2022–23 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball team

The 2022–23 St. Thomas Tommies men's basketball team represented the University of St. Thomas in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tommies, led by 12th-year head coach John Tauer, played their home games at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota as members of the Summit League.

2022–23 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball
Conference	Summit League
Record	19–14 (9–9 Summit)
Head coach	John Tauer (12th season)
Associate head coach	Mike Maker
Assistant coaches	Cameron Rundles Kenneth Lowe
Home arena	Schoenecker Arena

2022–23 Summit League men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Oral Roberts †	18	–	0		1.000			30	–	5		.857
South Dakota State	13	–	5		.722			19	–	13		.594
North Dakota State	11	–	7		.611			16	–	17		.485
Western Illinois	9	–	9		.500			16	–	14		.533
St. Thomas*	9	–	9		.500			19	–	14		.576
South Dakota	7	–	11		.389			12	–	19		.387
Kansas City	7	–	11		.389			11	–	21		.344
Denver	6	–	12		.333			15	–	17		.469
North Dakota	6	–	12		.333			13	–	20		.394
Omaha	4	–	14		.222			9	–	23		.281
* Ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III
† 2023 Summit League Tournament winner

This season marked St. Thomas's second 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 are not eligible for NCAA postseason play until 2026–27. The Tommies participated in their first ever Division I conference tournament, as the Summit League announced the 2023 Summit League men's basketball tournament would include all 10 conference teams.

Previous season

The Tommies finished the 2021–22 season 10–20, 4–14 in Summit League play to finish in a tie for eighth place. Because the Tommies were in the first year of a five-year transition period from DIII to DI, they were not eligible for NCAA postseason play, including the Summit League tournament.

Roster

2022–23 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) Fr East Ridge High School Woodbury, Minnesota G 2 Ben Nau 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Brookfield Central High School Brookfield, Wisconsin G 3 Andrew Rohde 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Brookfield Central High School Milwaukee, Wisconsin F 5 Parker Bjorklund 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Chaska High School Chaska, Minnesota G 10 Riley Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Benilde-St. Margaret's Eden Prairie, Minnesota G 11 Drake Dobbs 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Eden Prairie High School Eden Prairie, Minnesota G 12 Ryan Dufault 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Waseca High School Waseca, Minnesota F 13 Ahjany Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Totino-Grace High School Byron, Minnesota F 14 Brooks Allen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Shakopee High School Shakopee, Minnesota F 20 Courtney Brown Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Milwaukee Cottage Grove, Minnesota F 23 Will Engels 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Benet Academy Clarendon Hills, Illinois G 32 Dom Martinelli 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Northwestern Glenview, Illinois F 33 Bennett Kwiecinski 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Siena Chicago, Illinois F 35 Carter Bjerke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Wayzata High School Plymouth, Minnesota	Head coach John Tauer (St. Thomas (MN)) Assistant coach(es) Mike Maker (Cal Baptist) Cameron Rundles (Wofford) Kenneth Lowe (Purdue) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 16, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2022* 7:30 pm, FS1		at No. 9 Creighton	L 60–72	0–1	CHI Health Center Omaha (17,098) Omaha, NE
November 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		Chicago State	W 83–61	1–1	Schoenecker Arena (1,378) St. Paul, MN
November 13, 2022* 2:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		St. Francis Brooklyn	W 84–48	2–1	Schoenecker Arena (667) St. Paul, MN
November 17, 2022* 8:30 pm, ESPN+		at Montana Zootown Classic	L 59–78	2–2	Dahlberg Arena (2,660) Missoula, MT
November 18, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Troy Zootown Classic	W 78–76	3–2	Dahlberg Arena (251) Missoula, MT
November 19, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Merrimack Zootown Classic	W 72–61	4–2	Dahlberg Arena (178) Missoula, MT
November 23, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Milwaukee	W 76–72	5–2	UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,813) Milwaukee, WI
November 26, 2022* 7:00 pm, P12N		at Utah	L 66–95	5–3	Jon M. Huntsman Center (5,109) Salt Lake City, UT
November 29, 2022* 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		North Central	W 111–63	6–3	Schoenecker Arena (786) St. Paul, MN
December 3, 2022* 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		Crown	W 91–56	7–3	Schoenecker Arena (874) St. Paul, MN
December 8, 2022* 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Montana State	L 65–82	7–4	Worthington Arena (2,609) Bozeman, MT
December 10, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Idaho State	W 76–70	8–4	Reed Gym (1,040) Pocatello, ID
December 13, 2022* 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		Green Bay	W 82–61	9–4	Schoenecker Arena (1,036) St. Paul, MN
Summit League regular season
December 19, 2022 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		North Dakota	W 75–62	10–4 (1–0)	Schoenecker Arena (985) St. Paul, MN
December 21, 2022 12:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		North Dakota State	W 78–68	11–4 (2–0)	Schoenecker Arena (1,123) St. Paul, MN
December 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at South Dakota	L 84–92	11–5 (2–1)	Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,516) Vermillion, SD
December 31, 2022 2:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN3		at South Dakota State	L 64–71	11–6 (2–2)	Frost Arena (2,020) Brookings, SD
January 5, 2023 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		Denver	W 81–71	12–6 (3–2)	Schoenecker Arena (981) St. Paul, MN
January 7, 2023 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		Omaha	W 80–58	13–6 (4–2)	Schoenecker Arena (1,332) St. Paul, MN
January 12, 2023 7:00 pm		at Kansas City	L 60–81	13–7 (4–3)	Swinney Recreation Center (725) Kansas City, MO
January 14, 2023 7:00 pm		at Oral Roberts	L 69–81	13–8 (4–4)	Mabee Center (5,684) Tulsa, OK
January 21, 2023 2:00 pm		at Western Illinois	L 56–60	13–9 (4–5)	Western Hall (727) Macomb, IL
January 26, 2023 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		South Dakota State	W 60–54	14–9 (5–5)	Schoenecker Arena (1,505) St. Paul, MN
January 28, 2023 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		South Dakota	L 67–81	14–10 (5–6)	Schoenecker Arena (1,723) St. Paul, MN
February 2, 2023 7:00 pm		at Omaha	W 89–83	15–10 (6–6)	Baxter Arena (1,261) Omaha, NE
February 4, 2023 5:00 pm		at Denver	W 68–57	16–10 (7–6)	Hamilton Gymnasium (992) Denver, CO
February 9, 2023 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		Oral Roberts	L 88–95	16–11 (7–7)	Schoenecker Arena (2,013) St. Paul, MN
February 11, 2023 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		Kansas City	W 73–43	17–11 (8–7)	Schoenecker Arena (1,619) St. Paul, MN
February 18, 2023 7:00 pm, Tommies All-Access		Western Illinois	W 82–69	18–11 (9–7)	Schoenecker Arena (1,674) St. Paul, MN
February 23, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Dakota State	L 64–73	18–12 (9–8)	Scheels Center (1,761) Fargo, ND
February 25, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at North Dakota	L 74–82	18–13 (9–9)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,715) Grand Forks, ND
Summit League tournament
March 5, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(5)	vs. (4) Western Illinois Quarterfinals	W 67–60	19–13	Denny Sanford Premier Center  Sioux Falls, SD
March 6, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(5)	vs. (1) Oral Roberts Semifinals	L 65–70	19–14	Denny Sanford Premier Center  Sioux Falls, SD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources