dakota.
Opponents have recorded a "Kill Shot" in five games against the Tommies, in which the Purple have gone 3-2. The largest run against St. Thomas were two 12-0 runs during a win at Western Michigan, a game in which the Toms put together two "Kill Shots," and the loss to SDSU. The only other loss when allowing a "Kill Shot" was against No. 7 Marquette. St. Thomas hasn't seen a "Kill Shot" by either team in four straight games.
PICK YOUR LEADER
The Tommies have seen eight different student-athletes lead the way in scoring and six lead in rebounds through their first 21 games. Anthony and Bjorklund have led in rebounds eight times followed by Blue four times, Lee twice, and Nau and Allen twice.
Bjorklund has led in scoring nine times while the next highest is Anthony with five, senior Drake Dobbs with three, graduate student Brooks Allen with two, and Carter Bjerke, Kendall Blue, Ahjany Lee and Ben Nau all with one.
ALL BUSINESS FOR BJORKLUND
Bjorklund became the 39th member of the 1,000-point club at St. Thomas Saturday, Jan. 6 during the win over Sacramento State. He's the most recent Tommie to cross 1,000 career points since Riley Miller did so in November 2022, excluding current Tommie Raheem Anthony who began his career in the Purple with over 1,000 points. Bjorklund has 1,080 career points following a career high 32 Jan. 25 in a win over North Dakota State along with 429 career rebounds, 16 shy of tying Joe Buri (1996-2000) for 29th all-time at St. Thomas.
THE 1,500 POINT/NEWCOMER CLUB
Newcomer Raheem Anthony, a transfer from NCAA DIII Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minn., eclipsed 1,500 career points Dec. 6, 2023 during a 75-71 win over Milwaukee. He was a two-time All-American (NABC, D3hoops.com) in 2022-23 after averaging 24.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Anthony started all 78 games played in at Saint Mary's and averaged 19.3 points in three games against St. Thomas during the 2019-20 season.
St. Thomas has five members of the 1,500-point club, all besides Anthony scored the entirety of their points in the Purple and Gray. Anthony is the first Tommie to reach the 1,500 mark since Karnell James (1993-97) who finished his career with 1,854. Six Tommies have transferred into the program and ended their careers with at least 1,000 points. Anthony has 1,662 career points and also 722 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, which ranks 11th at St. Thomas.
Anthony is second on the Tommies with 12.1 points per game and leads with 2.9 assists per game, with at least three assists in 11 games this season and an eight-assist performance Dec. 10 in a win at Chicago State. He scored a previous season-high 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting to push him over the 1,500 point mark against Milwaukee.
HOLDING 'EM BELOW 45
The Purple held a Summit League opponent at 45 points or fewer in a game for the second time over the past two seasons following its 70-45 win at North Dakota. St. Thomas previously defeated Kansas City, 73-43, on Feb. 11, 2023. No other team in the Summit League has held a conference opponent to 45 points or fewer multiple times since 2021-22. Denver, Kansas City, and Oral Roberts have all done it once since then.
JOINING ELITE COMPANY
Johnny Tauer is one of seven active head coaches among all of NCAA with at least 250 career wins and a .739 winning percentage at one program.
The Tommies (14-8, 4-3 Summit League) open the road and season series Thursday at the Mavericks (11-12, 4-4 Summit League) at 7 p.m. in Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb. St. Thomas closes its road swing and season series against the Roos (9-13, 3-4 Summit League) Saturday at 7 p.m. at Swinney Center in Kansas City, Mo.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can watch Thursday and Saturday's games on the Summit League Network and listen on ESPN 1500 radio, 94.5 HD3 for the start of Saturday's game, with Corbu Stathes calling the action. Live stats are available at omavs.com and kcroos.com.
SERIES HISTORY | OMAHA
St. Thomas and Omaha have played four times in the series history, all wins by the Tommies. The Purple have an average margin of victory of 11.5 points per game and last met Feb. 2, 2023 in Omaha, Neb.
Bjorklund has averaged 13.3 points in three career games against UNO, including 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting with six rebounds during the most recent game. Fidler has scored at least 14 points in all four games of the series for Omaha, averaging 21.0 points per game with 33 on 12-of-18 shooting Feb. 2 in Omaha.
THE OPPOSITION | OMAHA
Omaha snapped a three-game losing streak to enter this week 11-12 overall and 4-4 in Summit League play. Following two single-possession losses and a seven-point defeat at Oral Roberts, UNO came away with a 91-72 win at Denver during its last game out. Chris Crutchfield is in his second as head coach with a career record of 20-35.
The Mavericks are led in scoring by junior Frankie Fidler, whose 19.1 points per game is top 50 in the nation and third in the Summit League. He's third shooting 90.0 percent from the free throw line, fifth shooting 50.0 percent from the field, fifth with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio, tied for seventh with 2.4 3-point field goals per game, tied for seventh with 3.3 assists per game and 14th with 6.0 rebounds.
UNO is third in the Summit League with 79.9 points per game and fourth allowing 76.1 points. The Mavericks are second in both field goal percentage (.477) and field goal percentage defense (.442), and are 40th nationally and third in the league with 10.3 turnovers per game.
SERIES HISTORY | KANSAS CITY
St. Thomas and Kansas City's series history began with the Toms' transition to NCAA Division I, playing five times over the past three seasons. UMKC took the first three games of the series while the Toms have taken the past two, including a 77-56 win Dec. 31, 2023 in St. Paul, Minn. The 21-point win was the second straight 20+ point margin of victory for the Tommies to begin Summit League play. Graduate student Raheem Anthony led the Tommies with 17 points and four assists while fellow grad student Brooks Allen added 10 points along with team highs of eight rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Kendall Blue scored 15 points and senior Drake Dobbs totaled 14 points, both on 5-of-10 shooting.
THE OPPOSITION | KANSAS CITY
Kansas City enters the week 9-13 overall and 3-4 in the Summit League after nabbing two wins over its last three games. The Roos most recently took an 81-57 win over South Dakota on Jan. 27 in Kansas City.
Junior Jamar Brown paces the Roos and ranks 10th in the Summit League with 14.0 points per game, followed by junior Cameron Faas with 11.0 points. Brown is third in the conference with 2.55 offensive rebounds per game while Faas leads shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point range along with 2.68 3-pointers made per game. Grad student Khristion Courseault is second in the league with 4.0 assists per game and averages 9.5 points per game.
UMKC ranks last in the Summit League with 72.0 points per game and is second allowing 70.9 points. UMKC's defense is powered by 12.1 turnovers forced per game, which ranks second behind St. Thomas' 12.4, while it crashes the glass offensively with 12.9 offensive rebounds per game to lead the Summit and rank 38th nationally.
LAST TIME OUT | NORTH DAKOTA
Three-point shooting woes hindered the Tommies on Saturday evening as St. Thomas men's basketball suffered a 74-64 loss against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. St. Thomas moves to 14-8 on the season and 4-3 in conference play. St. Thomas shot 43.1 percent overall (22-51) and 23.5 percent from 3-point range (4-17) while going 16-of-19 from the free throw line. North Dakota shot 48.4 percent (30-62) from the field and 36 percent (9-25) from beyond the arc while winning the rebound margin 37-26 over the Tommies. After trailing 38-27 at halftime, the Purple outscored the Fighting Hawks 37-36 in the second half.
THE CAST | VS NORTH DAKOTA
Despite the defeat, graduate student Raheem Anthony recorded a season-high 32 points on 10-of-16 shooting including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. He also recorded a team high eight rebounds in addition to two steals and a block in an all-around performance. Anthony continued the Tommie 30-point streak as he followed up fellow graduate student Parker Bjorklund's 32-point performance in the previous game against North Dakota State.
BACK-TO-BACK FOR 32 POINTS
Bjorklund and Anthony recorded back-to-back 32-point performances during its home series against North Dakota State on Jan. 25 and North Dakota on Jan. 27, marking the first Tommie teammates with at least 32 points in consecutive games since at least the 2008-09 season.
Prior to the duo's 32-point games, the Tommies hadn't had multiple 30-point performances in a single season since 2019-20 when Anders Nelson scored 42 points Jan. 6 and 33 points Feb. 5.
A GRACEFUL TRANSITION
St. Thomas is one of 11 teams currently making the transition into NCAA Division I. Of those 11 teams, the Tommies are the only one making the jump from the Division III ranks (while the other 10 were previously members of Division II). Among those teams, St. Thomas is tied for the lead with 14 wins and is second in both the Ken Pom and NET Rankings.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Purple rank among the top 21 nationally in three categories this season, coming in ninth with 9.2 turnovers per game, tied for 16th with 63.7 points allowed per game and tied for 21st with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.53. The Tommies are also tied for 35th with a 3.2 turnover margin, tied for 40th with 9.1 3-pointers per game, tied for 49th shooting 75.1 percent from the free throw line, tied for 56th with a 9.5 scoring margin, and tied for 59th with an effective field goal percent of 54.3.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Toms' defense has been the best in the Summit League to start the conference schedule, holding its league opponents to 67.4 points per game, which is 6.2 points fewer than the next lowest. St. Thomas' conference scoring margin of +8.3 is the best in the league, 4.5 more than the next highest. Overall, the Toms rank tied for 16th in the nation with 63.7 points allowed per game.
MARGIN FOR SUCCESS
St. Thomas has made a statement with its margin of victories thus far, beating its DI opponents by an average of 12.0 points per game, including an average of 17.5 points in Summit League wins. The Purple's margins of loss have been slim at 5.0 points per loss, including two league defeats coming by a combined two points, with two double-digit losses this season overall. Six of the Toms' eight losses have been by two or fewer possessions.
TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
Tauer's teams have historically taken care of the basketball and this season is no different. The Tommies are currently 9th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.2) after ranking tied for 11th nationally in the fewest total turnovers (327) last season and leading the category in 2021-22. Only Houston and Virginia have a better scoring defense and fewer turnovers per game than St. Thomas nationally.
HOME COOKING
The Tommies have embraced playing in front of the hometown crowd, going 21-4 over its last 25 games at Schoenecker Arena. St. Thomas closed out the 2021-22 season with a home win and went 12-2 last season, including a 10-game home winning streak, before opening the 2023-24 season with seven straight home wins. The only three home losses over that span came Jan. 28, 2023 to South Dakota, Feb. 9, 2023 to Oral Roberts, and Jan. 11, 2024 to South Dakota State.
READY FOR THE HOME STRETCH
The 2023-24 schedule is down to the final nine games of the regular season, including four at home for St. Thomas. The Tommies set their top five attendance marks over its final five games of the 2022-23 season, while its most three most recent home games have topped that previous fifth-highest attendance number (1,505) set Jan. 26, 2023 against South Dakota State.
Following its current road trip, St. Thomas returns to Schoenecker Arena Thursday, Feb. 8 versus Oral Roberts presented by Wings Credit Union. The two programs drew a facility record crowd of 2,013 on Feb. 9, 2023, a 95-88 win by ORU.
Record Men's Basketball Attendances
1. 2,013 vs. Oral Roberts (Feb. 9, 2023)
2. 1,723 vs. South Dakota (Jan. 28, 2023)
3. 1,674 vs. Western Illinois (Feb. 18, 2023)
4. 1,619 vs. Kansas City (Feb. 11, 2023)
5. 1,614 vs. North Dakota State (Jan. 11, 2024)
6. 1,540 vs. North Dakota (Jan. 27, 2024)
7. 1,515 vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 11, 2024)
8. 1,505 vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 26, 2023)
NOTHING BUT NET
When the NCAA's first NET Rankings were released on Dec. 4, St. Thomas was slotted at 175 and currently ranks 154, first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (159) and Denver (191), through games on Jan. 29. The Tommies entered its matchup at No. 7 Marquette ranked 185 and jumped 20 spots to 165 following a five-point loss to the Golden Eagles. Omaha enters the week 235 in the NET rankings, fifth among Summit League teams.
I'M JUST KEN (POM RANKINGS)
The Tommies saw a more impressive ascent in the Ken Pom Rankings following the game at Marquette. The Purple entered Milwaukee, Wis., ranked 218 in the Ken Pom Rankings before moving up to 185 after the loss. St. Thomas, currently ranked 144, is first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (154) and Denver (208). Omaha is 216 in the rankings, fourth in the league, heading into the week.
Of 363 NCAA Division I programs, St. Thomas ranks 355 in adjusted tempo with 63.2 possessions per 40 minutes. The Tommies are 151 with an adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) of 107.5 and 164 with an adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 105.6.
GOING IN FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas has recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 11 games this season, going 9-2 in those games. The largest scoring run of the season came against Sacramento State when it went on a spurt of 21-0. The only losses came by one point against South Dakota State and South Dakota.
Opponents have recorded a "Kill Shot" in five games against the Tommies, in which the Purple have gone 3-2. The largest run against St. Thomas were two 12-0 runs during a win at Western Michigan, a game in which the Toms put together two "Kill Shots," and the loss to SDSU. The only other loss when allowing a "Kill Shot" was against No. 7 Marquette. St. Thomas hasn't seen a "Kill Shot" by either team in four straight games.
PICK YOUR LEADER
The Tommies have seen eight different student-athletes lead the way in scoring and six lead in rebounds through their first 21 games. Anthony and Bjorklund have led in rebounds eight times followed by Blue four times, Lee twice, and Nau and Allen twice.
Bjorklund has led in scoring nine times while the next highest is Anthony with five, senior Drake Dobbs with three, graduate student Brooks Allen with two, and Carter Bjerke, Kendall Blue, Ahjany Lee and Ben Nau all with one.
ALL BUSINESS FOR BJORKLUND
Bjorklund became the 39th member of the 1,000-point club at St. Thomas Saturday, Jan. 6 during the win over Sacramento State. He's the most recent Tommie to cross 1,000 career points since Riley Miller did so in November 2022, excluding current Tommie Raheem Anthony who began his career in the Purple with over 1,000 points. Bjorklund has 1,080 career points following a career high 32 Jan. 25 in a win over North Dakota State along with 429 career rebounds, 16 shy of tying Joe Buri (1996-2000) for 29th all-time at St. Thomas.
THE 1,500 POINT/NEWCOMER CLUB
Newcomer Raheem Anthony, a transfer from NCAA DIII Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minn., eclipsed 1,500 career points Dec. 6, 2023 during a 75-71 win over Milwaukee. He was a two-time All-American (NABC, D3hoops.com) in 2022-23 after averaging 24.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Anthony started all 78 games played in at Saint Mary's and averaged 19.3 points in three games against St. Thomas during the 2019-20 season.
St. Thomas has five members of the 1,500-point club, all besides Anthony scored the entirety of their points in the Purple and Gray. Anthony is the first Tommie to reach the 1,500 mark since Karnell James (1993-97) who finished his career with 1,854. Six Tommies have transferred into the program and ended their careers with at least 1,000 points. Anthony has 1,662 career points and also 722 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, which ranks 11th at St. Thomas.
Anthony is second on the Tommies with 12.1 points per game and leads with 2.9 assists per game, with at least three assists in 11 games this season and an eight-assist performance Dec. 10 in a win at Chicago State. He scored a previous season-high 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting to push him over the 1,500 point mark against Milwaukee.
HOLDING 'EM BELOW 45
The Purple held a Summit League opponent at 45 points or fewer in a game for the second time over the past two seasons following its 70-45 win at North Dakota. St. Thomas previously defeated Kansas City, 73-43, on Feb. 11, 2023. No other team in the Summit League has held a conference opponent to 45 points or fewer multiple times since 2021-22. Denver, Kansas City, and Oral Roberts have all done it once since then.
JOINING ELITE COMPANY
Johnny Tauer is one of seven active head coaches among all of NCAA with at least 250 career wins and a .739 winning percentage at one program.
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | 703 | .834 |
| Tom Brown | West Texas A&M | 254 | .814 |
| Ben McCollum | Northwest Mo. State | 380 | .809 |
| Joe Lombardi | Indiana (PA) | 413 | .784 |
| Jeff Young | Walsh | 449 | .757 |
| Mitch Oliver | Albertus Magnus | 326 | .741 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 261 | .739 |
Tauer is also one of 14 active head coaches with at least 250 career wins with a .739 winning percentage at any program.
Since taking over as head coach in 2011, Tauer has averaged 20.5 wins per season heading into 2023-24. He is the fastest to reach 250 career wins in program history, joining Steve Fritz (594-246) and Tom Feely (417-269). Tauer was a senior with Tommie Basketball when Fritz reached the 250-milestone in 1995 and Fritz was a senior for the program when Feely reached the milestone in 1970-71.
LUCKY 13
Head Coach Johnny Tauer is in his 13th season at St. Thomas as the longest tenured head coach among all Summit League programs and among the top 50 in their current role among all DI men's basketball coaches. He leads league head coaches with a .739 winning percentage and is third in career wins (261).
| 2023-24 Summit League Head Coaches | |||
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Paul Sather | North Dakota | 337 | .583 |
| Marvin Menzies | Kansas City | 266 | .580 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 261 | .739 |
| David Richman | North Dakota State | 184 | .594 |
| Eric Henderson | South Dakota State | 99 | .688 |
| Russell Springmann | Oral Roberts | 10 | .476 |
| Jeff Wulbrun | Denver | 39 | .453 |
| Chris Crutchfield | Omaha | 30 | .405 |
| Eric Peterson | South Dakota | 21 | .396 |
Tauer's winning percentage of .739 ranks 13th among active head coaches across all of NCAA (Division I, II, and III) with at least 10 years of experience. The only head coaches at their current NCAA DI programs for at least 10 seasons with a higher winning percentage than Tauer are John Calipari (Kentucky), Mark Few (Gonzaga), and Bill Self (Kansas).
DOCTOR, DOCTOR
An NCAA Postgraduate Scholar and Academic All-America honoree, Head Coach Johnny Tauer earned master's and PhD degrees in social psychology at UW-Madison. He returned to St. Thomas as a member of the faculty in 2000 before being promoted to full professor in 2011. Tauer taught for 21 years at St. Thomas and is one of the only head college basketball coaches in the nation to be a tenured faculty member and to hold a doctorate in sport-related psychology. He has published academic work on motivation, goal setting and competition in top academic journals, in addition to a book on youth sports, parents and motivation titled "Why Less is More for WOSPs (Well-Intentioned, Overinvolved Sports Parents); How to Be the Best Sport Parent You Can Be."
SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE
Head Coach Johnny Tauer's excellence within the Tommie Men's Basketball program dates back to his days as an Academic All-American that led to his induction to the St. Thomas Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. As a student-athlete from 1991-95, Tauer was an All-MIAC player, first team All-West Region, and as a senior led the 1994-95 Toms to a school-record 27-0 start, including an MIAC Championship with an unprecedented 20-0 record. He helped the Toms to NCAA DIII Tournament berths in 1992-93, 1993-94, and 1994-95, including a run to the Final Four in 1993-94. Tauer ranks 25th in career scoring (1,219 points) and 23rd in career rebounding (482) at St. Thomas, and was the school 3-point leader until 1999-2000.
After earning master's and PhD degrees at Wisconsin, Tauer joined the Tommie Men's Basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach and ran the St. Thomas defense for two seasons (2001-03) and also directed the Tommies' offensive sets that had consistently ranked among the best in NCAA basketball in overall offensive efficiency, field-goal percentage, 3-point proficiency, fewest turnovers, and assist-to-turnover ratio. With Tauer serving as an assistant, the Toms won the 2010-11 DIII National Championship title, made a run to the 2008-09 Final Four, and totaled seven DIII National Tournament runs.
With the retirement of longtime head coach Steve Fritz in 2011, Tauer took over the program and continued its storied tradition with another national title in 2015-16, a Final Four run in 2012-13, and five DIII National Tournament appearances.
As a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach at St. Thomas, Tauer has helped the Tommies to 594 wins in 28 seasons, averaging out to over 20 wins per season. He's been part of 19 conference titles, 15 national tournament appearances, three Final Fours, and two national championships.
POWER SIX
St. Thomas played two games against Power Six opponents this season, a 71-66 season-opening loss Nov. 6 at Cal and an 84-79 loss Dec. 14 at No. 7 Marquette. The 71 points scored against the Tommies is the Golden Bears' third lowest offensive output of their season. Marquette allowed its most points (79) to St. Thomas while the margin of victory (5) was the second smallest for MU this season.
The meeting against Marquette was the second game against a Top 10 Big East opponent in as many years for St. Thomas after opening the 2022-23 campaign at No. 9 Creighton. The Tommies overcame a double-digit deficit to lead in the second half against the Bluejays and nearly overcame a double-digit deficit to the Golden Eagles, pulling within one point multiple times against MU.
The Tommies have now played four Power Six opponents over the past two seasons, adding a loss Nov. 26, 2022 at Utah for its first ever game against a Pac-12 opponent.
A FRESHMAN FEAT
Redshirt freshman Carter Bjerke scored 14 points Nov. 12 against North Central, setting a career high. In doing so, he became the eighth freshman under Head Coach Johnny Tauer with a 14+ point performance within his first three career games.
2022-23
Kendall Blue: 15 pts vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (3rd career game)
Ahjany Lee: 14 pts vs. Chicago State (2nd career game)
Andrew Rohde: 15 pts vs. Creighton (1st career game)
2020-21
Parker Bjorklund: 15 pts vs. Concordia College (Minn.) (2nd career game)
2019-20
Will Engels: 15 pts vs. Whitman (1st career game)
2018-19
Anders Nelson: 24 pts vs. Emerson (2nd career game)
2017-18
Burt Hedstrom: 15 pts vs. St. Scholastica (3rd career game)
PREP CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
Five of the Tommies' 15 student-athletes have reached the ultimate pinnacle of their high school prep careers, winning state titles, while COVID brought another imminent title run to a halt. Three others also led their programs to Minnesota State Tournament appearances in Kendall Blue (2018-22) and Courtney Brown, Jr., (2015-19) at East Ridge High School and Adam Tauer (2019-23) at Cretin-Derham Hall.
Carter Bjerke - Wayzata HS
- 2020-21 Class AAAA MSHSL State Championship - 2021-22 Runner-Ups
Drake Dobbs - Eden Prairie HS
- 2019-20 28-0 and #10 in the nation (COVID shortened season)
Ryan Dufault - Waseca HS
- 2020-21 Class AA MSHSL State Championship - Game-winner with 3 seconds left
Ben Nau - Brookfield Central HS
- 2018-19 WIAA Division I State Championship
Hayden Tibbits - Wayzata HS
- 2020-21/2022-23 Class AAAA MSHSL State Championship - 2021-22 Runner-Ups
Ahjany Lee - Totino-Grace HS
- 2021-22 Class AAA MSHSL State Championship
THE MAKEUP OF THE TOMMIE ROSTER
The heart of the St. Thomas men's basketball program is comprised from Minnesota natives, including 10 of 15 student-athletes, Head Coach Johnny Tauer and Assistant Coach Cameron Rundles. Four of the remaining five student-athletes hail from Illinois while one is from Wisconsin.
The squad has nine guards and six forwards with an average height of 6-foot-4-inches, which ranks tied for 223rd in the nation among tallest teams. The Purple have three graduate students, four seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, one redshirt freshman, and three true freshmen.
BACK FROM 2022-23
St. Thomas returns 10 letter winners and one redshirt freshman (Carter Bjerke, F), along with four newcomers. Among the newcomers is one transfer (Raheem Anthony, G) and three freshmen. Leading the pack is graduate student forward Parker Bjorklund who was named Preseason All-Summit League First Team. Fellow graduate student forward Brooks Allen also returns after starting all 33 games last season and playing in all 69 games for St. Thomas since joining NCAA Division I. Kendall Blue and Ahjany Lee come back for their sophomore seasons after Blue played in all 33 games, with 22 starts, and Lee played in 32 with four starts.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
JOIN US
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-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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/ Men's BasketballTommie Men's Basketball: Summit League Tournament Cinematic Recap 2025
Thursday, March 20
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Sunday, March 02
Press Conference: Tommie Men's Basketball Postgame vs Omaha 02/15/25
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