2023–24 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball team

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2023–24 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball
ConferenceSummit League
Record20–13 (9–7 Summit)
Head coach
Associate head coachMike Maker
Assistant coaches
  • Cameron Rundles
  • Kenneth Lowe
Home arenaSchoenecker Arena
Seasons
2024–25 →
2023–24 Summit League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
South Dakota State 12 4   .750 22 13   .629
Kansas City 10 6   .625 16 16   .500
North Dakota 10 6   .625 18 14   .563
St. Thomas* 9 7   .563 20 13   .606
North Dakota State 8 8   .500 15 17   .469
Omaha 7 9   .438 15 18   .455
Denver 6 10   .375 17 17   .500
Oral Roberts 5 11   .313 12 19   .387
South Dakota 5 11   .313 12 20   .375
* Ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III
2024 Summit League tournament winner

The 2023–24 St. Thomas Tommies men's basketball team represented the University of St. Thomas in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tommies, led by 13th-year head coach John Tauer, played their home games at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota as members of the Summit League.

This season marked St. Thomas's third year of a five-year transition period from Division III to Division I, an incredibly rare and historic jump that bypasses Division II altogether. As a result of this transition, the Tommies are not eligible for NCAA postseason play until 2026–27. The Tommies participated in their second ever Summit League men’s Basketball tournament, defeating North Dakota State in the Quarterfinals before falling to top seeded South Dakota State in the semifinals.

Previous season[edit]

The Tommies finished the 2022–23 season 19–14, 9–9 in Summit League play to finish in a tie for fourth place. Since the Summit League expanded the Summit League men's basketball tournament to include all league teams, St. Thomas played in their first Division I postseason tournament. They defeated Western Illinois in the quarterfinals,[1] and lost to Oral Roberts in the semifinals.[2]

Roster[edit]

2023–24 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Kendall Blue 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So East Ridge High School Woodbury, MN
G 2 Ben Nau 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Brookfield Central High School Brookfield, WI
G 3 Hayden Tibbits 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Wayzata High School Medina, MN
F 4 Brooks Allen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) GS Shakopee High School Shakopee, MN
F 5 Parker Bjorklund 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Chaska High School Chaska, MN
G 11 Drake Dobbs 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Eden Prairie High School Eden Prairie, MN
G 12 Ryan Dufault 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Waseca High School Waseca, MN
F 13 Ahjany Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Totino-Grace High School Byron, MN
G 14 Adam Tauer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Cretin-Derham Hall High School St. Paul, MN
F 20 Courtney Brown, Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr East Ridge High School Cottage Grove, MN
G 21 Ben Oosterbaan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Hinsdale Central High School Hinsdale, IL
G 24 Raheem Anthony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) GS DePaul College Prep Chicago, IL
G 32 Dom Martinelli 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Glenbrook South High School Glenview, IL
F 33 Bennett Kwiecinski 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Loyola Academy Chicago, IL
F 35 Carter Bjerke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Fr Wayzata High School Plymouth, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 30, 2023

Schedule and results[edit]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
8:00 pm, P12N
at California L 66–71  0–1
Haas Pavilion (3,066)
Berkeley, CA
November 10, 2023*
7:30 pm, Fox 9+/SLN
Idaho State W 54–53  1–1
Schoenecker Arena (1,610)
St. Paul, MN
November 12, 2023*
4:00 pm, SLN
North Central (MN) W 100–54  2–1
Schoenecker Arena (757)
St. Paul, MN
November 17, 2023*
6:30 pm
vs. Cal Poly
The Lancer Joust
L 60–61  2–2
Fowler Events Center (141)
Riverside, CA
November 18, 2023*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at California Baptist
The Lancer Joust
L 62–66  2–3
Fowler Events Center (2,034)
Riverside, CA
November 19, 2023*
4:30 pm
vs. Portland State
The Lancer Joust
W 76–70  3–3
Fowler Events Center (123)
Riverside, CA
November 25, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Green Bay L 51–64  3–4
Resch Center (1,618)
Green Bay, WI
December 1, 2023*
4:00 pm
at Western Michigan W 66–51  4–4
University Arena (1,411)
Kalamazoo, MI
December 6, 2023*
7:00 pm, SLN
Milwaukee W 75–71  5–4
Schoenecker Arena (1,316)
St. Paul, MN
December 10, 2023*
2:00 pm
at Chicago State W 66–50  6–4
Jones Convocation Center (127)
Chicago, IL
December 14, 2023*
7:00 pm, FS1
at No. 7 Marquette L 79–84  6–5
Fiserv Forum (14,950)
Milwaukee, WI
December 17, 2023*
2:00 pm, SLN
Crown College W 85–66  7–5
Schoenecker Arena (744)
St. Paul, MN
December 21, 2023*
7:00 pm, SLN
Wisconsin–River Falls W 104–51  8–5
Shoenecker Arena (937)
St. Paul, MN
December 29, 2023
7:00 pm, CBSSN
at North Dakota W 70–45  9–5
(1–0)
Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,637)
Grand Forks, ND
December 31, 2023
2:00 pm, SLN
Kansas City W 77–56  10–5
(2–0)
Schoenecker Arena (1,165)
St. Paul, MN
January 3, 2024*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Idaho
Big Sky–Summit Challenge
W 75–67  11–5
ICCU Arena (1,286)
Moscow, ID
January 6, 2024*
7:00 pm, Fox 9+/SLN
Sacramento State
Big Sky–Summit Challenge
W 63–50  12–5
Schoenecker Arena (1,306)
St. Paul, MN
January 11, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
South Dakota State L 80–81  12–6
(2–1)
Schoenecker Arena (1,515)
St. Paul, MN
January 13, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
at Oral Roberts W 87–76  13–6
(3–1)
Mabee Center (4,652)
Tulsa, OK
January 18, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
at South Dakota L 73–74 OT 13–7
(3–2)
Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,737)
Vermillion, SD
January 25, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
North Dakota State W 79–66  14–7
(4–2)
Schoenecker Arena (1,614)
St. Paul, MN
January 27, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
North Dakota L 64–74  14–8
(4–3)
Schoenecker Arena (1,540)
St. Paul, MN
February 1, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
at Omaha L 65–69  14–9
(4–4)
Baxter Arena (1,747)
Omaha, NE
February 3, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
at Kansas City W 71–56  15–9
(5–4)
Swinney Recreation Center (1,226)
Kansas City, MO
February 8, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
Oral Roberts W 85–63  16–9
(6–4)
Schoenecker Arena (1,148)
St. Paul, MN
February 10, 2024
3:00 pm, SLN
at Denver L 77–94  16–10
(6–5)
Hamilton Gymnasium (1,028)
Denver, CO
February 17, 2024
7:00 pm, Fox 9+/SLN
South Dakota W 83–80  17–10
(7–5)
Schoenecker Arena (1,509)
St. Paul, MN
February 22, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
at North Dakota State L 50–64  17–11
(7–6)
Scheels Center (1,579)
Fargo, ND
February 24, 2024
2:00 pm, SLN
at South Dakota State L 72–77  17–12
(7–7)
Frost Arena (3,136)
Brookings, SD
February 29, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
Omaha W 88–61  18–12
(8–7)
Schoenecker Arena (1,526)
St. Paul, MN
March 2, 2024
7:00 pm, SLN
Denver W 83–58  19–12
(9–7)
Schoenecker Arena (1,607)
St. Paul, MN
Summit League tournament
March 10, 2024
6:00 pm, SLN
(4) vs. (5) North Dakota State
Quarterfinals
W 68–58  20–12
Denny Sanford Premier Center 
Sioux Falls, SD
March 11, 2024
6:00 pm, SLN
(4) vs. (1) South Dakota State
Semifinals
L 49–59  20–13
Denny Sanford Premier Center 
Sioux Falls, SD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[3][4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Second half surge sends St. Thomas to semifinals". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. March 5, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Oral Roberts holds off St. Thomas to head to championship". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. March 6, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". tommiesports.com. St. Thomas Tommies. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Schedule". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2023.