University of St. Thomas Athletics
Men’s basketball to face Bison to open Summit League Championships
3/3/2024 4:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
No. 4 St. Thomas set to play No. 5 North Dakota State at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 10
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas men's basketball finished the regular season with the No. 4 seed at the 2024 Summit League Championships and will face No. 5 seed North Dakota State at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 10 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
St. Thomas' seed was solidified following their 83-58 win against Denver on Saturday and Kansas City's win over Oral Roberts on Sunday in Tulsa, Okla. South Dakota State (19-12, 12-4 Summit League) secured the Summit League regular season championship as the No. 1 seed, followed by Kansas City (16-15, 10-6 Summit League) as the No. 2 seed and North Dakota (18-13, 10-6 Summit League) as the No. 3 seed.
After a win to open the Summit League Championships as the No. 5 seed against No. 6 Western Illinois a season ago, the Purple's No. 4 seed is the highest since joining the league.
All games of the Summit League Tournament will take place at the Danny Sanford Premiere Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The winner between the Tommies and Bison will advance to take on either No. 1 South Dakota State or Oral Roberts/South Dakota in Monday's semifinal. That game will also take place at 6:00 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Tournament Schedule: No. 4 St. Thomas will take on No. 5 North Dakota State at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 in the quarterfinal round of the Summit League Tournament. The winner will advance to Monday's semifinal, where they will play either No. 1 South Dakota State or the winner of Oral Roberts/South Dakota at 6:00 p.m. The Summit League Tournament Championship will be held on Tuesday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m., and the winner will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, with the exception of St. Thomas. All games will take place at the Danny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Season Series: St. Thomas and North Dakota State split the 2023-24 season series. The Tommies won the first meeting 79-66 on Jan. 27 in St. Paul before the Bison evened the series with a 64-50 win on Feb. 22 in Fargo, N.D. Bjorklund averaged 21.5 points per game against NDSU, including a career high 32 points during the Purple's win over the Bison. Sunday's will be the first meeting between the programs at the Summit League Championships.
Tickets: Both single game and all-session tickets for the Summit League Tournament are now on sale through the conference website and Ticketmaster and can be purchased on site during the tournament. All-session tickets start at $125.75 dollars and include admission to all five dates of the Summit League Tournament. Single game tickets are also available through Ticketmaster with prices ranging from $21-$30.
Where to Watch: All games of the Summit League Tournament will air on both the Summit League Network and CBS Sports. The home of all Summit League action, the Summit League Network is a subscription-based platform with costs $9.99 per most or $79.99 for an annual plan. The fee provides fans and alumni with the opportunity to watch St. Thomas from a variety of devices through the Midco Sports Plus app, including phones, tablets, TVs, and web-based browser interference. Additionally, the app and its exclusive Summit League content will be available on AppleTV, Fire TV and Roku, allowing fans to sign in and watch through their account on multiple devices. Fans can subscribe at www.midcosportsplus.com.
Media Availability: St. Thomas Athletics will host a Summit League Tournament Press Conference for men's basketball on Tuesday, March 5. The press conference will run from 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. in the Tommie Room, located in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Center on the St. Paul campus, and will feature head coach Johnny Tauer along with grad students Brooks Allen (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee), Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill. / DePaul College Prep) and Parker Bjorklund (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska). Media inquiries can be directed to Collin Boyles, Associate Director of Athletic Communications.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
A Winning Tradition: The Tommies ended the 2023-24 season with a 19-12 record overall and 9-7 mark in conference play, matching both win totals from a season ago. It's also the 22nd season with a winning record overall and at least nine conference wins for the program since Head Coach Johnny Tauer joined the program as an assistant coach in 2000. The Tommies have totaled 19 wins overall in all but three seasons with Tauer as head coach, including the 2020-21 COVID season and the 2021-22 NCAA Division I inaugural season.
The First to 1,000 in DI: 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 DI games and reached 1,000 points in DI at the 5:39 mark in the second half against the Fighting Hawks. Bjorklund has 1,194 career points along with 473 career rebounds, four shy of tying Fred Korba (1963-67) and Ryan Boll (2014-18) for 24th all-time in program history.
Chasing Johnny Tauer: Bjorklund is chasing Tauer in the program's all-time scoring and rebounds charts. Bjorklund ranks 26th all-time in scoring, one spot behind Tauer with 1,219 points, and in rebounding, three spots behind Tauer with 482. Bjorklund needs 25 points to tie Tauer in scoring and nine rebounds to tie Tauer all-time.
The Home Town Effect: St. Thomas has enjoyed playing at Schoenecker Arena over the past two seasons, going 24-4 in 28 home games since the start of the 2022-23 season (25-4 since Feb. 26, 2022, the final game of the 2021-22 season). The Tommies have averaged a win margin of 21.0 points per contest, including 16.2 points against DI opponents in St. Paul. Nine of those 20 DI wins at home have been by at least 20 points.
National Leaders: Through games on March 2, 2024, St. Thomas ranked among the top 40 nationally in six categories this season. The Tommies rank tied for eighth in turnover per game (9.1), 21st in scoring defense (65.3), tied for 21st in effective field goal percentage (.556), tied for 27th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54), tied for 30th in turnover margin (3.0) and tied for 33rd in 3FGs/GM (9.1).
It's a Leap: 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. The Purple lead all transitioning teams in assist-to-turnover ratio, effective field goal percentage, field goal percentage, scoring defense, scoring margin, 3-point percentage, 3-point percentage defense and turnovers per game this season.
The Tommies' 154 ranking in the NET Rankings would be the second highest ever for a transitioning team in its third season of DI play, while its 144 ranking in the Ken Pom Rankings would be the third highest ever for a transitioning team in its third season of DI play.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X 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 --
St. Thomas' seed was solidified following their 83-58 win against Denver on Saturday and Kansas City's win over Oral Roberts on Sunday in Tulsa, Okla. South Dakota State (19-12, 12-4 Summit League) secured the Summit League regular season championship as the No. 1 seed, followed by Kansas City (16-15, 10-6 Summit League) as the No. 2 seed and North Dakota (18-13, 10-6 Summit League) as the No. 3 seed.
After a win to open the Summit League Championships as the No. 5 seed against No. 6 Western Illinois a season ago, the Purple's No. 4 seed is the highest since joining the league.
All games of the Summit League Tournament will take place at the Danny Sanford Premiere Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The winner between the Tommies and Bison will advance to take on either No. 1 South Dakota State or Oral Roberts/South Dakota in Monday's semifinal. That game will also take place at 6:00 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Tournament Schedule: No. 4 St. Thomas will take on No. 5 North Dakota State at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 in the quarterfinal round of the Summit League Tournament. The winner will advance to Monday's semifinal, where they will play either No. 1 South Dakota State or the winner of Oral Roberts/South Dakota at 6:00 p.m. The Summit League Tournament Championship will be held on Tuesday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m., and the winner will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, with the exception of St. Thomas. All games will take place at the Danny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Season Series: St. Thomas and North Dakota State split the 2023-24 season series. The Tommies won the first meeting 79-66 on Jan. 27 in St. Paul before the Bison evened the series with a 64-50 win on Feb. 22 in Fargo, N.D. Bjorklund averaged 21.5 points per game against NDSU, including a career high 32 points during the Purple's win over the Bison. Sunday's will be the first meeting between the programs at the Summit League Championships.
Tickets: Both single game and all-session tickets for the Summit League Tournament are now on sale through the conference website and Ticketmaster and can be purchased on site during the tournament. All-session tickets start at $125.75 dollars and include admission to all five dates of the Summit League Tournament. Single game tickets are also available through Ticketmaster with prices ranging from $21-$30.
Where to Watch: All games of the Summit League Tournament will air on both the Summit League Network and CBS Sports. The home of all Summit League action, the Summit League Network is a subscription-based platform with costs $9.99 per most or $79.99 for an annual plan. The fee provides fans and alumni with the opportunity to watch St. Thomas from a variety of devices through the Midco Sports Plus app, including phones, tablets, TVs, and web-based browser interference. Additionally, the app and its exclusive Summit League content will be available on AppleTV, Fire TV and Roku, allowing fans to sign in and watch through their account on multiple devices. Fans can subscribe at www.midcosportsplus.com.
Media Availability: St. Thomas Athletics will host a Summit League Tournament Press Conference for men's basketball on Tuesday, March 5. The press conference will run from 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. in the Tommie Room, located in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Center on the St. Paul campus, and will feature head coach Johnny Tauer along with grad students Brooks Allen (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee), Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill. / DePaul College Prep) and Parker Bjorklund (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska). Media inquiries can be directed to Collin Boyles, Associate Director of Athletic Communications.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
A Winning Tradition: The Tommies ended the 2023-24 season with a 19-12 record overall and 9-7 mark in conference play, matching both win totals from a season ago. It's also the 22nd season with a winning record overall and at least nine conference wins for the program since Head Coach Johnny Tauer joined the program as an assistant coach in 2000. The Tommies have totaled 19 wins overall in all but three seasons with Tauer as head coach, including the 2020-21 COVID season and the 2021-22 NCAA Division I inaugural season.
The First to 1,000 in DI: 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 DI games and reached 1,000 points in DI at the 5:39 mark in the second half against the Fighting Hawks. Bjorklund has 1,194 career points along with 473 career rebounds, four shy of tying Fred Korba (1963-67) and Ryan Boll (2014-18) for 24th all-time in program history.
Chasing Johnny Tauer: Bjorklund is chasing Tauer in the program's all-time scoring and rebounds charts. Bjorklund ranks 26th all-time in scoring, one spot behind Tauer with 1,219 points, and in rebounding, three spots behind Tauer with 482. Bjorklund needs 25 points to tie Tauer in scoring and nine rebounds to tie Tauer all-time.
The Home Town Effect: St. Thomas has enjoyed playing at Schoenecker Arena over the past two seasons, going 24-4 in 28 home games since the start of the 2022-23 season (25-4 since Feb. 26, 2022, the final game of the 2021-22 season). The Tommies have averaged a win margin of 21.0 points per contest, including 16.2 points against DI opponents in St. Paul. Nine of those 20 DI wins at home have been by at least 20 points.
National Leaders: Through games on March 2, 2024, St. Thomas ranked among the top 40 nationally in six categories this season. The Tommies rank tied for eighth in turnover per game (9.1), 21st in scoring defense (65.3), tied for 21st in effective field goal percentage (.556), tied for 27th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54), tied for 30th in turnover margin (3.0) and tied for 33rd in 3FGs/GM (9.1).
It's a Leap: 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. The Purple lead all transitioning teams in assist-to-turnover ratio, effective field goal percentage, field goal percentage, scoring defense, scoring margin, 3-point percentage, 3-point percentage defense and turnovers per game this season.
The Tommies' 154 ranking in the NET Rankings would be the second highest ever for a transitioning team in its third season of DI play, while its 144 ranking in the Ken Pom Rankings would be the third highest ever for a transitioning team in its third season of DI play.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X 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 --
Players Mentioned
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