University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, February 15
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
vs
Omaha
Men's Basketball, Mavericks play for first place in Schoenecker Arena
2/14/2025 9:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. Thomas looks to even season series Saturday in front of sold-out crowd
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Summit League standing's first place is on the line Saturday as St. Thomas men's basketball hosts Omaha at sold-out Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. The Tommies (19-7, 9-2 Summit League) are aiming to even the season series against the Mavericks (16-11, 10-2 Summit League) while hosting Men's Basketball Alumni Night as tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
TUNE IN
Watch: Summit League Network
Live Stats: St. Thomas vs Omaha
Listen: The Varsity Network
SERIES HISTORY
St. Thomas has won five of seven games all-time against Omaha with its second loss of the series coming during the first meeting this season. The winner of Saturday's rematch will be in sole possession of first place within the Summit League with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Both St. Thomas losses in the series came in Omaha, Neb., as the Tommies are 3-0 in St. Paul.
Kendall Blue led the Tommies with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting along with nine rebounds while Miles Barnstable scored 14 points and Ben Nau came off the bench with 11. The Mavericks led for over 36 minutes of game time and won the rebound margin, 36-26. Despite pulling down seven more offensive rebounds, UNO scored just four more second-chance points than St. Thomas.
LEADING WHEN IT COUNTS
St. Thomas bounced back from a loss at South Dakota State with a 79-76 victory at Denver on Feb. 8 after leading for less than two minutes. Drake Dobbs paced St. Thomas with a game-high 21 points, marking his second consecutive 20-point game. The Tommies overcame a seven-point deficit in each half, shooting 57.4 percent from the field. Nolan Minessale scored 14 points, including the final five for the Purple, and made crucial plays in the final moments, including a dunk and a blocked shot. The win secured St. Thomas' 11th 19-win season and 12th nine-win conference-season under head coach Johnny Tauer and tied them for the most road victories in the Summit League this season.
SET THE STAGE
The Tommies will be playing in front of a sold-out crowd in Schoenecker Arena for the second consecutive game following a 79-62 win over North Dakota State on Feb. 2. The game was broadcast nationally by CBS Sports Network as the Purple opened the game with a 22-5 lead, never looking back. Nolan Minessale and Kendall Blue led in scoring with 23 and 20 points, respectively, on a combined 17-of-22 shooting from the field. Sunday was the second time the duo had each scored 20-plus points in a game, doing so previously on Dec. 7 during its 88-81 win over Montana. The win gave the Tommies their first regular season sweep over the Bison and their second consecutive season with two wins against the program. After not winning the rebound margin over an eight-game span, the Tommies won the rebound margin for the third straight game. St. Thomas is now 10-0 when winning the rebound battle.
LET THE STREAK CONTINUE
St. Thomas men's basketball secured its 15th consecutive home win with its victory over NDSU. The streak is tied for the longest active streak in the nation and 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 35 of 39 home games over the past three seasons, tied for the 19th highest winning percentage nationally. Overall, St. Thomas has defeated its DI opponents at home by an average of 15.0 points per win.
BATTLE FOR FIRST - PART ONE
St. Thomas men's basketball suffered its first Summit League loss Jan. 23, falling 89-78 to Omaha on the road. Despite Kendall Blue's near double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, the Tommies trailed for most of the game and saw a late 9-1 run cut the deficit to four before Omaha closed the game with a 10-3 surge. St. Thomas shot 49.2% overall while Omaha countered with 53.6% shooting.
OPENING SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
The Tommies have been perfect during Summit League openers since joining the league in 2021-22, taking wins at Omaha in 2021-22, against North Dakota in both the 2022-23 (home) and 2023-24 (away) seasons, and Jan. 2, 2024 at North Dakota State. St. Thomas won its first two Summit League games over each of the past three seasons and now recorded its first 5-0 start in league play since joining in 2021-22. Johnny Tauer has led the Tommies to 10 straight conference-opening wins and has a 13-1 record overall in such games, dating back to the MIAC days. His Tommie teams have started conference play 5-0 or better five times.
RARE COMPANY IN THE PURPLE AND GRAY
For just the third time since St. Thomas joined the Summit League, a Tommie was featured as the Peak Performer of the Week. Miles Barnstable claimed co-honors, splitting with South Dakota State's Oscar Cluff, after averaging 25.0 points and leading the Purple to a 2-0 road weekend to begin league play. He began the week with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting in a win at North Dakota State before dropping season highs of 30 points and five rebounds at North Dakota. The only other Tommies to earn the league's weekly honor were Riley Miller and Parker Bjorklund, both during the 2022-23 season.
D 3-0
Miles Barnstable joined a short list of Tommies to score at least 30 points since joining the DI ranks. He became just the fifth player to score as many points in a game, joining Parker Bjorklund (32 vs NDSU '23-24), Raheem Anthony (32 vs UND '23-24), Anders Nelson (30 at St. Francis Brooklyn '21-22) and Brooks Allen (30 at SDSU '22-23). All five began their collegiate careers in the Division III ranks, Anthony at St. Mary's (MN) and Barnstable at UW-Whitewater with the other three playing for St. Thomas before the DI merger. The performance was the fourth most points in a game in the Summit League this season.
POLL TOMS
For the first time in the Division I era, St. Thomas landed on the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, making its debut at No. 25 on Jan. 6, 2025.
The Tommies are 24 in the most recent Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released on Feb. 10. St. Thomas is the only Summit League school ranked while Omaha, South Dakota State and North Dakota State received votes. The Tommies are one of 12 teams on the Top 25 poll with at least 19 wins this season.
ROLLIN' BY DRAKE
Grad student Drake Dobbs has been on a hot streak capping a string of three straight games with at least 18 points at NDSU and scoring double figures in nine of the last 13 games, including back-to-back 20-point outings. He was the first Tommie to record a three-game streak with at least 18 points since Andrew Rohde (five-game streak) and Riley Miller (three-game streak) did so during the 2022-23 season. Dobbs has multiple games with at least four assists and no turnovers during league play, including the most assists by a Tommie against a DI opponent (9 vs South Dakota). He has three career games with at least four assists, no turnovers and double-digit points.
Prior to his three-game scoring streak, Dobbs set a career high of 18 points twice, including versus South Dakota State in St. Paul last season. Since then, he set a new career high of 23 Feb. 6 at South Dakota State and recorded back-to-back games with multiple 3-pointers at SDSU and at DU for the second time this season.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Dobbs has 68 assists and 17 turnovers for a 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last 17 games and currently ranks 11th nationally in the category (3.34).
A TRUE (FRESHMAN) GAME OF THE ERA
Nolan Minessale powered a near comeback during an 81-79 overtime loss at UC Riverside on Dec. 29, 2024. The Brookfield, Wis., native scored 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 7-of-9 from the free throw line, tying for the most points in a game by a Tommie true freshman during the DI era. Andrew Rohde previously scored 27 points Feb. 25, 2023, at North Dakota. It is the eighth highest scoring game by a Tommie overall in the DI era and the most since Raheem Anthony scored 32 against North Dakota on Jan. 27, 2024, two days after Parker Bjorklund also scored 32 points at home against North Dakota State.
TYING A DIVISION I BEST SIX STRAIGHT
St. Thomas extended its winning streak to a DI program best six games with a set of dominant victories heading into the Christmas break. The Tommies most recently came away with a dominant 93-68 victory over Bowling Green, fueled by a stellar first-half defensive performance, balanced scoring from four players in double figures, and a team-best 23 points from Miles Barnstable. The Tommies closed out their 2024 home schedule with a gritty 77-71 win over Western Michigan, led by Ben Nau's career-high 22 points and a pivotal 16-0 second-half run. They capped it off with a commanding 100-61 triumph over Crown College, where freshman Ryan Lafferty shined with a record-setting double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Purple shot above 45.8 percent with 10 or fewer turnovers in five of the last six wins, including six turnovers or fewer in three of the last five wins.
DEPTH. BALANCE. UNSELFISHNESS.
St. Thomas is one of three teams (George Washington, Missouri) in the country to feature eight different leading scorers in a game this season. Eight of the Tommies' nine players who have played in all 25 games this season have led in scoring at least once this season. Miles Barnstable has led St. Thomas 10 times, followed by Nolan Minessale four times, Kendall Blue, Drake Dobbs and Ben Nau three times, and Ben Oosterbaan twice. Carter Bjerke and Rich Byhre have led in scoring once.
CLIMBING THE NET RANKINGS
The Tommies are currently 111 in the NET Rankings, shy of a program-best 97, through games of Feb. 13. St. Thomas is the second of three Summit League teams currently among the top 134 (South Dakota State, 102/North Dakota State, 134). Omaha enters the game 202 after its 98-85 loss at SDSU.
Through games of Feb. 13, St. Thomas ranked ahead of nine Power Five programs in the NET Rankings: ACC - 7, Big East - 2, Big 12 - 0, Big Ten - 0, SEC - 0.
St. Thomas was initially ranked 133 in the NET Rankings on Dec. 1, 2024, before jumping to 99, its first time ever among the top 100, following its win over Northern Colorado on Dec. 4 and ahead of its loss at UC Riverside on Dec. 29. The Tommies' 99 ranking marks just the second transition team to top the 100 ranking since 2000, joining Grand Canyon from the 2015-16 season when it finished the season 88.
KEN POM RANKINGS
St. Thomas ranked a program best 110 in the Ken Pom Rankings after winning 10 of 11 games through games of Jan. 11. The Tommies are currently 119 and rank 55th nationally in in adjusted offensive efficiency, which includes points scored per 100 possessions.
Through games of Feb. 13, the Tommies ranked ahead of seven Power Five schools in the Ken Pom Rankings: ACC - 5, Big East - 2, Big 12 - 0, Big Ten - 0, SEC - 0.
HIGHEST RANKED TEAM DEFEATED
St. Thomas' win over North Dakota State on Jan. 2 marked the highest ranked team the Purple have beat in both the NET and Ken Pom Rankings. NDSU entered the Summit League opener ranked 90 in the NET and 112 in the Ken Pom, compared to St. Thomas ranked 109 in the NET and 123 in the Ken Pom entering the game.
GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE
The Toms have been pouring on points all season, including at least 86 points in 13 of 19 wins, and is second in the Summit League with 84.4 points per game. St. Thomas' scoring average is 12th nationally and is the most for the program since Head Coach Johnny Tauer took over in 2011.
The league's most efficient field goal shooting team is powering the offense, shooting 50.0 percent overall to lead the league while the team's 39.7 percent shooting from long range trails only North Dakota State.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
St. Thomas continues to rank among the best in the country in several stats, landing among the top 25 programs in 10 categories and top 10 in six. The Tommies are the only team in the country to rank among the top 20 in 2-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Omaha's Marquel Sutton is 26th nationally with 484 total points this season.
TUNE IN
Watch: Summit League Network
Live Stats: St. Thomas vs Omaha
Listen: The Varsity Network
SERIES HISTORY
St. Thomas has won five of seven games all-time against Omaha with its second loss of the series coming during the first meeting this season. The winner of Saturday's rematch will be in sole possession of first place within the Summit League with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Both St. Thomas losses in the series came in Omaha, Neb., as the Tommies are 3-0 in St. Paul.
Kendall Blue led the Tommies with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting along with nine rebounds while Miles Barnstable scored 14 points and Ben Nau came off the bench with 11. The Mavericks led for over 36 minutes of game time and won the rebound margin, 36-26. Despite pulling down seven more offensive rebounds, UNO scored just four more second-chance points than St. Thomas.
LEADING WHEN IT COUNTS
St. Thomas bounced back from a loss at South Dakota State with a 79-76 victory at Denver on Feb. 8 after leading for less than two minutes. Drake Dobbs paced St. Thomas with a game-high 21 points, marking his second consecutive 20-point game. The Tommies overcame a seven-point deficit in each half, shooting 57.4 percent from the field. Nolan Minessale scored 14 points, including the final five for the Purple, and made crucial plays in the final moments, including a dunk and a blocked shot. The win secured St. Thomas' 11th 19-win season and 12th nine-win conference-season under head coach Johnny Tauer and tied them for the most road victories in the Summit League this season.
SET THE STAGE
The Tommies will be playing in front of a sold-out crowd in Schoenecker Arena for the second consecutive game following a 79-62 win over North Dakota State on Feb. 2. The game was broadcast nationally by CBS Sports Network as the Purple opened the game with a 22-5 lead, never looking back. Nolan Minessale and Kendall Blue led in scoring with 23 and 20 points, respectively, on a combined 17-of-22 shooting from the field. Sunday was the second time the duo had each scored 20-plus points in a game, doing so previously on Dec. 7 during its 88-81 win over Montana. The win gave the Tommies their first regular season sweep over the Bison and their second consecutive season with two wins against the program. After not winning the rebound margin over an eight-game span, the Tommies won the rebound margin for the third straight game. St. Thomas is now 10-0 when winning the rebound battle.
LET THE STREAK CONTINUE
St. Thomas men's basketball secured its 15th consecutive home win with its victory over NDSU. The streak is tied for the longest active streak in the nation and 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 35 of 39 home games over the past three seasons, tied for the 19th highest winning percentage nationally. Overall, St. Thomas has defeated its DI opponents at home by an average of 15.0 points per win.
BATTLE FOR FIRST - PART ONE
St. Thomas men's basketball suffered its first Summit League loss Jan. 23, falling 89-78 to Omaha on the road. Despite Kendall Blue's near double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, the Tommies trailed for most of the game and saw a late 9-1 run cut the deficit to four before Omaha closed the game with a 10-3 surge. St. Thomas shot 49.2% overall while Omaha countered with 53.6% shooting.
OPENING SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
The Tommies have been perfect during Summit League openers since joining the league in 2021-22, taking wins at Omaha in 2021-22, against North Dakota in both the 2022-23 (home) and 2023-24 (away) seasons, and Jan. 2, 2024 at North Dakota State. St. Thomas won its first two Summit League games over each of the past three seasons and now recorded its first 5-0 start in league play since joining in 2021-22. Johnny Tauer has led the Tommies to 10 straight conference-opening wins and has a 13-1 record overall in such games, dating back to the MIAC days. His Tommie teams have started conference play 5-0 or better five times.
RARE COMPANY IN THE PURPLE AND GRAY
For just the third time since St. Thomas joined the Summit League, a Tommie was featured as the Peak Performer of the Week. Miles Barnstable claimed co-honors, splitting with South Dakota State's Oscar Cluff, after averaging 25.0 points and leading the Purple to a 2-0 road weekend to begin league play. He began the week with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting in a win at North Dakota State before dropping season highs of 30 points and five rebounds at North Dakota. The only other Tommies to earn the league's weekly honor were Riley Miller and Parker Bjorklund, both during the 2022-23 season.
D 3-0
Miles Barnstable joined a short list of Tommies to score at least 30 points since joining the DI ranks. He became just the fifth player to score as many points in a game, joining Parker Bjorklund (32 vs NDSU '23-24), Raheem Anthony (32 vs UND '23-24), Anders Nelson (30 at St. Francis Brooklyn '21-22) and Brooks Allen (30 at SDSU '22-23). All five began their collegiate careers in the Division III ranks, Anthony at St. Mary's (MN) and Barnstable at UW-Whitewater with the other three playing for St. Thomas before the DI merger. The performance was the fourth most points in a game in the Summit League this season.
POLL TOMS
For the first time in the Division I era, St. Thomas landed on the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, making its debut at No. 25 on Jan. 6, 2025.
The Tommies are 24 in the most recent Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released on Feb. 10. St. Thomas is the only Summit League school ranked while Omaha, South Dakota State and North Dakota State received votes. The Tommies are one of 12 teams on the Top 25 poll with at least 19 wins this season.
ROLLIN' BY DRAKE
Grad student Drake Dobbs has been on a hot streak capping a string of three straight games with at least 18 points at NDSU and scoring double figures in nine of the last 13 games, including back-to-back 20-point outings. He was the first Tommie to record a three-game streak with at least 18 points since Andrew Rohde (five-game streak) and Riley Miller (three-game streak) did so during the 2022-23 season. Dobbs has multiple games with at least four assists and no turnovers during league play, including the most assists by a Tommie against a DI opponent (9 vs South Dakota). He has three career games with at least four assists, no turnovers and double-digit points.
Prior to his three-game scoring streak, Dobbs set a career high of 18 points twice, including versus South Dakota State in St. Paul last season. Since then, he set a new career high of 23 Feb. 6 at South Dakota State and recorded back-to-back games with multiple 3-pointers at SDSU and at DU for the second time this season.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Dobbs has 68 assists and 17 turnovers for a 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last 17 games and currently ranks 11th nationally in the category (3.34).
A TRUE (FRESHMAN) GAME OF THE ERA
Nolan Minessale powered a near comeback during an 81-79 overtime loss at UC Riverside on Dec. 29, 2024. The Brookfield, Wis., native scored 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 7-of-9 from the free throw line, tying for the most points in a game by a Tommie true freshman during the DI era. Andrew Rohde previously scored 27 points Feb. 25, 2023, at North Dakota. It is the eighth highest scoring game by a Tommie overall in the DI era and the most since Raheem Anthony scored 32 against North Dakota on Jan. 27, 2024, two days after Parker Bjorklund also scored 32 points at home against North Dakota State.
TYING A DIVISION I BEST SIX STRAIGHT
St. Thomas extended its winning streak to a DI program best six games with a set of dominant victories heading into the Christmas break. The Tommies most recently came away with a dominant 93-68 victory over Bowling Green, fueled by a stellar first-half defensive performance, balanced scoring from four players in double figures, and a team-best 23 points from Miles Barnstable. The Tommies closed out their 2024 home schedule with a gritty 77-71 win over Western Michigan, led by Ben Nau's career-high 22 points and a pivotal 16-0 second-half run. They capped it off with a commanding 100-61 triumph over Crown College, where freshman Ryan Lafferty shined with a record-setting double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Purple shot above 45.8 percent with 10 or fewer turnovers in five of the last six wins, including six turnovers or fewer in three of the last five wins.
DEPTH. BALANCE. UNSELFISHNESS.
St. Thomas is one of three teams (George Washington, Missouri) in the country to feature eight different leading scorers in a game this season. Eight of the Tommies' nine players who have played in all 25 games this season have led in scoring at least once this season. Miles Barnstable has led St. Thomas 10 times, followed by Nolan Minessale four times, Kendall Blue, Drake Dobbs and Ben Nau three times, and Ben Oosterbaan twice. Carter Bjerke and Rich Byhre have led in scoring once.
CLIMBING THE NET RANKINGS
The Tommies are currently 111 in the NET Rankings, shy of a program-best 97, through games of Feb. 13. St. Thomas is the second of three Summit League teams currently among the top 134 (South Dakota State, 102/North Dakota State, 134). Omaha enters the game 202 after its 98-85 loss at SDSU.
Through games of Feb. 13, St. Thomas ranked ahead of nine Power Five programs in the NET Rankings: ACC - 7, Big East - 2, Big 12 - 0, Big Ten - 0, SEC - 0.
St. Thomas was initially ranked 133 in the NET Rankings on Dec. 1, 2024, before jumping to 99, its first time ever among the top 100, following its win over Northern Colorado on Dec. 4 and ahead of its loss at UC Riverside on Dec. 29. The Tommies' 99 ranking marks just the second transition team to top the 100 ranking since 2000, joining Grand Canyon from the 2015-16 season when it finished the season 88.
KEN POM RANKINGS
St. Thomas ranked a program best 110 in the Ken Pom Rankings after winning 10 of 11 games through games of Jan. 11. The Tommies are currently 119 and rank 55th nationally in in adjusted offensive efficiency, which includes points scored per 100 possessions.
Through games of Feb. 13, the Tommies ranked ahead of seven Power Five schools in the Ken Pom Rankings: ACC - 5, Big East - 2, Big 12 - 0, Big Ten - 0, SEC - 0.
HIGHEST RANKED TEAM DEFEATED
St. Thomas' win over North Dakota State on Jan. 2 marked the highest ranked team the Purple have beat in both the NET and Ken Pom Rankings. NDSU entered the Summit League opener ranked 90 in the NET and 112 in the Ken Pom, compared to St. Thomas ranked 109 in the NET and 123 in the Ken Pom entering the game.
GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE
The Toms have been pouring on points all season, including at least 86 points in 13 of 19 wins, and is second in the Summit League with 84.4 points per game. St. Thomas' scoring average is 12th nationally and is the most for the program since Head Coach Johnny Tauer took over in 2011.
The league's most efficient field goal shooting team is powering the offense, shooting 50.0 percent overall to lead the league while the team's 39.7 percent shooting from long range trails only North Dakota State.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
St. Thomas continues to rank among the best in the country in several stats, landing among the top 25 programs in 10 categories and top 10 in six. The Tommies are the only team in the country to rank among the top 20 in 2-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Omaha's Marquel Sutton is 26th nationally with 484 total points this season.
| Category | Total | Rank |
| Effective FG Pct. | .590 | 2nd |
| FG Pct. | .500 | 3rd |
| 3FG Pct. | .397 | 7th |
| 2-Pt. FG Pct. | .584 | t-9th |
| Scoring Offense | 84.4 | 12th |
| 3FG/Game | 10.5 | t-14th |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio | 1.58 | t-19th |
| FT Pct. | .779 | 20th |
| Turnovers/Game | 9.9 | t-20th |
| Turnover Margin | 3.7 | 24th |
DIVISION I FRESHMEN DEBUTS
The freshmen duo of Nolan Minessale and Ben Oosterbaan (a redshirt freshman) each finished with 14 points during the season opener against North Central, marking the second and third Tommie freshmen to score as many points in their debuts. The only other freshman to do so was Andrew Rohde with 15 points at No. 9 Creighton to open the 2022-23 season.
GOODBYE, SCHOENECKER ARENA
Tommie Basketball is in its farewell tour at Schoenecker Arena with the construction of Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, expected to be completed in fall 2025. Schoenecker Arena has featured 190 men's basketball contests, in which the Tommies have gone 160-30 in those games and 36-4 at home over the past 40 games, including 15 straight wins for the second longest home winning streak at Schoenecker Arena, previously winning 32 straight between Feb. 11, 2012 and Feb. 8, 2014. The Tommies are the only Summit League team with 12-win seasons at home in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Through its home games during the DI era, St. Thomas has won its home games by an average margin of 22.0 points, including a margin of 15.0 points against DI opponents. Eleven of the program's 29 home wins against DI opponents since that time have been by more than 20 points while just eight were decided by fewer than 10 points.
SHOOTING 60
St. Thomas set season highs in field goal percentage in a half during the Dec. 4 win at Northern Colorado, opening the game shooting a season best 63.3 percent before topping that at 65.4 percent to close the final 20 minutes. The Tommies have now shot over 60 percent in a half 10 times this season, going 8-0 in those games.
The Purple's 64.3 percent shooting overall against the Bears set a new Division I single-game record, hitting at least 60 percent shooting in seven games since 2021-22. St. Thomas shot above 60 percent during its road win at Green Bay and held a previous record of 63.3 percent on Nov. 11, 2022, against Chicago State.
DOBBS BACK HOME
With St. Thomas serving as the most unique story in college basketball, it's only fitting graduate student Drake Dobbs is closing out his unique path as a part of the 2024-25 Tommie squad. The guard from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, was a regarded high school recruit as a senior at Eden Prairie High School. During his senior season, Dobbs led EPHS to a perfect 28-0 record and ranked #10 nationally before COVID shortened the season. He led his team to a road win over nationally ranked Minnehaha Academy and future NBA draft picks Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren. Dobbs was a Minnesota Mr. Basketball top five finalist, a McDonald's All-America nominee, an all-metro first team selection (alongside Suggs, Holmgren and Dawson Garcia), and the all-time leading scorer at EPHS with over 2,000 points.
Dobbs committed to Liberty University and played 39 games (including a NCAA Tournament First Round versus Oklahoma State) with two starts before transferring in the middle of the 2021-22 season to St. Thomas. Dobbs played in 11 games in 2022-23 before starting all 33 games as a senior. He set the tone as the Tommies' staple in the backcourt last season (playing a team-high 30.3 minutes per game), consistently drawing the opponent's top offensive threat while also directing the St. Thomas offense (3.28 assist-to-turnover ratio).
THE DIII PIPELINE
After the departure of three former NCAA Division III athletes (Brooks Allen, Raheem Anthony, Parker Bjorklund), St. Thomas brought in another DIII product in junior Miles Barnstable from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. Barnstable played two seasons with the Warhawks (2022-24) where he was a 2023-24 NABC All-District Second Team and two-time WIAC All-Conference First Team selection. He was named the WIAC and WBCA Newcomer of the Year and to the D3hoops.com All-Region Third Team after leading UW-Whitewater to a Final Four run, upsetting five ranked teams along the way, while scoring 22 points per game. During his Tommie debut, Barnstable led St. Thomas with 16 points in 16 minutes. He followed with 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the win at Green Bay and leads the team in scoring (13.3 ppg). Barnstable scored his 1,000th career collegiate point Nov. 15, 2024, versus St. Norbert.
RETURN OF THE LONG BALL
St. Thomas returns four of its top five 3-point shooters from last season as the team's top seven scorers all made at least 35 3-pointers on the season. This season, Carter Bjerke is again leading with 56 3-pointers on 43.1 percent shooting. He and Ben Nau made the team's most in a game this season at six each. Five Tommies have at least 36 3-pointers made this season while all but one of those are shooting at least 42.9 percent from long range.
St. Thomas is second in the Summit League in 3-point shooting during conference play at 41.6 percent, behind only Omaha at 41.8 percent, and with 10.5 3-pointers per game. Nationally, St. Thomas ranks seventh in 3-point field goal percentage and tied for 14th in 3-pointers per game.
The Tommies have made a 3-point field goal in all 122 games of the DI era.
GOING FOR THE KILL SHOT
St. Thomas recorded a "Kill Shot," a scoring run of 10-0 or more, in 17 games this season, going 15-2 in those games. St. Thomas went on a season best 20-0 run in the first half against St. Norbert and came up with a pivotal 12-0 run midway through the second half to secure the win over South Dakota State on Jan. 8. The only two losses while completing a Kill Shot came at Oklahoma State and at UC Riverside.
Opponents recorded a Kill Shot in five games against St. Thomas this season as the Purple are 2-3 in those games. The first Kill Shot against St. Thomas this season came at Oklahoma State as the Cowboys went on a 10-0 run to overtake a Tommie lead for good, while Arizona State went on two runs of 10-0 or better, each coming within the final 10 minutes of each half. The two wins with Kill Shots against St. Thomas this season came during its 98-76 win over Chicago State and 77-71 win over Western Michigan.
TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
Tauer's teams have historically taken care of the basketball and first four seasons of DI play is no different. The Tommies finished tied for ninth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.2) last season after ranking tied for 11th nationally in the fewest total turnovers (327) in 2022-23 and leading the category in 2021-22. St. Thomas was one of seven teams nationally to record fewer than 10.0 turnovers per game in each of the past three seasons. This season, Auburn, Gonzaga, South Dakota and St. Thomas are the only teams to rank among the top 15 in scoring offense and among the top 25 in turnovers per game nationally.
Currently, St. Thomas ranks tied for 20th nationally with 9.9 turnovers per game. The Tommies are averaging 8.1 turnovers per game over the past 17 games, including six games with five or fewer turnovers. Entering 2024-25, the Purple had recorded five or fewer turnovers in 10 games since 2021-22.
SMOOTH TRANSITION
St. Thomas is one of nine teams currently making the transition into NCAA Division I. Of those nine teams, the Tommies are the only one making the jump directly from the Division III ranks (while all 47 teams to transition to Division I since 2001 came from Division II). Among the current transitioning teams, St. Thomas led all last season in wins, Ken Pom, and NET Rankings, and was third in each among 2023-24 transitioning teams.
St. Thomas is one of four teams since 2001 to transition to Division I that improved its win total in each of its first three seasons. The 20-win season was just the third for a transitioning team during its third year (one of 12 20-win seasons combined for transition teams through all of its first three seasons), while St. Thomas is the only transitioning team to win 19 games in three consecutive seasons.
In addition to its win total, the Tommies saw their Ken Pom and NET Rankings rise in each of the past four seasons. The Toms' final 2023-24 rankings in both (one of two Summit League teams to rank among the top 200) stand as the fourth best for a transitioning team in its third year of DI play. The Tommies' 99 NET Ranking prior to the Montana win this season marked just the second time a transitioning team has hit double digit marks in the NET Ranking (Grand Canyon '15-16).
After finishing the first year ranked 305 and the second at 202, the Tommies ended 2023-24 at 148 in the Ken Pom Rankings. The NET Rankings jumped from 314 to 199 between years one and two before ranking 159 to finish the 2023-24 season.
Johnny Tauer is one of four head coaches currently transitioning to Division I coaching at their alma mater. He is also one of eight DI head coaches in their first head coach stint, coaching at their alma mater, and a member of their athletics hall of fame. Tauer is the second longest tenured (14 seasons) among the eight, trailing only LeVelle Moton of NC Central (16 seasons).
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 eight 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 20.5 wins per season at St. Thomas and became the fastest coach in program history to reach 250 career wins, doing so in 337 career games. He is one of 17 active head coaches among all of NCAA with at least 250 wins and a .730 winning percentage at any program, and one of seven active among all of NCAA with both at one program.
TENURED IN THE SUMMIT
Head Coach Johnny Tauer is in his 14th 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 all league head coaches in career winning percentage and is second in career wins.
| 2024-25 Summit League Head Coaches | |||
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Paul Sather | North Dakota | 352 | .572 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 286 | .733 |
| Marvin Menzies | Kansas City | 284 | .573 |
| David Richman | North Dakota State | 208 | .598 |
| Eric Henderson | South Dakota State | 125 | .689 |
| Jeff Wulbrun | Denver | 52 | .416 |
| Chris Crutchfield | Omaha | 50 | .450 |
| Eric Peterson | South Dakota | 40 | .449 |
| Russell Springmann | Oral Roberts | 18 | .327 |
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 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 618 wins overall in 29 seasons, averaging out to over 20 wins per season. He has been involved in 812 games combined with 698 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
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
JOIN US
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-- 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
