New Beginnings-New Players-New Locations-New Expectations
The University of St. Thomas Tommies enter their game tomorrow in Chicago as one of eight teams in NCAA Division 1 to know the exact date their season will end. The Toms begin a five year probationary period where they are ineligible for both The Big Dance, and The Smaller Dance in Sioux Falls, SD. Surprisingly, for their debut they enter their first game versus a division 1 team as a 5 point favorite. Their opponent, Chicago State, is widely considered to be the worst team in College Basketball. St. Thomas, in those same team rankings, is not much further ahead. St. Thomas has so far, in almost every sport, finished above where the “experts” have predicted them to finish in pre-season rankings. We do not know much about this current team, or the possible rotation, but we do know they have pursued impact transfers aggressively, hit the recruiting trail hard, and added assistant coaches with extensive D1 experience.
Head Coach-Dr. John Tauer (St. Thomas ’95) 218-50 record since becoming head coach in 2011. Tauer won the NCAA D3 National Title in 2016. Is one of only a handful of UST D3 coaches to survive the jump to D1 along with Coach Glenn F. Caruso (Football), Ruth Sinn (WBB), and Thanh Pham (Volleyball).
Sam’s PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:
G: Anders Nelson 6’0″ (Edina, Minn.) 19.4 PPG for UST Last Season. Key returner.
G: Dom Martinelli 6’4″ (Northwestern University) Shot 100% for the Wildcasts last season (1-1)
G: Riley Miller 6’3″ (Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Minn.) Can score a 3-pointer from anywhere in the gym, 62% from beyond the arc last season for the Toms
F: Courtney Brown Jr. 6’7″ (UW-Milwaukee) Started 30 Games for the Panthers, the most important newcomer if UST wants to finish above their predicted last place finish
F: Bennett Kwiecinski 6’9″ (Sienna) Brings needed height to an otherwise undersized team
Key 2021 Games:
11-09 at Chicago State-UST opens up Division 1 play with a game that should set the tone for the rest of the season. A win in Chicago to start the season would mean that UST has a shot to hang in there with the lower end of the Summit League MBB Teams.
11-27 at Seattle-The best team that the Toms will play in November. Coach Hayford is in his fourth season is looking to do better than the WAC Quarterfinals with Houston transfer, and WA Native Cameron Tyson.
12-05 at Drake-The UST Football Team may give Drake a game on Saturday, but the MBB team will likely face a blowout. Drake is coming off a season where they won a game in the NCAA Tournament, and this season will be hunting for an MVC title. Their offseason was highlighted by 4-star recruit Tucker Devries joining an already talented roster.
12-20 at Omaha-The first Summit League game for the Tommies will be a bellwether for how they will fare versus the weaker teams in the league. UST will have had plenty of time versus good teams to get a solid rotation going to be at full strength for this matchup.
Storylines to watch out for:
The Three Pointer-UST has lived by the long ball, and died by the long ball. This season it will be particularly important for returning sharpshooters to get hot, and stay hot. Tommie shooters will probably not get as many clean shots from beyond the arc as they did when they played in the M.I.A.C. making their possessions mean much more.
Handling the Lumps-Some games, Coach Tauer’s only shot to get a win will be to use his psychology doctorate skills to hypnotize the other team into not scoring. Not allowing a bad loss to turn into two bad losses will be huge.
Recruiting-It is likely that nobody on this team will be eligible for the post season in their time in purple. Their legacy will be defined by playing well enough to convince good players to come and help build this program. The Tommies are already quietly building the best recruiting class in the league for next season, and surprising people this season with their play will help their future chances.
Best Case Scenario: The Toms key players stay healthy, shoot well, and rise to the occasion. Rising to the occasion means beating up on the bottom of the Summit-UND-Denver-Omaha-WIU-and looking like they belong with the others. Summit league fans will likely see an upset win over their team as St. Thomas playing spoiler, which is a fun role to play. UST fans would be wise to tune out the jealous johnnies on twitter after bad losses, this is a program that is going to be a treat to watch develop this season and beyond.
Plus 3:
Sam’s Regular Season League Prediction
- NDSU-Bison “Kreus” to a league title
- SDSU-Coach Henderson continues to find success in his third season.
- Oral Roberts-Key departures hurt a team that made it to the Sweet 16 last season
- UMKC
- South Dakota
- Denver
- St. Thomas
- WIU
- Omaha
- North Dakota
For Summit League fans going to Schoenecker Arena to watch their team play:
Pre-Game/Post Game Spots
Tiffany Sports Lounge 2051 Ford Pkwy Saint Paul-Great wings, burgers, and drink specials. Arguably the flagship UST bar, it would not surprise me if they offer shuttles to and from the games.
Plums Bar and Grill 480 Snelling Ave S, St Paul. Younger crowd there, especially on Thursdays.
Davannis 41 Cleveland Ave S, St Paul. Family friendly spot for pizza and hot hoagies. Walking distance to the arena.
For those that want a drink at the game, tickets in the 300 level have access to a cash bar.
Opening Night Picks
1.1 u UST v Chicago State U146
1.1 u UMKC +9 v Minnesota
2.2 u UW Milwaukee -7 v UND
Season (0-0) +0 units
Good write up. Excited to see how Tauer’s style matches up against D1 athleticism, and especially some of the D1 size in the league. If I had to guess I think Burt Hedstrom starts over Martinelli, but we shall see tomorrow.
love it, great breakdown