University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, February 17
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
vs
South Dakota
Photo by: Nick Wosika
Tommies host Alumni Day Saturday against Coyotes
2/15/2024 10:35:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. Thomas aims to even season series against South Dakota at Schoenecker Arena
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A host of Tommies will converge in Schoenecker Arena Saturday, Feb. 17 as St. Thomas men's basketball hosts Alumni Day against South Dakota.
The Tommies (16-10, 6-5 Summit League) look to even the season series against the Coyotes (10-15, 3-7 Summit League) with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
Tickets for Saturday's game against South Dakota can be secured HERE.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can watch Saturday's game on the Summit League Network and listen on 94.5 HD3 radio with Corbu Stathes calling the action. Live stats are available at tommiesports.com.
SERIES HISTORY
St. Thomas and South Dakota have played five times in the series history, led by USD 5-0, dating back to Jan. 22, 2022. The Coyotes have won by an average margin of 11.0 points per game, the closest coming as a one-point loss during the first meeting of 2023-24. USD is the only Summit League program St. Thomas has not beat since joining the conference in 2021.
Parker Bjorklund has averaged 15.0 points in five games against South Dakota, including at least 17 points in each of the last three meetings. He led the Tommies with 17 points and seven rebounds during the team's 74-73 overtime loss Jan. 18, 2024 in Vermillion, S.D. Bjorklund was one of four Tommies to score in double figures, followed by Raheem Anthony with 14 points, Kendall Blue with 13 and Dobbs with 11. Anthony added six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one turnover.
THE OPPOSITION | SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota enters the week 10-15 overall and 3-7 in the Summit League before facing Omaha Thursday, Feb. 15. The Coyotes snapped a five-game losing streak with a 92-86 win against Denver Feb. 8 during their last game out. Eric Peterson is 22-24 in two seasons as head coach.
The Coyotes have four student-athletes averaging double-digit points led by junior Kaleb Stewart with 15.7 points per game, which is seventh in the league while he also ranks fourth with 2.4 3-point field goals made per game. Senior Lahat Thioune leads the Summit with 9.8 rebounds per game and is second for USD with 13.5 points per game.
USD is fourth in the Summit League with 76.0 points per game and eighth allowing 78.5 points. The Coyotes are 35th nationally and lead the conference with 39.6 rebounds per game. They also lead with a 4.3 rebound margin.
LAST TIME OUT | DENVER
St. Thomas fell to Denver during the opening game of the season series, 94-77, on Saturday, Feb. 10 in Denver. St. Thomas shot 45.9 percent from the field (28-61) and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc (6-24) while Denver finished the game shooting 57.9 percent overall (33-57) and 40.0 percent from 3-point range (10-25). The Tommies outscored the Pioneers on fast break points (22-14), off turnovers (18-16), in the paint (42-38), and off second-chance points (10-5).
THE CAST | AT DENVER
Graduate student Brooks Allen shot 6-of-10 from the field for a season high 18 points, including 10 points in the second half, to record his sixth double-digit scoring game of the season. He surpassed his previous season high of 17 points scored twice while fellow grad student Raheem Anthony added 13 points and sophomore Kendall Blue totaled 12. Anthony finished with his 15th double-digit scoring game of the season and seventh consecutive, tying Blue for the longest by a Tommie this season. Blue scored at least 10 points for the 14th time this year.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Purple rank among the top 40 nationally in six categories this season, coming in tied for 9th with 9.3 turnovers per game, tied for 24th with 64.7 points allowed per game, tied for 31st with an effective field goal percentage of .551, tied for 32nd with a 3.0 turnover margin, tied for 39th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.48, tied for 40th with 9.1 3-pointers per game.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Toms' defense has been the best in the Summit League to start the conference schedule, holding its league opponents to 68.5 points per game, which is 3.0 points fewer than the next lowest. St. Thomas' conference scoring margin of +6.7 is the best in the league, 2.8 more than the next highest. Overall, the Toms rank tied for 24th in the nation with 64.7 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 13 points per game, including an average of 17.8 points in Summit League wins. The Purple's margins of loss have been slim at 6.1 points per loss, including two league defeats coming by a combined two points, with three double-digit losses this season overall. Seven of the Toms' 10 losses have been by two or fewer possessions.
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 directly from the Division III ranks (while all 42 teams to transition to Division I since 2001 came from Division II). Among the current transitioning teams, St. Thomas is second to Tarleton State in total wins, and to UC San Diego in NET Ranking and Ken Pom Ranking.
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 tied for ninth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.3) after ranking tied for 11th nationally in the fewest total turnovers (327) last season and leading the category in 2021-22. Only Houston, Vermont and Virginia have a better scoring defense and fewer turnovers per game than St. Thomas nationally.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
St. Thomas is one of 17 teams in the nation to feature two or fewer starting lineups this season. The group of Allen, Anthony, Bjorklund, Blue and Dobbs started the first 11 games this season before injury forced Anthony to miss the 12th game. That initial group has started the past 14 games.
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.
HOME COOKING
The Tommies have embraced playing in front of the hometown crowd, going 22-4 over its last 26 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.
Since Feb. 26, 2022, St. Thomas has won its home games by an average margin of 21.3 points, including a margin of 15.8 points against Division I opponents. Seven of those wins against DI opponents have been by more than 20 points while just three were decided by less than 10 points.
READY FOR THE HOME STRETCH
The 2023-24 schedule is down to the final five games of the regular season, including three at home for St. Thomas. The Tommies set their top five attendance marks over its final five games of the 2022-23 season, while three home games this season have topped that previous fifth-highest attendance number (1,505) set Jan. 26, 2023 against South Dakota State.
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 147, first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (165) and Denver (214), through games on Feb. 14. 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. South Dakota enter Thursday ranked 319, last among Summit League programs.
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 138, is first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (162) and Denver (216). South Dakota is 320 in the rankings, last in the league.
Of 363 NCAA Division I programs, St. Thomas ranks 349 in adjusted tempo with 63.5 possessions per 40 minutes. The Tommies are 132 with an adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) of 107.8 and 168 with an adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 105.3.
GOING IN FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas has recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 13 games this season, going 10-3 in those games. The largest scoring run of the season came against Sacramento State when it went on a spurt of 21-0.
Opponents have recorded a "Kill Shot" in six games against the Tommies, in which the Purple have gone 3-3. 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.
PICK YOUR LEADER
The Tommies have seen nine different student-athletes lead the way in scoring and six lead in rebounds through their first 24 games. Anthony and Bjorklund have led in rebounds nine times, followed by Blue five times, Lee three times, and Nau and Allen twice.
Bjorklund has led in scoring 11 times while the next highest is Anthony with five, Allen and Dobbs with three, Blue with two, and Bjerke, Lee and 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 and became the first to reach 1,000 career points in Division I play Feb. 27, 2024 against North Dakota. He entered this season with 695 points in Division I play since 2021-22 and reached 1,000 Division I points at the 5:39 mark in the second half against the Fighting Hawks. Bjorklund has 1,129 career points following a career high 32 Jan. 25 in a win over North Dakota State along with 444 career rebounds, one 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 1,712 career points, including 1,408 scored at SMU, and also 735 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, in 103 career games played.
Anthony is second on the Tommies with 12.2 points per game and leads with 2.9 assists per game, with at least three assists in 13 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 .737 winning percentage at one program.
The Tommies (16-10, 6-5 Summit League) look to even the season series against the Coyotes (10-15, 3-7 Summit League) with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
Tickets for Saturday's game against South Dakota can be secured HERE.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can watch Saturday's game on the Summit League Network and listen on 94.5 HD3 radio with Corbu Stathes calling the action. Live stats are available at tommiesports.com.
SERIES HISTORY
St. Thomas and South Dakota have played five times in the series history, led by USD 5-0, dating back to Jan. 22, 2022. The Coyotes have won by an average margin of 11.0 points per game, the closest coming as a one-point loss during the first meeting of 2023-24. USD is the only Summit League program St. Thomas has not beat since joining the conference in 2021.
Parker Bjorklund has averaged 15.0 points in five games against South Dakota, including at least 17 points in each of the last three meetings. He led the Tommies with 17 points and seven rebounds during the team's 74-73 overtime loss Jan. 18, 2024 in Vermillion, S.D. Bjorklund was one of four Tommies to score in double figures, followed by Raheem Anthony with 14 points, Kendall Blue with 13 and Dobbs with 11. Anthony added six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one turnover.
THE OPPOSITION | SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota enters the week 10-15 overall and 3-7 in the Summit League before facing Omaha Thursday, Feb. 15. The Coyotes snapped a five-game losing streak with a 92-86 win against Denver Feb. 8 during their last game out. Eric Peterson is 22-24 in two seasons as head coach.
The Coyotes have four student-athletes averaging double-digit points led by junior Kaleb Stewart with 15.7 points per game, which is seventh in the league while he also ranks fourth with 2.4 3-point field goals made per game. Senior Lahat Thioune leads the Summit with 9.8 rebounds per game and is second for USD with 13.5 points per game.
USD is fourth in the Summit League with 76.0 points per game and eighth allowing 78.5 points. The Coyotes are 35th nationally and lead the conference with 39.6 rebounds per game. They also lead with a 4.3 rebound margin.
LAST TIME OUT | DENVER
St. Thomas fell to Denver during the opening game of the season series, 94-77, on Saturday, Feb. 10 in Denver. St. Thomas shot 45.9 percent from the field (28-61) and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc (6-24) while Denver finished the game shooting 57.9 percent overall (33-57) and 40.0 percent from 3-point range (10-25). The Tommies outscored the Pioneers on fast break points (22-14), off turnovers (18-16), in the paint (42-38), and off second-chance points (10-5).
THE CAST | AT DENVER
Graduate student Brooks Allen shot 6-of-10 from the field for a season high 18 points, including 10 points in the second half, to record his sixth double-digit scoring game of the season. He surpassed his previous season high of 17 points scored twice while fellow grad student Raheem Anthony added 13 points and sophomore Kendall Blue totaled 12. Anthony finished with his 15th double-digit scoring game of the season and seventh consecutive, tying Blue for the longest by a Tommie this season. Blue scored at least 10 points for the 14th time this year.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Purple rank among the top 40 nationally in six categories this season, coming in tied for 9th with 9.3 turnovers per game, tied for 24th with 64.7 points allowed per game, tied for 31st with an effective field goal percentage of .551, tied for 32nd with a 3.0 turnover margin, tied for 39th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.48, tied for 40th with 9.1 3-pointers per game.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Toms' defense has been the best in the Summit League to start the conference schedule, holding its league opponents to 68.5 points per game, which is 3.0 points fewer than the next lowest. St. Thomas' conference scoring margin of +6.7 is the best in the league, 2.8 more than the next highest. Overall, the Toms rank tied for 24th in the nation with 64.7 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 13 points per game, including an average of 17.8 points in Summit League wins. The Purple's margins of loss have been slim at 6.1 points per loss, including two league defeats coming by a combined two points, with three double-digit losses this season overall. Seven of the Toms' 10 losses have been by two or fewer possessions.
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 directly from the Division III ranks (while all 42 teams to transition to Division I since 2001 came from Division II). Among the current transitioning teams, St. Thomas is second to Tarleton State in total wins, and to UC San Diego in NET Ranking and Ken Pom Ranking.
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 tied for ninth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.3) after ranking tied for 11th nationally in the fewest total turnovers (327) last season and leading the category in 2021-22. Only Houston, Vermont and Virginia have a better scoring defense and fewer turnovers per game than St. Thomas nationally.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
St. Thomas is one of 17 teams in the nation to feature two or fewer starting lineups this season. The group of Allen, Anthony, Bjorklund, Blue and Dobbs started the first 11 games this season before injury forced Anthony to miss the 12th game. That initial group has started the past 14 games.
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.
HOME COOKING
The Tommies have embraced playing in front of the hometown crowd, going 22-4 over its last 26 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.
Since Feb. 26, 2022, St. Thomas has won its home games by an average margin of 21.3 points, including a margin of 15.8 points against Division I opponents. Seven of those wins against DI opponents have been by more than 20 points while just three were decided by less than 10 points.
READY FOR THE HOME STRETCH
The 2023-24 schedule is down to the final five games of the regular season, including three at home for St. Thomas. The Tommies set their top five attendance marks over its final five games of the 2022-23 season, while three home games this season have topped that previous fifth-highest attendance number (1,505) set Jan. 26, 2023 against South Dakota State.
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 147, first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (165) and Denver (214), through games on Feb. 14. 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. South Dakota enter Thursday ranked 319, last among Summit League programs.
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 138, is first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (162) and Denver (216). South Dakota is 320 in the rankings, last in the league.
Of 363 NCAA Division I programs, St. Thomas ranks 349 in adjusted tempo with 63.5 possessions per 40 minutes. The Tommies are 132 with an adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) of 107.8 and 168 with an adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 105.3.
GOING IN FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas has recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 13 games this season, going 10-3 in those games. The largest scoring run of the season came against Sacramento State when it went on a spurt of 21-0.
Opponents have recorded a "Kill Shot" in six games against the Tommies, in which the Purple have gone 3-3. 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.
PICK YOUR LEADER
The Tommies have seen nine different student-athletes lead the way in scoring and six lead in rebounds through their first 24 games. Anthony and Bjorklund have led in rebounds nine times, followed by Blue five times, Lee three times, and Nau and Allen twice.
Bjorklund has led in scoring 11 times while the next highest is Anthony with five, Allen and Dobbs with three, Blue with two, and Bjerke, Lee and 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 and became the first to reach 1,000 career points in Division I play Feb. 27, 2024 against North Dakota. He entered this season with 695 points in Division I play since 2021-22 and reached 1,000 Division I points at the 5:39 mark in the second half against the Fighting Hawks. Bjorklund has 1,129 career points following a career high 32 Jan. 25 in a win over North Dakota State along with 444 career rebounds, one 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 1,712 career points, including 1,408 scored at SMU, and also 735 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, in 103 career games played.
Anthony is second on the Tommies with 12.2 points per game and leads with 2.9 assists per game, with at least three assists in 13 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 .737 winning percentage at one program.
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | 706 | .834 |
| Tom Brown | West Texas A&M | 258 | .816 |
| Ben McCollum | Northwest Mo. State | 384 | .810 |
| Joe Lombardi | Indiana (PA) | 414 | .781 |
| Jeff Young | Walsh | 452 | .758 |
| Mitch Oliver | Albertus Magnus | 329 | .741 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 263 | .737 |
Tauer is also one of 15 active head coaches with at least 250 career wins with a .737 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 .737 winning percentage and is third in career wins (263).
| 2023-24 Summit League Head Coaches | |||
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Paul Sather | North Dakota | 340 | .584 |
| Marvin Menzies | Kansas City | 268 | .579 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 263 | .737 |
| David Richman | North Dakota State | 187 | .596 |
| Eric Henderson | South Dakota State | 101 | .687 |
| Jeff Wulbrun | Denver | 40 | .444 |
| Chris Crutchfield | Omaha | 31 | .403 |
| Eric Peterson | South Dakota | 22 | .393 |
| Russell Springmann | Oral Roberts | 11 | .458 |
Tauer's winning percentage of .737 ranks 15th 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 596 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.
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
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2023-24 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- 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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