University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, February 8
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
vs
Oral Roberts
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Men’s Basketball hosting reigning champs during Summit weekend
2/6/2024 1:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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St. Thomas and Oral Roberts are tied for third in Summit and travel Saturday to face Denver
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- With seven teams in the Summit League separated by two games and just seven regular season games remaining, every game has added importance. St. Thomas men's basketball plays two of those teams this week, including the reigning Summit League champion Oral Roberts Thursday, Feb. 8, and a road trip to face Denver Saturday Feb. 10.
The Tommies (15-9, 5-4 Summit League) welcome in the Golden Eagles (11-11, 5-4 Summit League) for a 7 p.m. tip-off Thursday in Schoenecker Arena, as both teams are currently tied for third in the conference standings and just one game out of first place. The Purple then turn their focus to the Pioneers (13-11, 4-5 Summit League) for a 4 p.m. (CT) tip-off Saturday in Denver against the nation's leading scorer in Tommy Bruner.
Tickets for Thursday's game against Oral Roberts can be secured HERE.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can watch Thursday and Saturday's games on the Summit League Network and listen on ESPN 1500 radio with Corbu Stathes calling the action. Live stats are available at tommiesports.com and denverpioneers.com.
SERIES HISTORY | ORAL ROBERTS
St. Thomas and Oral Roberts have played six times in the series history, as the Tommies nabbed their first win Jan. 13, 2024, 87-76. The Purple finished with four players in double figure scoring, led by Drake Dobbs with 17 points and sophomores Kendall Blue and Ahjany Lee with 16 each, who also added a team-high seven rebounds each. Lee's 16 points and seven rebounds are career highs. St. Thomas took a 46-33 lead by halftime and finished with 31 bench points compared to eight for Oral Roberts.
Parker Bjorklund is averaging 17.8 points on 50 percent shooting (45-90) and 5.5 rebounds per game in six career contests against ORU.
THE OPPOSITION | ORAL ROBERTS
Oral Roberts enters the week with a .500 winning percentage of 11-11 and tied with St. Thomas in the Summit League standings at 5-4. The Golden Eagles have won three consecutive games, all at home, against Omaha (74-67), South Dakota State (87-82) and Denver (82-76). Russell Springmann is in his first season as head coach at ORU.
The Golden Eagles have four student-athletes averaging double-digit points, led by senior Issac McBride with 20.8, which is 18th in the country and second in the conference. Junior Jailen Bedford is scoring 14.6 points per game, which is ninth in the Summit, followed by grad students Kareem Thompson with 12.9 and DeShang Weaver with 10.9. The duo of Thompson and McBride ranks first and second in the country in minutes per game, respectively.
ORU ranks fourth in the Summit League with 76.1 points per game and is sixth allowing 75.2 points. The Golden Eagles lead the conference shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range and rank just behind St. Thomas for second with a +2.05 turnover margin and a 1.34 assist-to-turnover ratio.
SERIES HISTORY | DENVER
St. Thomas and Denver will meet for the first time this season but have played four times previous, each team coming away with two wins. The Tommies have won two straight against the Pioneers by an average margin of 10.5 points, sweeping the 2022-23 season series, after Denver won the initial two meetings during the 2021-22 season by an average of 6.0 points.
Parker Bjorklund and Brooks Allen have combined to lead St. Thomas in scoring against Denver over the past three meetings. Bjorklund recorded a double-double of 19 points, with 5-of-7 3-point field goals, and 10 rebounds Feb. 4, 2023 in Denver after scoring 26 points on Jan. 5, 2023 in St. Paul, combining to shoot 70.4 percent (19-27) from the field over his three career games against DU. Allen led the Tommies with 22 points during the 2021-22 series finale behind 9-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
THE OPPOSITION | DENVER
Denver begins the week 13-11 overall and 4-5 in the Summit League after losing three consecutive games and four of the past five overall. The Pioneers took losses of 85-71 at Kansas City on Feb. 1 before an 82-76 loss at Oral Roberts on Feb. 3. Jeff Wulbrun is 39-49 overall in three seasons as head coach.
Fifth year Tommy Bruner leads the nation in scoring with 25.3 points per game and has been the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week five times this season. He averages 34.0 minutes per game and shoots 42.8 percent from the field, including 38.4 percent from 3-point range, and leads the Summit League with 4.5 assists per game. Grad student Jaxon Brenchley is ninth in the country and leads the conference with a 3.43 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Denver leads the Summit League and is 12th in the nation with 84.5 points per game and is eighth in the conference allowing 80.9 points per game. The Pioneers are 42nd nationally and fourth in the league with 10.2 turnovers per game, and leads the Summit with 4.2 blocks per game, and is second behind St. Thomas with 13.71 assists per game.
LAST TIME OUT | KANSAS CITY
St. Thomas men's basketball got back in the win column behind strong shooting Saturday night, earning a 71-56 win at Kansas City. The Purple shot over 50 percent from the field for the 12th time this season, winning nine of those games, and shot over 60 percent in the second half alone. St. Thomas outrebounded Kansas City, 24-18, now winning all 10 games when outrebounding its opponents. The Purple went on a 17-2 run midway through the second half to improve to 15-9 overall and 5-4 in Summit League play.
THE CAST | AT KANSAS CITY
Junior Ryan Dufault came off the bench to tie with sophomore Kendall Blue for a game-high 16 points. Blue's 16 points is his second highest output during the conference schedule as he shot 6-of-9 overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. It was the third time he's led the team in single-game scoring this season while Dufault scored 16 points in 18 minutes of action on 7-of-8 shooting. Saturday set a career high for Dufault in scoring against Division I opponents. Grad student Raheem Anthony scored 12 points, marking his 13th double-digit game, in which St. Thomas has won seven 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.
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 tied with Tarleton State for second with 15 wins and is second to UC San Diego in both the Ken Pom and NET Rankings.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Purple rank among the top 50 nationally in six categories this season, coming in tied for 11th with 9.4 turnovers per game, tied for 13th with 63.6 points allowed per game, tied for 32nd with an effective field goal percentage of .550, tied for 39th with 9.1 3-pointers per game, tied for 41st with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.47, and tied for 41st with a 2.9 turnover margin.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Toms' defense has been the best in the Summit League to start the conference schedule, holding its league opponents to 66.3 points per game, which is 6.6 points fewer than the next lowest. St. Thomas' conference scoring margin of +7.7 is the best in the league, 3.9 more than the next highest. Overall, the Toms rank tied for 13th in the nation with 63.6 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 17.0 points in Summit League wins. The Purple's margins of loss have been slim at 4.9 points per loss, including two league defeats coming by a combined two points, with two double-digit losses this season overall. Seven of the Toms' nine 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 tied for 11th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.4) 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.
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.
READY FOR THE HOME STRETCH
The 2023-24 schedule is down to the final seven 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 three most recent home games have topped that previous fifth-highest attendance number (1,505) set Jan. 26, 2023 against South Dakota State.
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 147, first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (170) and Denver (211), through games on Feb. 4. 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. Oral Roberts enters the week 213 in the NET rankings, fourth 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 138, is first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (168) and Omaha (214). Oral Roberts is 215 in the rankings, fourth in the league, heading into the week.
Of 363 NCAA Division I programs, St. Thomas ranks 354 in adjusted tempo with 63.0 possessions per 40 minutes. The Tommies are 134 with an adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) of 108.4 and 159 with an adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 105.5.
GOING IN FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas has recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 12 games this season, going 10-2 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 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 has led in rebounds nine times, followed by Bjorklund eight times, Blue five times, Lee twice, and Nau and Allen twice.
Bjorklund has led in scoring 10 times while the next highest is Anthony with five, Dobbs with three, graduate student Brooks Allen and 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. 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 1,106 career points following a career high 32 Jan. 25 in a win over North Dakota State along with 432 career rebounds, 13 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 1,688 career points and also 730 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, in 101 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 12 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.
APPEARANCE 350 AT ORAL ROBERTS
Johnny Tauer made his 350th appearance as head coach for St. Thomas during the Jan. 13 win at Oral Roberts. Tauer, the longest tenured head coach in the Summit League, will take on ORU head coach Russell Springmann, the shortest tenured head coach, for the second time in their careers.
JOINING ELITE COMPANY
Johnny Tauer is one of seven active head coaches among all of NCAA with at least 250 career wins and a .738 winning percentage at one program.
The Tommies (15-9, 5-4 Summit League) welcome in the Golden Eagles (11-11, 5-4 Summit League) for a 7 p.m. tip-off Thursday in Schoenecker Arena, as both teams are currently tied for third in the conference standings and just one game out of first place. The Purple then turn their focus to the Pioneers (13-11, 4-5 Summit League) for a 4 p.m. (CT) tip-off Saturday in Denver against the nation's leading scorer in Tommy Bruner.
Tickets for Thursday's game against Oral Roberts can be secured HERE.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can watch Thursday and Saturday's games on the Summit League Network and listen on ESPN 1500 radio with Corbu Stathes calling the action. Live stats are available at tommiesports.com and denverpioneers.com.
SERIES HISTORY | ORAL ROBERTS
St. Thomas and Oral Roberts have played six times in the series history, as the Tommies nabbed their first win Jan. 13, 2024, 87-76. The Purple finished with four players in double figure scoring, led by Drake Dobbs with 17 points and sophomores Kendall Blue and Ahjany Lee with 16 each, who also added a team-high seven rebounds each. Lee's 16 points and seven rebounds are career highs. St. Thomas took a 46-33 lead by halftime and finished with 31 bench points compared to eight for Oral Roberts.
Parker Bjorklund is averaging 17.8 points on 50 percent shooting (45-90) and 5.5 rebounds per game in six career contests against ORU.
THE OPPOSITION | ORAL ROBERTS
Oral Roberts enters the week with a .500 winning percentage of 11-11 and tied with St. Thomas in the Summit League standings at 5-4. The Golden Eagles have won three consecutive games, all at home, against Omaha (74-67), South Dakota State (87-82) and Denver (82-76). Russell Springmann is in his first season as head coach at ORU.
The Golden Eagles have four student-athletes averaging double-digit points, led by senior Issac McBride with 20.8, which is 18th in the country and second in the conference. Junior Jailen Bedford is scoring 14.6 points per game, which is ninth in the Summit, followed by grad students Kareem Thompson with 12.9 and DeShang Weaver with 10.9. The duo of Thompson and McBride ranks first and second in the country in minutes per game, respectively.
ORU ranks fourth in the Summit League with 76.1 points per game and is sixth allowing 75.2 points. The Golden Eagles lead the conference shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range and rank just behind St. Thomas for second with a +2.05 turnover margin and a 1.34 assist-to-turnover ratio.
SERIES HISTORY | DENVER
St. Thomas and Denver will meet for the first time this season but have played four times previous, each team coming away with two wins. The Tommies have won two straight against the Pioneers by an average margin of 10.5 points, sweeping the 2022-23 season series, after Denver won the initial two meetings during the 2021-22 season by an average of 6.0 points.
Parker Bjorklund and Brooks Allen have combined to lead St. Thomas in scoring against Denver over the past three meetings. Bjorklund recorded a double-double of 19 points, with 5-of-7 3-point field goals, and 10 rebounds Feb. 4, 2023 in Denver after scoring 26 points on Jan. 5, 2023 in St. Paul, combining to shoot 70.4 percent (19-27) from the field over his three career games against DU. Allen led the Tommies with 22 points during the 2021-22 series finale behind 9-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
THE OPPOSITION | DENVER
Denver begins the week 13-11 overall and 4-5 in the Summit League after losing three consecutive games and four of the past five overall. The Pioneers took losses of 85-71 at Kansas City on Feb. 1 before an 82-76 loss at Oral Roberts on Feb. 3. Jeff Wulbrun is 39-49 overall in three seasons as head coach.
Fifth year Tommy Bruner leads the nation in scoring with 25.3 points per game and has been the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week five times this season. He averages 34.0 minutes per game and shoots 42.8 percent from the field, including 38.4 percent from 3-point range, and leads the Summit League with 4.5 assists per game. Grad student Jaxon Brenchley is ninth in the country and leads the conference with a 3.43 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Denver leads the Summit League and is 12th in the nation with 84.5 points per game and is eighth in the conference allowing 80.9 points per game. The Pioneers are 42nd nationally and fourth in the league with 10.2 turnovers per game, and leads the Summit with 4.2 blocks per game, and is second behind St. Thomas with 13.71 assists per game.
LAST TIME OUT | KANSAS CITY
St. Thomas men's basketball got back in the win column behind strong shooting Saturday night, earning a 71-56 win at Kansas City. The Purple shot over 50 percent from the field for the 12th time this season, winning nine of those games, and shot over 60 percent in the second half alone. St. Thomas outrebounded Kansas City, 24-18, now winning all 10 games when outrebounding its opponents. The Purple went on a 17-2 run midway through the second half to improve to 15-9 overall and 5-4 in Summit League play.
THE CAST | AT KANSAS CITY
Junior Ryan Dufault came off the bench to tie with sophomore Kendall Blue for a game-high 16 points. Blue's 16 points is his second highest output during the conference schedule as he shot 6-of-9 overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. It was the third time he's led the team in single-game scoring this season while Dufault scored 16 points in 18 minutes of action on 7-of-8 shooting. Saturday set a career high for Dufault in scoring against Division I opponents. Grad student Raheem Anthony scored 12 points, marking his 13th double-digit game, in which St. Thomas has won seven 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.
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 tied with Tarleton State for second with 15 wins and is second to UC San Diego in both the Ken Pom and NET Rankings.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Purple rank among the top 50 nationally in six categories this season, coming in tied for 11th with 9.4 turnovers per game, tied for 13th with 63.6 points allowed per game, tied for 32nd with an effective field goal percentage of .550, tied for 39th with 9.1 3-pointers per game, tied for 41st with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.47, and tied for 41st with a 2.9 turnover margin.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Toms' defense has been the best in the Summit League to start the conference schedule, holding its league opponents to 66.3 points per game, which is 6.6 points fewer than the next lowest. St. Thomas' conference scoring margin of +7.7 is the best in the league, 3.9 more than the next highest. Overall, the Toms rank tied for 13th in the nation with 63.6 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 17.0 points in Summit League wins. The Purple's margins of loss have been slim at 4.9 points per loss, including two league defeats coming by a combined two points, with two double-digit losses this season overall. Seven of the Toms' nine 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 tied for 11th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.4) 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.
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.
READY FOR THE HOME STRETCH
The 2023-24 schedule is down to the final seven 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 three most recent home games have topped that previous fifth-highest attendance number (1,505) set Jan. 26, 2023 against South Dakota State.
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 147, first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (170) and Denver (211), through games on Feb. 4. 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. Oral Roberts enters the week 213 in the NET rankings, fourth 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 138, is first in the Summit League ahead of South Dakota State (168) and Omaha (214). Oral Roberts is 215 in the rankings, fourth in the league, heading into the week.
Of 363 NCAA Division I programs, St. Thomas ranks 354 in adjusted tempo with 63.0 possessions per 40 minutes. The Tommies are 134 with an adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) of 108.4 and 159 with an adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 105.5.
GOING IN FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas has recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 12 games this season, going 10-2 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 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 has led in rebounds nine times, followed by Bjorklund eight times, Blue five times, Lee twice, and Nau and Allen twice.
Bjorklund has led in scoring 10 times while the next highest is Anthony with five, Dobbs with three, graduate student Brooks Allen and 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. 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 1,106 career points following a career high 32 Jan. 25 in a win over North Dakota State along with 432 career rebounds, 13 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 1,688 career points and also 730 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, in 101 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 12 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.
APPEARANCE 350 AT ORAL ROBERTS
Johnny Tauer made his 350th appearance as head coach for St. Thomas during the Jan. 13 win at Oral Roberts. Tauer, the longest tenured head coach in the Summit League, will take on ORU head coach Russell Springmann, the shortest tenured head coach, for the second time in their careers.
JOINING ELITE COMPANY
Johnny Tauer is one of seven active head coaches among all of NCAA with at least 250 career wins and a .738 winning percentage at one program.
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | 704 | .833 |
| Tom Brown | West Texas A&M | 256 | .815 |
| Ben McCollum | Northwest Mo. State | 382 | .809 |
| Joe Lombardi | Indiana (PA) | 414 | .784 |
| Jeff Young | Walsh | 450 | .758 |
| Mitch Oliver | Albertus Magnus | 327 | .740 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 262 | .738 |
Tauer is also one of 14 active head coaches with at least 250 career wins with a .738 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 .738 winning percentage and is third in career wins (262).
| 2023-24 Summit League Head Coaches | |||
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Paul Sather | North Dakota | 339 | .584 |
| Marvin Menzies | Kansas City | 267 | .579 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 262 | .738 |
| David Richman | North Dakota State | 185 | .593 |
| Eric Henderson | South Dakota State | 100 | .685 |
| Jeff Wulbrun | Denver | 39 | .443 |
| Chris Crutchfield | Omaha | 31 | .413 |
| Eric Peterson | South Dakota | 21 | .382 |
| Russell Springmann | Oral Roberts | 11 | .500 |
Tauer's winning percentage of .738 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 595 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
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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Press Conference: Tommie Men's Basketball Postgame vs Omaha 02/15/25
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