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St. Thomas seeking Summit League title to end historic season
The St. Thomas men's basketball team is the No. 2 seed for the Summit League Tournament and is looking for a championship despite not yet being eligible for the NCAA Tournament. Coach John Tauer and players Kendall Blue and Drake Dobbs spoke with reporters on Monday.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The St. Thomas men’s basketball team heads to the Summit League Tournament this week, and one way or another, their season will come to an end without an NCAA Tournament bid.
The Tommies are closing Year 4 of their transition to Division I, and are not yet eligible for March Madness. That changes a year from now, just in time for their new arena on campus. As John Tauer has said in prior seasons, this week is their NCAA Tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
"For us this year, Sioux Falls is it, one way or the other. It’s certainly emotional," Tauer said Monday.
Closing out a special season
Why you should care:
Regardless of how it ends, the 2024-25 season for St. Thomas will be one to remember. It also could create an interesting scenario for the conference. The Tommies are 22-9 and are the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament. They’ll face No. 7 seed Denver Thursday night. The winner plays the South Dakota State/North Dakota winner Friday night.
If the Tommies get to Sunday’s championship game, they still are not eligible to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The team they would face in the title game would get the bid. The circumstances don’t water down the week one bit.
"What these guys are doing right now, there’s not many times in your life where you get a chance to do something that hasn’t been done before," Tauer said. "This journey that we’re on at St. Thomas is just incredibly special."
Program progressing
By the numbers:
St. Thomas won 10 games in its first season in Division I. They improved to 19 in 2022, 20 two seasons ago and 22 this season. The Tommies were also 14-0 in their final season in Schoenecker Arena. It’s the first time since 2012-13 St. Thomas went undefeated at home. The Tommies finish 163-30 in 15 seasons at Schoenecker Arena, including 43-12 during their time in Division I.
This week marks the end of a run for four seniors, and Drake Dobbs wants to go out winners. Their 71 wins over the last four seasons in Division I is second-most in the NCAA in a four-year transitional period.
"I just really want to leave this program in a better spot than it was when I got here. I want to do something that’s never been done at St. Thomas," Dobbs said. "I want to win this championship really bad."