The St. Thomas men’s basketball team (15-5, 5-0 Summit League) is back on the road for an eventful weekend Jan. 23-25 as it takes on Omaha (11-9, 5-0 Summit League), on a seven-game winning streak, and Kansas City (10-10, 2-3 Summit League), the preseason Summit League favorites.  Tonight’s game in Omaha tips off at 7:05 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY | OMAHA
St. Thomas has had its most Summit League success against Omaha, holding a 5-1 series record, its largest winning percentage against any league team. The Tommies hold an average margin of victory of 14.8 points per win and saw its first loss in the series last season in Omaha, 69-65.

Drake Dobbs found success as a distributor against the Mavericks last season, totaling nine assists to one turnover. He scored 14 points with four assists and one turnover during the loss before scoring seven points with five assists in St. Paul. Kendall Blue recorded his first career double-double during the 83-58 win with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

5-0 VS 5-0
For the first time since the 2011-12 season, two Summit League teams with 5-0 records will play each other. The last time it happened was Jan. 7, 2012 when South Dakota State and Oral Roberts played in Tulsa, Okla., a 97-75 win by ORU. Current Omaha assistant coach Warren Niles was a junior for the Golden Eagles at the time as he scored 15 points with 6 assists in the game. ORU went on to win the Summit League regular season title while SDSU won the Summit League Tournament over Western Illinois.

LET THE STREAKS CONTINUE
St. Thomas men’s basketball secured its 13th consecutive home win with a 74-62 victory over Denver on Saturday night at Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies shot 64.0% in the first half, building a 44-27 halftime lead, but overcame a second-half shooting slump to hold off a late Denver comeback. Freshman Nolan Minessale led all scorers with 17 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting, adding eight free throws, four rebounds, and three steals.

Omaha is on a league-best seven-game winning streak, including four straight at home, for its longest overall streak during its Division I era. The Mavericks have never started 5-0 in league play.

DOWN GO THE DAKOTAS
The perfect start to Summit League play continued as St. Thomas defeated South Dakota, 119-104, to set a new Division I era scoring record. The Tommies also set a DI first as all five starters scored at least 15 points on its way to beating its fourth straight Dakota school. Miles Barnstable led with 28 points, including four three-pointers, while Kendall Blue contributed 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Drake Dobbs added 16 points, nine assists, and no turnovers, and Carter Bjerke chipped in 16 points.

HARE-RAISING FINISH
St. Thomas secured a thrilling 73-72 home victory over South Dakota State Jan. 8, marking its first 3-0 start to Summit League play and snapping a three-game losing streak to the Jackrabbits. Despite being outrebounded by 22, the Tommies capitalized on SDSU’s 13 turnovers, scoring 19 points off those miscues while committing just four turnovers themselves. Nolan Minessale led the way with 17 points while Drake Dobbs added 12 points, five assists, and the game-winning free throws with 13 seconds to play. The Tommies shot 39.4 percent from beyond the arc, sinking five more threes than SDSU, and extended their home win streak to 11 games. A tight defensive stand in the final 13 seconds sealed the win, as St. Thomas held the Jackrabbits without a clean shot attempt at the buzzer.

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 South Dakota State ’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 the only Summit League school ranked while South Dakota State received votes. The Tommies are one of 12 teams on the Top 25 poll with at least 15 wins this season.

The Tommies have moved up to 19 in the most recent Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released on Jan. 20.

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. 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 tied that mark twice and set a new career high of 19 points Dec. 29 at UC Riverside. With his four 3-pointers at NDSU, Dobbs made multiple 3-pointers in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

In addition to his scoring prowess, Dobbs has 49 assists and 9 turnovers for a 5.4 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last 11 games and currently ranks eighth nationally in the category (3.71).

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 19 games this season have led in scoring at least once this season. Miles Barnstable has led St. Thomas eight times, followed by Nolan Minessale and Ben Nau three times, and Kendall Blue and Ben Oosterbaan twice. Carter Bjerke, Rich Byhre and Drake Dobbs have all led in scoring once.

CLIMBING THE NET RANKINGS
The Tommies have climbed the NET Rankings and are currently 104, shy of a program-best 97, through games of Jan. 21. St. Thomas is one of three Summit League teams currently among the top 107 (North Dakota State, 94/ South Dakota State, 108). Omaha is the fourth highest ranked Summit League program at 217 through games on Jan. 21.

St. Thomas ranks ahead of 15 Power Five programs in the NET Rankings: ACC – 8, Big East – 2, Big 12 – 2, Big Ten – 1, SEC – 0.

St. Thomas was initially ranked 133 in the NET Rankings on Dec. 1, 2024, before jumping to 99, its first time 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 held a program best 110 in the Ken Pom Rankings after winning 10 of its last 11 games, now at 11 of the last 12 games overall. The Tommies are currently 119 and rank 55th nationally in in adjusted offensive efficiency, which includes points scored per 100 possessions.

The Tommies are ranked ahead of seven Power Five schools in the Ken Pom Rankings: ACC – 6, 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 87 points in 12 of 15 wins, and leads the Summit League with 86.0 points per game and an 11.3 scoring margin. St. Thomas’ scoring average is eighth 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 49.8 percent overall to lead the league while the team’s 40.3 percent shooting from long range trails only North Dakota State.

(info and photo courtesy of Tommies Sports)

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