University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, February 29
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
vs
Omaha
Photo by: Nick Wosika
Men’s Basketball hosts Omaha, Denver for final home games
2/28/2024 9:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Tommies to host Country Night Thursday, Senior Night Saturday at Schoenecker Arena
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas men's basketball will take the court at Schoenecker Arena of the final time during the 2023-24 season Feb. 29 against Omaha and March 2 against Denver.
The Tommies (17-12, 7-7 Summit League) start the week Thursday at 7 p.m. against the Mavericks (14-16, 7-8 Summit League) as the Purple host Country Night with the first 250 students receiving a free Roll Toms cowboy hat.
St. Thomas then plays its final home game of the season Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Pioneers (15-14, 6-8 Summit League). The Tommies will celebrate the careers of eight grad students and seniors with a pregame recognition beginning at 6:45 p.m.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can watch both games on the Summit League Network and listen on ESPN 1500 AM radio with Corbu Stathes calling the action. Live stats are available at tommiesports.com.
SERIES HISTORY | VS OMAHA
St. Thomas and Omaha have played five times in the series history, as the Tommies won the first four. The Purple have an average margin of victory of 11.5 points per game and fell for the first time in the series during the last meeting, 69-65 on Feb. 1.
Bjorklund averages 15.0 points per game in four contests against UNO, including 20 points during the first meeting of the season on 7-of-13 shooting. UNO's Frankie Fidler has scored at least 14 points in all five games of the series, averaging 21.6 points per game with 24 points and eight rebounds on Feb. 1.
THE OPPOSITION | OMAHA
Omaha is 14-16 overall and 7-8 in the Summit League heading into its final game of the regular season. The Mavericks have alternated wins and losses over the past five games. Chris Crutchfield is 33-48 in his second season as head coach.
The Mavericks are led in scoring by junior Frankie Fidler, whose 19.8 points per game is third in the Summit League and 36th nationally. He is eighth in the league with 6.1 rebounds per game and shooting 45.1 percent from the field, ninth with 2.7 assists per game, fifth with 1.2 steals per game, and second shooting 87.1 percent from the free throw line. Junior Marquel Sutton is second for UNO with 12.4 points per game.
UNO is sixth in the Summit League with 74.8 points per game and tied for fourth allowing 72.6 points. The Mavericks are second to St. Thomas with a 1.70 turnover margin.
SERIES HISTORY | VS DENVER
St. Thomas and Denver will meet for the sixth time ever as DU leads the series, 3-2. The Pioneers won the first two meetings in 2021-22 before the Tommies swept the 2022-23 series. DU won the first meeting this season, 94-77, on Feb. 10 in Denver.
Grad student Brooks Allen led the Tommies with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, along with three steals, during the first meeting this season. Anthony followed to score 13 points while sophomore Kendall Blue added 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. DU guard Jaxon Brenchley scored a game-high 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting overall, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and 9-of-9 from the free throw line, with nine rebounds and nine assists against St. Thomas in the game.
THE OPPOSITION | DENVER
Denver enters the week 15-14 overall and 6-8 in the Summit League after alternating wins and losses over its last five games. Jeff Wulbrun is 41-52 in his third season with the Pioneers.
Fifth year Tommy Bruner leads the nation with 25.1 points per game and has been the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week five times this season. He leads the league with 4.4 assists per game while grad student Jaxon Brenchley leads with a 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Junior forward Touko Tainamo is second on the team with 17.1 points per game.
The Pioneers lead the Summit League with 83.9 points per game and are last allowing 81.8 points. DU is last in both field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense, and is second to St. Thomas with a 1.32 assist-to-turnover ratio.
LAST TIME OUT | SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Freshman Carter Bjerke scored a career high 16 points as St. Thomas men's basketball fell at South Dakota State 77-72 on Saturday afternoon in Brookings, S.D. The Tommies led by seven points at halftime and extended to a game-high nine early in the second half while shooting 49.1 percent (26-53) overall and 85 percent (11-13) from the free throw line. The Jackrabbits shot 59.1 percent (26-44) from the field, including 70.0 percent (14-20) in the second half.
THE CAST | AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Bjerke went 5-of-6 shooting overall, including 4-of-5 from long range, and added three rebounds. He topped his previous career high of 14 points set Nov. 12, 2023. Dobbs also scored 16 points on five field goals, including two 3-pointers, and shot 4-of-4 from the free throw line to end with 16 points. Grad student Raheem Anthony scored 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from long range, while he added six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He has led the Tommies in rebounds in back-to-back games and for the 11th time overall this season. Saturday was his first game of the season with at least 10 points and at least three rebounds, assists and steals.
NORTHSIDE ACHIEVEMENT ZONE (NAZ)
St. Thomas athletics and the men's basketball program will recognize the North Side Achievement Zone (NAZ) during the under eight minute media timeout of Thursday's game. The mission of NAZ is to end multi-generational poverty in North Minneapolis by building a culture of achievement where all low-income children of color have the support they need to graduate high school and succeed in college, career, and life. NAZ envisions a prosperous North Minneapolis — where all children of color are healthy, secure, and academically successful, ultimately realizing their unlimited potential. To learn more about NAZ, visit https://www.northsideachievement.org/.
THE AWESOME OCTET
St. Thomas will celebrate the careers of eight graduate students and seniors on Saturday, March 2 during the final home game of the season. Included in the ceremonies will be grad students Brooks Allen, Raheem Anthony and Parker Bjorklund, and seniors Courtney Brown, Jr., Drake Dobbs, Bennett Kwiecinski and Dom Martinelli, along with senior student manager Josh Garcia. Garcia, a West St. Paul native and Cretin-Derham Hall graduate majoring in business management, has been with the program for the past four years.
This graduating group has combined to play 530 games with 319 starts and helped St. Thomas to 46 wins over its first three seasons in the Division I era.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Purple rank among the top 40 nationally in six categories this season, coming in ninth with 9.2 turnovers per game, tied for 29th with a turnover margin of 3.1, tied for 30th in scoring defense allowing 65.7 points per game, tied for 31st with an effective field goal percentage of .549, tied for 36th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.48, and tied for 39th with 9.0 3-pointer per game.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Toms' defense has been the best in the Summit League during conference play, holding its league opponents to 69.6 points per game. St. Thomas' conference scoring margin of +5.3 is the best in the league, 1.2 more than the next highest. Overall, the Toms rank tied for 30th in the nation with 65.7 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 12.3 points per game, including an average of 15.7 points in Summit League wins. The Purple's margins of loss have been slim at 6.7 points per loss, including the first two losses in league play coming by a combined two points, with four double-digit losses this season overall. Eight of the Toms' 12 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 third to Tarleton State and UC San Diego in total wins, in Ken Pom Rankings, and in the NET Rankings.
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 ninth 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, Princeton, 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 17 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 23-4 over its last 27 home games. St. Thomas closed the 2021-22 season with a home win and went 12-2 last season, including a 10-game home winning streak, before opening the this season with seven straight home wins.
Since Feb. 26, 2022, St. Thomas has won its home games by an average margin of 20.5 points, including a margin of 15.1 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 two games of the regular season, both at home against Omaha and Denver. The Tommies set their top five attendance marks over its final five games of the 2022-23 season, while four home games in 2024 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. 1,509 vs. South Dakota (Jan. 17, 2024)
9. 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 167, second in the Summit League to South Dakota State (165) and ahead of North Dakota State (228), through games on Feb. 27. 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 Tuesday ranked 267, seventh 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 158, is first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (162) and North Dakota (240). Omaha is 254 in the rankings, sixth in the league.
Of 363 NCAA Division I programs, St. Thomas ranks 349 in adjusted tempo with 63.4 possessions per 40 minutes. The Tommies are 150 with an adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) of 108.0 and 194 with an adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 107.5.
GOING IN FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas has recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 15 games this season, going 11-4 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 eight games against the Tommies, in which the Purple have gone 3-5. 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 29 games. Anthony has led in rebounds 11 times, Bjorklund 10 times, Blue five times, Lee three times, and Nau and Allen twice.
Bjorklund has led in scoring 13 times while the next highest is Anthony with six, Dobbs with four, Allen with three, Bjerke and Blue with two, and Lee and Nau with one. The Tommies have three athletes averaging at least 10 points while Dobbs is at 9.9 points per game, and haven't had a quartet finish above that mark since the 2015-16 national championship season (excluding 2020-21 COVID season).
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 1,163 career points along with 458 career rebounds, three shy of tying John Morin (1971-75) for 28th all-time at St. Thomas.
THE 1,500 POINT/NEWCOMER CLUB
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 1,752 career points and also 748 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, in 106 career games played.
Anthony is second on the Tommies with 12.3 points per game and leads with 3.1 assists per game, with at least three assists in 17 games this season and two eight-assist performances, making him one of three Summit League athletes with multiple eight-assist games this season. 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 .733 winning percentage at one program.
The Tommies (17-12, 7-7 Summit League) start the week Thursday at 7 p.m. against the Mavericks (14-16, 7-8 Summit League) as the Purple host Country Night with the first 250 students receiving a free Roll Toms cowboy hat.
St. Thomas then plays its final home game of the season Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Pioneers (15-14, 6-8 Summit League). The Tommies will celebrate the careers of eight grad students and seniors with a pregame recognition beginning at 6:45 p.m.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can watch both games on the Summit League Network and listen on ESPN 1500 AM radio with Corbu Stathes calling the action. Live stats are available at tommiesports.com.
SERIES HISTORY | VS OMAHA
St. Thomas and Omaha have played five times in the series history, as the Tommies won the first four. The Purple have an average margin of victory of 11.5 points per game and fell for the first time in the series during the last meeting, 69-65 on Feb. 1.
Bjorklund averages 15.0 points per game in four contests against UNO, including 20 points during the first meeting of the season on 7-of-13 shooting. UNO's Frankie Fidler has scored at least 14 points in all five games of the series, averaging 21.6 points per game with 24 points and eight rebounds on Feb. 1.
THE OPPOSITION | OMAHA
Omaha is 14-16 overall and 7-8 in the Summit League heading into its final game of the regular season. The Mavericks have alternated wins and losses over the past five games. Chris Crutchfield is 33-48 in his second season as head coach.
The Mavericks are led in scoring by junior Frankie Fidler, whose 19.8 points per game is third in the Summit League and 36th nationally. He is eighth in the league with 6.1 rebounds per game and shooting 45.1 percent from the field, ninth with 2.7 assists per game, fifth with 1.2 steals per game, and second shooting 87.1 percent from the free throw line. Junior Marquel Sutton is second for UNO with 12.4 points per game.
UNO is sixth in the Summit League with 74.8 points per game and tied for fourth allowing 72.6 points. The Mavericks are second to St. Thomas with a 1.70 turnover margin.
SERIES HISTORY | VS DENVER
St. Thomas and Denver will meet for the sixth time ever as DU leads the series, 3-2. The Pioneers won the first two meetings in 2021-22 before the Tommies swept the 2022-23 series. DU won the first meeting this season, 94-77, on Feb. 10 in Denver.
Grad student Brooks Allen led the Tommies with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, along with three steals, during the first meeting this season. Anthony followed to score 13 points while sophomore Kendall Blue added 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. DU guard Jaxon Brenchley scored a game-high 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting overall, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and 9-of-9 from the free throw line, with nine rebounds and nine assists against St. Thomas in the game.
THE OPPOSITION | DENVER
Denver enters the week 15-14 overall and 6-8 in the Summit League after alternating wins and losses over its last five games. Jeff Wulbrun is 41-52 in his third season with the Pioneers.
Fifth year Tommy Bruner leads the nation with 25.1 points per game and has been the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week five times this season. He leads the league with 4.4 assists per game while grad student Jaxon Brenchley leads with a 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Junior forward Touko Tainamo is second on the team with 17.1 points per game.
The Pioneers lead the Summit League with 83.9 points per game and are last allowing 81.8 points. DU is last in both field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense, and is second to St. Thomas with a 1.32 assist-to-turnover ratio.
LAST TIME OUT | SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Freshman Carter Bjerke scored a career high 16 points as St. Thomas men's basketball fell at South Dakota State 77-72 on Saturday afternoon in Brookings, S.D. The Tommies led by seven points at halftime and extended to a game-high nine early in the second half while shooting 49.1 percent (26-53) overall and 85 percent (11-13) from the free throw line. The Jackrabbits shot 59.1 percent (26-44) from the field, including 70.0 percent (14-20) in the second half.
THE CAST | AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Bjerke went 5-of-6 shooting overall, including 4-of-5 from long range, and added three rebounds. He topped his previous career high of 14 points set Nov. 12, 2023. Dobbs also scored 16 points on five field goals, including two 3-pointers, and shot 4-of-4 from the free throw line to end with 16 points. Grad student Raheem Anthony scored 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from long range, while he added six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He has led the Tommies in rebounds in back-to-back games and for the 11th time overall this season. Saturday was his first game of the season with at least 10 points and at least three rebounds, assists and steals.
NORTHSIDE ACHIEVEMENT ZONE (NAZ)
St. Thomas athletics and the men's basketball program will recognize the North Side Achievement Zone (NAZ) during the under eight minute media timeout of Thursday's game. The mission of NAZ is to end multi-generational poverty in North Minneapolis by building a culture of achievement where all low-income children of color have the support they need to graduate high school and succeed in college, career, and life. NAZ envisions a prosperous North Minneapolis — where all children of color are healthy, secure, and academically successful, ultimately realizing their unlimited potential. To learn more about NAZ, visit https://www.northsideachievement.org/.
THE AWESOME OCTET
St. Thomas will celebrate the careers of eight graduate students and seniors on Saturday, March 2 during the final home game of the season. Included in the ceremonies will be grad students Brooks Allen, Raheem Anthony and Parker Bjorklund, and seniors Courtney Brown, Jr., Drake Dobbs, Bennett Kwiecinski and Dom Martinelli, along with senior student manager Josh Garcia. Garcia, a West St. Paul native and Cretin-Derham Hall graduate majoring in business management, has been with the program for the past four years.
This graduating group has combined to play 530 games with 319 starts and helped St. Thomas to 46 wins over its first three seasons in the Division I era.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Purple rank among the top 40 nationally in six categories this season, coming in ninth with 9.2 turnovers per game, tied for 29th with a turnover margin of 3.1, tied for 30th in scoring defense allowing 65.7 points per game, tied for 31st with an effective field goal percentage of .549, tied for 36th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.48, and tied for 39th with 9.0 3-pointer per game.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Toms' defense has been the best in the Summit League during conference play, holding its league opponents to 69.6 points per game. St. Thomas' conference scoring margin of +5.3 is the best in the league, 1.2 more than the next highest. Overall, the Toms rank tied for 30th in the nation with 65.7 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 12.3 points per game, including an average of 15.7 points in Summit League wins. The Purple's margins of loss have been slim at 6.7 points per loss, including the first two losses in league play coming by a combined two points, with four double-digit losses this season overall. Eight of the Toms' 12 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 third to Tarleton State and UC San Diego in total wins, in Ken Pom Rankings, and in the NET Rankings.
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 ninth 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, Princeton, 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 17 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 23-4 over its last 27 home games. St. Thomas closed the 2021-22 season with a home win and went 12-2 last season, including a 10-game home winning streak, before opening the this season with seven straight home wins.
Since Feb. 26, 2022, St. Thomas has won its home games by an average margin of 20.5 points, including a margin of 15.1 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 two games of the regular season, both at home against Omaha and Denver. The Tommies set their top five attendance marks over its final five games of the 2022-23 season, while four home games in 2024 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. 1,509 vs. South Dakota (Jan. 17, 2024)
9. 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 167, second in the Summit League to South Dakota State (165) and ahead of North Dakota State (228), through games on Feb. 27. 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 Tuesday ranked 267, seventh 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 158, is first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (162) and North Dakota (240). Omaha is 254 in the rankings, sixth in the league.
Of 363 NCAA Division I programs, St. Thomas ranks 349 in adjusted tempo with 63.4 possessions per 40 minutes. The Tommies are 150 with an adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) of 108.0 and 194 with an adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 107.5.
GOING IN FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas has recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 15 games this season, going 11-4 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 eight games against the Tommies, in which the Purple have gone 3-5. 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 29 games. Anthony has led in rebounds 11 times, Bjorklund 10 times, Blue five times, Lee three times, and Nau and Allen twice.
Bjorklund has led in scoring 13 times while the next highest is Anthony with six, Dobbs with four, Allen with three, Bjerke and Blue with two, and Lee and Nau with one. The Tommies have three athletes averaging at least 10 points while Dobbs is at 9.9 points per game, and haven't had a quartet finish above that mark since the 2015-16 national championship season (excluding 2020-21 COVID season).
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 1,163 career points along with 458 career rebounds, three shy of tying John Morin (1971-75) for 28th all-time at St. Thomas.
THE 1,500 POINT/NEWCOMER CLUB
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 1,752 career points and also 748 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, in 106 career games played.
Anthony is second on the Tommies with 12.3 points per game and leads with 3.1 assists per game, with at least three assists in 17 games this season and two eight-assist performances, making him one of three Summit League athletes with multiple eight-assist games this season. 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 .733 winning percentage at one program.
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | 710 | .834 |
| Tom Brown | West Texas A&M | 261 | .816 |
| Ben McCollum | Northwest Mo. State | 387 | .811 |
| Joe Lombardi | Indiana (PA) | 416 | .779 |
| Jeff Young | Walsh | 455 | .758 |
| Mitch Oliver | Albertus Magnus | 331 | .740 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 264 | .733 |
Tauer is also one of 15 active head coaches with at least 250 career wins with a .733 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 .733 winning percentage and is third in career wins (264).
| 2023-24 Summit League Head Coaches | |||
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Paul Sather | North Dakota | 342 | .585 |
| Marvin Menzies | Kansas City | 271 | .582 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 264 | .733 |
| David Richman | North Dakota State | 190 | .597 |
| Eric Henderson | South Dakota State | 104 | .689 |
| Jeff Wulbrun | Denver | 41 | .441 |
| Chris Crutchfield | Omaha | 33 | .407 |
| Eric Peterson | South Dakota | 23 | .383 |
| Russell Springmann | Oral Roberts | 11 | .393 |
Tauer's winning percentage of .733 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 597 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
Press Conference: Tommie Men's Basketball Postgame vs Kansas City 03-01-25
Sunday, March 02
Press Conference: Tommie Men's Basketball Postgame vs Omaha 02/15/25
Sunday, February 16
Tommie Men's Basketball vs NDSU: Cinematic Recap
Wednesday, February 05
