Tommies close non-conference games Sunday at 1 p.m.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Thomas men's basketball closes its non-conference slate at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28 as it hosts North Central at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. The Tommies (10-4) have sights on their third straight season with at least 11 non-conference wins while also extending the nation's longest home winning streak.

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vs. North Central

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SERIES HISTORY | NORTH CENTRAL

St. Thomas began the 2024-25 season with a win over North Central to improve its undefeated 4-0 record in the all-time series. Last season's 96-71 victory was the closest margin of the four games, which the Tommies have won by an average of 42.8 points. Nolan Minessale and Ben Oosterbaan each scored 14 points during their collegiate debuts. Minessale shot 6-of-12 from the field along with three rebounds, two blocks, two assists and one steal. Oosterbaan recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, including eight offensive rebounds. He shot 4-of-5 from the field, with one 3-pointer, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Carter Bjerke, making his first career start with the Tommies, scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-7 from long range, with seven rebounds, four assists and one block.

10+ IN NON-CON

St. Thomas secured its fourth straight season with at least 10 non-conference wins Dec. 20, riding a prolific offensive performance to a 92-78 victory over UC Riverside. The win extended the Tommies' home winning streak to 24 games, breaking a national tie with Duke for the longest active streak. Nolan Minessale poured in 27 points for his nation-leading 12th 20-point game of the season, while Carter Bjerke added a career-high 21 points, as the duo powered an attack that shot better than 60 percent from the floor.

St. Thomas, up 41-38 at halftime, took control out of the break with a 14-0 surge that pushed the margin to double digits for good. The Tommies finished the night shooting 60.7 percent overall, 50 percent from three, and 84.2 percent at the line, while committing a season-low six turnovers and handing out 22 assists. Nick Janowski contributed 16 points and a career-high seven assists, and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu led the bench with 11 points.

20/20 VISION

A pair of 20-point scorers powered the St. Thomas offense for the third time this season as Nolan Minessale (27) and Carter Bjerke (21) led a second-half surge for a 92-78 win over UC Riverside on Dec. 20. The Tommies previously featured two 20-point scorers during the 84-72 win at SEMO (Minessale – 24, Isaiah Johnsin-Arigu – 21) and the loss at Washington State (Nick Janowski – 22, Minessale – 20). The Tommies totaled three such games over the previous two seasons, all three coming in 2024-25.

READY TO DANCE

With the transition in the rear-view mirror, St. Thomas is beginning its first season as a fully postseason-tournament-eligible program within NCAA Division I. Initially a five-year transition period, the NCAA Division I Council voted in January in favor of a reduction to the department's provisional period from five to four years. The NCAA later announced in June that St. Thomas had completed its reclassification process and is fully eligible to compete in postseason play. St. Thomas made its first Summit League postseason appearance in 2022-23 and have gone 4-3 in those games, including a trip to its first title game last season against eventual champion Omaha.

MR. 300

Johnny Tauer became the third St. Thomas head men's basketball coach to record 300 career victories, joining Steve Fritz (1980-2011) and Tom Feely (1954-1980), following the win at UNC Asheville. Tauer is the fastest of the three to reach the milestone, doing so in 411 games compared to 464 games for Fritz and 480 for Feely. Tauer is now just one of six active coaches among all of NCAA with 300 victories and a .730 winning percentage at one school, and joins Gonzaga's Mark Few as the only two to do so currently at the Division I level. The only two head coaches in the Summit League with 300 career wins are Tauer and Paul Sather of North Dakota.

THE FIRST OF MANY RANKINGS

The initial NET Rankings for the 2025-26 season were released Sunday, Nov. 30, placing St. Thomas 138 among 365 teams. The mark landed as the highest Summit League team (SDSU: 178, NDSU: 179) and ahead of 12 Power 5 programs (Big Ten: 4, ACC: 3, Big 12: 3, Big East: 3, SEC: 1).

Since the initial rankings, St. Thomas has gone 4-1 to vault to 116, leading all Summit League teams. The Tommies currently slot ahead of North Dakota State (154), South Dakota State (175), and Denver (210). Fourteen Power Five programs slot in behind St. Thomas from the Big East (4), Big Ten (3), ACC (3), SEC (2), and Big 12 (1).

FOUR FOR 4

Nolan Minessale's historic start to the season earned him two back-to-back Summit League Peak Performer of the Week honors on Nov. 18 and 25 before adding two more on Dec. 9 and 16, the first Tommie to earn multiple weekly honors for the program since joining in 2021. He is one of four Summit League athletes to earn the weekly award at least four times in one season since 2022-23. He averaged 26.5 points per game on 70.4 percent shooting to help the Tommies to a 2-0 mark, recording a second straight 30-point game to begin the weekend, the only Tommie with multiple 30-point games during the DI era. Minessale led the Summit League in scoring average, was second in field goal percentage and fifth in total assists during the week.

LIVING UP TO THE HYPE

Through the first 14 games of the season, Nolan Minessale has shown why he was chosen as the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year. The sophomore put up eight straight 20-point performances to begin the season, becoming the first Tommie to do so under Head Coach Johnny Tauer since at least the 2005-06 season and the first player in NCAA DI to do so since at least 2021-22, and recently recorded back-to-back 30-point games, the only Tommie of the DI era with multiple 30-point games. Dating back to the 2025 Summit League Championship title game, Minessale scored at least 20 points in nine straight games, the first Tommie to do so under Head Coach Johnny Tauer. Minessale leads NCAA DI in total points, is second in field goals made, and fifth in points per game.

Minessale's back-to-back 30-point games against Weber State and Saint John's (MN) place him as the first Tommie with multiple 30+ games in a season during the DI era. Minessale is also one of four players nationally averaging 20.0+ points and 4.0+ assists with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0 or better (Boopie Miller - SMU, Bruce Thornton - Ohio State, Cruz Davis - Hofstra).

THE NATION'S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK CONTINUES

St. Thomas extended its home winning streak to 24 games, dating back to Feb. 8, 2024. The 24-game streak is broke a tie with Duke for the longest in NCAA Division I.

The Tommies went a perfect 14-0 during its last season at Schoenecker Arena in 2024-25, marking the second undefeated home season in the venue since 2010. The streak is the second longest for the program under Johnny Tauer, previously winning 32 games between Feb. 2012 and Feb. 2014. The Tommies have now won 44 of 48 home games over the past four seasons, among the top 15 highest winning percentages nationally over that span.

LOVE THAT HOME COOKING

Through its home games during the DI era, St. Thomas has won its home games by an average margin of 21.4 points, including a margin of 14.9 points against DI opponents. Twelve of the program's 32 home wins against DI opponents since that time have been by more than 20 points while 10 were decided by fewer than 10 points.

MAKING ST. THOMAS HOME

St. Thomas is just one of four programs among NCAA Division I with five or fewer undergrad transfers since the 2021-22 season. The Tommies have bid farewell to five athletes by way of the transfer portal, joining American, Bucknell and Navy as the only programs nationally with five or fewer.

VALUE THE BALL

Tauer's teams have historically taken care of the basketball, and the first five seasons of DI play are no different. The Tommies finished tied for 13th nationally in turnovers per game (9.5) last season, ninth in 2023-24 (9.2), ranked tied for 11th nationally in the fewest total turnovers (327) in 2022-23 and led the category in 2021-22 (243). St. Thomas is one of three teams nationally to record fewer than 10.0 turnovers per game in each of the past four seasons, joining Iowa and Wisconsin. The Purple are the only one of the three under 10.0 turnovers per game in 2025-26.

Through 14 games in 2025-26, St. Thomas has turned the ball over 10 or fewer times in 11 games and rank 13th in the country with 9.5 per game.

THE SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON FAVORITES

Coming off its first trip to the Summit League Championship game, St. Thomas was voted to finish first in the 2025-26 Summit League Preseason Poll. The Tommies received 17 first-place votes and 501 total points, ahead of last season's league champion Omaha with 13 first-place votes and 495 points. South Dakota State was slotted third with five first-place votes and 450 points followed by North Dakota State with 358 points.

Sophomore Nolan Minessale was voted as the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, the first sophomore to earn the honor since Mike Daum of South Dakota State in 2016-17 and the first true sophomore since at least the 2006-07 season. The guard from Brookfield, Wis., started all 34 games and quickly established himself as one of the Summit League's top two-way players. He led the league in blocks per game, ranked sixth in steals, and paced the Tommies with a .562 field goal percentage. Minessale averaged 11.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, scoring in double figures 16 times with four 20-point outings.

Redshirt junior Carter Bjerke was picked to the All-Summit League First Team after emerging as one of the league's top perimeter shooters and a cornerstone of the Tommies' offense. The Plymouth, Minn., native has played in all 67 games of his career, leading St. Thomas in 3-pointers made in each of his first two seasons. In 2024-25, he averaged 9.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while ranking fifth in the league in made 3-pointers, scoring in double figures 17 times, including a career-high 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from deep against NCAA Tournament qualifier Wofford.

POLL TOMS

The Purple began the 2025-26 season receiving 78 votes in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and totaled 26 in the most recent poll, one of two Summit League programs to receive votes (NDSU – 16, SDSU – 3). St. Thomas landed on the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for the first time in program history in January 2025, debuting at No. 25 before reaching as high as No. 19 on Jan. 20.

In addition to the CollegeInside.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, St. Thomas was selected among a handful of media polls: No. 6 on Ryan Hammer's Mid-Major Top 20 Poll, No. 13 on Field of 68's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, No. 13 on T3Bracketology's Top 32 Poll. While the Tommies were the only Summit League team among those polls, they were also the highest ranked Summit League team in Sports Illustrated's Complete Division I Preseason Rankings, slotting in at No. 124.

THE SUMMIT OF WINS

St. Thomas continues to rank at the top of the Summit League in overall wins over the past four seasons, totaling 73 victories since the start of the 2022-23 season. Following behind UST is South Dakota State with 68 wins, North Dakota State with 61 and Oral Roberts with 54. In addition, the Tommies also lead the Summit League with 44 home wins over that span, ahead of SDSU with 38, ORU with 36 and NDSU with 35.

PRIMETIME TOMMIES

St. Thomas will again be exclusively broadcast on the CBS Sports Network as its Feb. 1 matchup against Kansas City and Feb. 4 game at South Dakota State were announced as part of the league's seven-game lineup for men's basketball on the network. The Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will be the backdrop of the game against Kansas City, a team St. Thomas has won five straight games against, while the Tommies will look to win their first game in Brookings, S.D., over the Jackrabbits on CBS Sports Network. Last season, St. Thomas came away with a 79-62 win over North Dakota State on CBS Sports Network's Feb. 2 broadcast.

A TEST OF METTLE TO BEGIN

St. Thomas opened the season Monday, Nov. 3 with an 84-58 loss at (RV) Saint Mary's (CA), one of the premier mid-major programs in the nation. Nolan Minessale led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, while Nick Janowski added 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting. St. Thomas shot 46.3 percent from the field, but struggled from deep and at the line, going 5-of-21 from three and 3-of-10 at the stripe, while the Gaels pulled away with a 49-point second half fueled by 65 percent shooting. St. Thomas outscored Saint Mary's 38-32 in the paint and 17-7 on fastbreak points. The Gaels' size proved decisive, holding a 41-24 rebounding edge, including 11 offensive boards that led to 10 second-chance points.

1,026 DAYS IN THE MAKING

Since Jan. 17, 2023 when the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena was announced for the first time, St. Thomas men's basketball has been waiting for the day to play in its new home. The Tommies came away with an 83-76 win over Army when the arena finally opened for basketball on Nov. 8, 2025.

Nolan Minessale led St. Thomas to an 83-76 victory over Army in the inaugural game at LPA, marking the Tommies' nation-leading 19th straight home win. Minessale scored 20 points for the second consecutive game. St. Thomas (1-1) shot 50 percent from the field and dominated inside with a 50-28 advantage in paint points. The Tommies used a 17-0 first-half run to build a commanding lead and maintained control despite several Army rallies. Nick Janowski added 16 points and five rebounds, while Carter Bjerke (12 points) and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (11) also reached double figures. The win improved Head Coach Johnny Tauer's record to 14-1 in home openers.

DRAMA IN PORTLAND

St. Thomas finished as Portland Invitational Champions following a 2-1 weekend Nov. 21-23, taking wins over Northern Colorado and Portland. Nolan Minessale and Nick Janowski were each named to the All-Tournament Team with Minessale being named the Most Valuable Player. Minessale averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, shooting 43.4 percent from the field. He scored 20 points in each game, extending his season-opening streak of 20-point games to eight with the help of a half-court, buzzer beater to beat Northern Colorado.

The Tommies opened with a dramatic 73-72 victory over Northern Colorado on Minessale's half-court buzzer-beater. Minessale later poured in 26 points, one shy of a career high, during an 88-80 setback to Cal State Fullerton after leading by six points with less than four minutes to play. St. Thomas regrouped Sunday, racing out to a 14-0 start and closing strong to defeat host Portland, 76-66, behind 24 points from Minessale.

BIG SKY-SUMMIT SUCCESS

Over each of the first two Big Sky-Summit Challenges, St. Thomas was the only program between the two conferences to remain undefeated. UST came away with wins at Northern Colorado (87-75) and at home against Montana (88-81) last season after beginning the series in 2023-24 with wins at Idaho (75-67) and against Sacramento State (63-50). The first loss of the challenge came Dec. 3, 82-74, at Montana State before bouncing back with an 88-65 win over Weber State on Dec. 7 in St. Paul. St. Thomas is now 10-4 all-time against the Big Sky.

BIG SKY BOUNCE BACK

St. Thomas answered its first loss in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge with a convincing 88-65 win over Weber State on Dec. 7 at home. Nolan Minessale topped 20 points for the first time in three games to tie the program's Division I era single-game scoring record of 32 points, including 21 in the first half. He shot 12-of-16 from the field, with 2-of-3 from 3-point range, with 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. The Tommies used two decisive scoring bursts in the first half to seize control, a 10-0 run from 14:55-13:37 followed by a 13-0 surge spanning nearly four minutes to hold a 36-12 lead. The Purple shot 59.4 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes. The Wildcats could only cut the Tommie lead to 16 a few times as St. Thomas sealed the win with 26 points off 17 Weber State turnovers.

A BOLSTERED SQUAD

Six newcomers - five with at least three years of eligibility - join the Tommies, including three Power Four transfers and two ESPN four-star recruits. The group combines local roots, championship experience, and national-level pedigree.

• #0 Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (F, 6-7, 215, So., Miami/Iowa) – Four-star ESPN recruit, back-to-back state titles at Totino-Grace; No. 2 ranked player in Minnesota out of high school.

• #10 Tommy Humphries Jr. (G, 6-5, 205, R-So., Furman) – Totino-Grace graduate and two-time state champion; ranked No. 5 in Minnesota coming out of high school.

• #11 Austin Herro (G, 6-3, 180, R-So., South Carolina) – Brother of NBA All-Star Tyler Herro; played AAU with Milan Momcilovic.

• #13 Luka Momcilovic (F, 6-7, 220, Fr.) – Averaged 16.8 PPG and 8.1 RPG in high school; multiple-time all-conference pick with two state titles and one runner-up finish.

• #20 Jack Tauer (G, 6-2, 200, Gr.) – Played two seasons at St. Norbert College before serving as a student manager; a Cretin-Derham Hall graduate.

• #23 Nick Janowski (G, 6-4, 210, R-Fr., Nebraska) – Four-star ESPN recruit; former teammate of Luka and Milan Momcilovic.

BACK-TO-BACK 20 WINS/BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK 19 WINS

St. Thomas has recorded at least 20 wins in back-to-back seasons, joining only Grand Canyon as teams since 2000 to do so in years 3 and 4 of their transition to Division I. The Tommies join SDSU as the only Summit League teams with back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2021-22 and the Purple are the only transition team with three consecutive 19+ win seasons. UST is one of six teams in all of Division I to improve its win total (with a minimum of 19 wins) each season since 2022-23. Overall, St. Thomas is one of 12 teams in the country to improve its winning percentage over the previous four seasons (min. 60 wins).

A CULTURE OF CHAMPIONS

The Tommies' roster carries a winning pedigree: 16 high school state championships between nine athletes and seven runner-up finishes across seven athletes. Newcomer Nick Janowski was a three-time state champion at Pewaukee High School, while teammate and fellow newcomer Luka Momcilovic was part of two of those championships. Newcomers Tommy Humphries Jr., (2022, 2023) and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (2023, 2024) both won back-to-back championships at Totino-Grace High School, Kyle Counts won two Oregon state titles at Wilsonville High School while Hayden Tibbits won two Minnesota State titles, including one with Carter Bjerke at Wayzata High School. Ryan Dufault hit the game-winning shot to clinch the 2021 Minnesota state title at Waseca High School while Nolan Minessale led Marquette University to a Wisconsin state title in 2024. That group along with Austin Herro and Adam and Jack Tauer also combined for eight runner-up finishes.

In addition to the athletes' championships, the coaching staff has also combined for five state championships in various sports. Head Coach Johnny Tauer won high school state titles in basketball and baseball for Cretin-Derham Hall, assistant coach Cameron Rundles won a state title in basketball for DeLaSalle, and director of operations Josh Rodenbiker won two state titles in football at Fargo Shanley in North Dakota.

BACK TO 24

The Tommies extended its DI single-season record with 24 wins following its Summit League Championship semifinal win over North Dakota. It's the sixth season of 14 under Head Coach Johnny Tauer with as many wins and the 11th with at least 19. The Tommies' 12 wins in Summit League play last season also extended a single season record after totaling nine in each of the previous two seasons.

A TRANSITION LIKE NO OTHER

St. Thomas produced one of the most successful transitions to Division I. With the win over Denver in the Summit League Championship semifinal, St. Thomas has the second most wins by a transition team through its first four seasons (73), trailing only Grand Canyon with 81. The Purple are the only transition team with three consecutive 19-win seasons, became the second team with back-to-back 20-win seasons in years 3 and 4 (Grand Canyon) and the fourth transition team overall with 23 wins in a season since 2000. Among all transition teams since 2000, St. Thomas recorded the largest Ken Pom Ranking and NET Ranking improvements from the end of year one through year four, jumping 181 spots in the KP and 196 in the NET through four seasons.

A HISTORIC COACHING LINE

St. Thomas men's basketball has been guided by just three head coaches over the past 71 seasons—Tom Feely (1954–80), Steve Fritz (1980–2011), and Johnny Tauer (2011–present)—a testament to the program's remarkable stability and continuity. All three are St. Thomas alumni and members of the St. Thomas Athletics Hall of Fame. Together, they've combined for more than 1,300 victories, 31 regular season conference championships, 13 conference playoff titles, and 25 national tournament appearances.

Feely laid the foundation for Tommie Basketball excellence with a 417-269 (.607) career record over 26 seasons. Fritz followed with a 592-248 (.705) mark and led the program to its first national championship in 2011. Tauer, who succeeded his former coach, has carried that tradition into the Division I era, compiling a 301-111 (.731) record and capturing a national title in 2016. Few programs in college basketball can match the Tommies' combination of long-term leadership, alumni pride, and sustained championship success.

A WINNING TRADITION

Winning has been the tradition at St. Thomas with the trend continuing under Head Coach Johnny Tauer. Since 2011, the Tommies have finished with nine 20-win seasons, 11 19-win seasons and 12 nine-win conference seasons. The only seasons to not win 19 games or nine conference games included the COVID season and the 2021-22 inaugural DI season.

Tauer has averaged 20.8 wins per season at St. Thomas and became the fastest coach in program history to reach 300 career wins, doing so in 411 career games, joining Fritz and Feely. Looking back, 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.

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.

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 as just the third head coach for the program since 1954 and continued its storied tradition with another national title in 2015-16, a Final Four run in 2012-13, and eight DIII National Tournament appearances.

As a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach at St. Thomas, Tauer has helped the Tommies to 633 wins overall in 30 seasons, averaging out to over 20 wins per season. He has been involved in 834 games combined with 720 coming as a coach along with 19 conference titles, 15 national tournament appearances, three Final Fours, and two national championships with the Purple and Gray.

FOLLOW ALONG

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Tommies close non-conference games Sunday at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Carter Bjerke

Kyle Counts

Ryan Dufault

Austin Herro

Tommy Humphries Jr.

Nick Janowski

Luka Momcilovic

Ben Oosterbaan

Jack Tauer

Hayden Tibbits

University of St. Thomas Athletics

Tommies close non-conference games Sunday at 1 p.m.

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Ryan Dufault

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Nick Janowski

Luka Momcilovic

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