2021–22 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball team

2021–22 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball
Conference	Summit League
Record	10–20 (4–14 Summit)
Head coach	John Tauer (11th season)
Home arena	Schoenecker Arena

2021–22 Summit League men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
South Dakota State †	18	–	0		1.000			30	–	5		.857
North Dakota State	13	–	5		.722			23	–	10		.697
Kansas City	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
Oral Roberts	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
South Dakota	11	–	7		.611			19	–	12		.613
Western Illinois	7	–	11		.389			16	–	16		.500
Denver	7	–	11		.389			11	–	21		.344
St. Thomas*	4	–	14		.222			10	–	20		.333
Omaha	4	–	14		.222			5	–	25		.167
North Dakota	2	–	16		.111			6	–	25		.194
* Ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III
† 2022 Summit League tournament winner

The 2021–22 St. Thomas Tommies men's basketball team represented the University of St. Thomas in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tommies, led by 11th-year head coach John Tauer, played their home games at Schoenecker Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota as members of the Summit League.

The season marked St. Thomas's first 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, the Tommies were not eligible for NCAA postseason play until 2026–27 and cannot participate in the 2022 Summit League tournament.^[1][2]

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Tommies finished the 2020–21 NCAA Division III men's basketball season 7–0 overall, 5–0 in MIAC play. Although they were atop the MIAC standings at the time the conference season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MIAC did not officially recognizing a regular season champion.^[3] Per the NCAA Division III blanket waiver issued in October 2020, student-athletes were allowed to compete up to the established dates of competition maximums without being charged a season of intercollegiate participation during the 2020–21 academic year.^[3]

The season marked the last season the Tommies competed in Division III basketball. They had earned four trips to the Division III Final Four (1994, 2011, 2013, 2016) and won two national championships (2011, 2016) during that time.

Roster

2021–22 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Kevin Cunningham 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Loyola Academy Glenview, Illinois G 2 Ben Nau 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Central High School Brookfield, Wisconsin G 3 Zach Theisen 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Osseo High School Maple Grove, Minnesota G 4 Anders Nelson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Edina High School Edina, Minnesota F 5 Parker Bjorklund 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Chaska High School Chaska, Minnesota G 10 Riley Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Benilde-St. Margaret's Eden Prairie, Minnesota G 12 Ryan Dufault 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Waseca High School Waseca, Minnesota G/F 20 Courtney Brown, Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr East Ridge High School Cottage Grove, Minnesota G 22 Burt Hedstrom 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Minnetonka High School Minnetonka, Minnesota F 23 Will Engels 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Benet Academy Clarendon Hills, Illinois G 24 Ryan Lindberg 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Wayzata High School Plymouth, Minnesota F 31 Brooks Allen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Shakopee High School Shakopee, Minnesota G 32 Dom Martinelli 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Glenbrook South High School Glenview, Illinois F 33 Bennett Kwiecinski 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Loyola Academy Chicago, Illinois	Head coach John Tauer (St. Thomas (MN)) Assistant coach(es) Mike Maker (Cal Baptist) Gameli Ahelegbe (Minnesota State) Cameron Rundles (Wofford) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 24, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Chicago State	L 72–77	0–1	Jones Convocation Center (300) Chicago, IL
November 13, 2021* 1:00 p.m.		at St. Francis	W 91–73	1–1	Daniel Lynch Gymnasium (212) Brooklyn Heights, NY
November 15, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Fordham	L 78–84	1–2	Rose Hill Gymnasium (698) The Bronx, NY
November 19, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Youngstown State	L 75–79	1–3	Beeghly Center (1,393) Youngstown, OH
November 20, 2021* 3:45 p.m.		vs. Niagara	W 76–67	2–3	Beeghly Center (1,390) Youngstown, OH
November 21, 2021* 12:00 p.m.		vs. SIU Edwardsville	W 86–73	3–3	Beeghly Center (1,439) Youngstown, OH
November 27, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Seattle	L 64–81	3–4	Redhawk Center (999) Seattle, WA
December 2, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		Crown College	W 73–53	4–4	Schoenecker Arena (1,008) St. Paul, MN
December 5, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Drake	L 64–74	4–5	Knapp Center (2,674) Des Moines, IA
December 11, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		Montana State	L 65–72	4–6	Schoenecker Arena (1,096) St. Paul, MN
December 14, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		Northland	W 109–50	5–6	Schoenecker Arena (694) St. Paul, MN
December 20, 2021 7:00 p.m.		at Omaha	W 80–73	6–6 (1–0)	Baxter Arena (1,483) Omaha, NE
December 22, 2021 3:00 p.m.		at Denver	L 74–75	6–7 (1–1)	Magness Arena (910) Denver, CO
December 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		North Central	W 97–45	7–7	Schoenecker Arena (662) St. Paul, MN
January 1, 2022 2:00 p.m.		Western Illinois	W 89–66	8–7 (2–1)	Schoenecker Arena (797) St. Paul, MN
January 6, 2022 7:00 p.m.		Oral Roberts	L 66–81	8–8 (2–2)	Schoenecker Arena (1,241) St. Paul, MN
January 8, 2022 7:00 pm		Kansas City	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues		Schoenecker Arena  St. Paul, MN
January 13, 2022 7:00 pm		at North Dakota State	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues		Scheels Center  Fargo, ND
January 15, 2022 1:00 pm		at North Dakota	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues		Betty Engelstad Sioux Center  Grand Forks, ND
January 20, 2022 7:00 p.m.		South Dakota State	L 77–92	8–9 (2–3)	Schoenecker Arena (1,153) St. Paul, MN
January 22, 2022 7:00 p.m.		South Dakota	L 79–90	8–10 (2–4)	Schoenecker Arena (746) St. Paul, MN
January 25, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at North Dakota State Rescheduled from January 13	L 56–77	8–11 (2–5)	Scheels Center (1,240) Fargo, ND
January 29, 2022 2:00 p.m.		at Western Illinois	L 52–81	8–12 (2–6)	Western Hall (589) Macomb, IL
February 3, 2022 7:00 p.m.		at Kansas City	L 72–81	8–13 (2–7)	Swinney Recreation Center (584) Kansas City, MO
February 5, 2022 7:00 p.m.		at Oral Roberts	L 66–88	8–14 (2–8)	Mabee Center (4,412) Tulsa, OK
February 8, 2022 7:00 p.m.		Kansas City Rescheduled from January 8	L 67–76	8–15 (2–9)	Schoenecker Arena (710) St. Paul, MN
February 10, 2022 7:00 p.m.		North Dakota	L 70–78	8–16 (2–10)	Schoenecker Arena (890) St. Paul, MN
February 12, 2022 7:00 p.m.		North Dakota State	L 64–75	8–17 (2–11)	Schoenecker Arena (1,405) St. Paul, MN
February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at South Dakota	L 60–81	8–18 (2–12)	Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,770) Vermillion, SD
February 19, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		at South Dakota State	L 60–79	8–19 (2–13)	Frost Arena (3,122) Brookings, SD
February 22, 2022 12:00 p.m.		at North Dakota Rescheduled from January 15	W 84–74	9–19 (3–13)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,173) Grand Forks, ND
February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m.		Denver	L 80–91	9–20 (3–14)	Schoenecker Arena (770) St. Paul, MN
February 26, 2022 7:00 p.m.		Omaha	W 95–74	10–20 (4–14)	Schoenecker Arena (1,150) St. Paul, MN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

References

1. Blount, Rachel (November 11, 2020). "The St. Thomas build-out has begun, with first D-I signings coming Wednesday". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
2. "St. Thomas receives NCAA waiver to join The Summit League in 2021–22". Summit League. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. July 15, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
3. "MIAC announces plans for spring competition". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Bloomington, Minnesota. March 3, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.