# 2024–25 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's basketball team

The 2024–25 St. Thomas Tommies men's basketball team represented the University of St. Thomas in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tommies, led by 14th-year head coach John Tauer, played their home games at Schoenecker Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota as members of the Summit League.
This season originally marked St. Thomas's fourth year of a five-year transition period from Division III to Division I, an incredibly rare and historic jump that bypasses Division II altogether. However on January 15, 2025 the NCAA voted to amend the reclassification timeline for transitioning Division I institutions, reducing the Division III to Division I transition period from five years to four. With the transition period timeline amended, St. Thomas would be eligible for NCAA postseason play in the 2025–26 season as long as the university is able to meet the new standards set (such as academic requirements).
The Tommies participated in the Summit League men's basketball tournament for the third time since moving to Division I in 2021, doing so as the 2nd seed in the conference (their highest placement since their move to Division I). They defeated 7th-seeded Denver in the quarterfinals and 6th-seeded North Dakota in the semifinals before they were defeated by 1st-seeded Omaha in their first appearance in the Summit League Championship.
Additionally, this season marked the final year the Tommies played their home games in Schoenecker Arena (finishing the year with a perfect 14–0 record at home) as a new on-campus arena, the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena is set to open in time for the start of the 2025–26 season.

## Previous season

The Tommies finished the 2023–24 season 20–13, 9–7 in Summit League play, to finish in fourth place. They played in their second-ever Division I postseason tournament, the Summit League tournament where they defeated North Dakota State in the quarterfinals before losing to South Dakota State in the semifinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 8:00 p.m., Summit League Network | | North Central (MN) | W 96–71 | 1–0 | 16 – Barnstable | 10 – Oosterbaan | 5 – Dobbs | Schoenecker Arena (1,353) St. Paul, MN |
| November 8, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Green Bay | W 90–76 | 2–0 | 23 – Barnstable | 6 – Byhre | 4 – 2 tied | Kress Events Center (2,060) Green Bay, WI |
| November 10, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 71–80 | 2–1 | 18 – Blue | 11 – Blue | 3 – 2 tied | Gallagher-Iba Arena (5,447) Stillwater, OK |
| November 15, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SLN | | St. Norbert | W 102–54 | 3–1 | 19 – Oosterbaan | 6 – Byhre | 6 – Lafferty | Schoenecker Arena (1,004) St. Paul, MN |
| November 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Arizona State | L 66–81 | 3–2 | 12 – Barnstable | 5 – Minessale | 4 – 2 tied | Desert Financial Arena (6,057) Tempe, AZ |
| November 22, 2024* 4:00 p.m., YouTube | | vs. Wofford Cream City Challenge | L 73–81 | 3–3 | 20 – Bjerke | 5 – Byhre | 4 – 2 tied | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,342) Milwaukee, WI |
| November 23, 2024* 12:00 p.m., YouTube | | vs. Portland State Cream City Challenge | W 91–65 | 4–3 | 18 – Nau | 5 – 2 tied | 6 – Dufault | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,638) Milwaukee, WI |
| November 24, 2024* 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee Cream City Challenge | L 65–69 | 4–4 | 16 – Dobbs | 5 – 2 tied | 5 – Dobbs | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,669) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 2, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SLN | | Chicago State | W 98–76 | 5–4 | 13 – 2 tied | 7 – Minessale | 4 – 2 tied | Schoenecker Arena (879) St. Paul, MN |
| December 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Colorado Big Sky–Summit Challenge | W 87–75 | 6–4 | 20 – Barnstable | 6 – Bjerke | 3 – Barnstable | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,020) Greeley, CO |
| December 7, 2024* 2:00 p.m., FOX 9+/SLN | | Montana Big Sky–Summit Challenge | W 88–81 | 7–4 | 22 – 2 tied | 5 – Barnstable | 6 – Dobbs | Schoenecker Arena (1,213) St. Paul, MN |
| December 13, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SLN | | Western Michigan | W 77–71 | 8–4 | 22 – Nau | 6 – Blue | 4 – 2 tied | Schoenecker Arena (1,092) St. Paul, MN |
| December 15, 2024* 2:00 p.m., SLN | | Crown (MN) | W 100–61 | 9–4 | 15 – Byhre | 13 – Lafferty | 6 – Lafferty | Schoenecker Arena (793) St. Paul, MN |
| December 21, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | W 93–68 | 10–4 | 23 – Barnstable | 7 – 2 tied | 5 – Dobbs | Stroh Center (1,998) Bowling Green, OH |
| December 29, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UC Riverside | L 79–81 $^{OT}$ | 10–5 | 27 – Minessale | 4 – 4 tied | 3 – Dobbs | UC Riverside Student Recreation Center (563) Riverside, CA |
| Summit League regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | at North Dakota State | W 89–85 | 11–5 (1–0) | 20 – Barnstable | 4 – 2 tied | 5 – Minessale | Scheels Center (1,492) Fargo, ND |
| January 4, 2025 1:00 p.m., SLN | | at North Dakota | W 88–80 | 12–5 (2–0) | 30 – Barnstable | 8 – Minnesale | 5 – Dobbs | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,648) Grand Forks, ND |
| January 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., FOX 9+/SLN | | South Dakota State | W 73–72 | 13–5 (3–0) | 17 – Minessale | 4 – 2 tied | 5 – Dobbs | Schoenecker Arena (1,852) St. Paul, MN |
| January 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | South Dakota | W 119–104 | 14–5 (4–0) | 28 – Barnstable | 5 – Bjerke | 9 – Dobbs | Schoenecker Arena (1,583) St. Paul, MN |
| January 18, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | Denver | W 74–62 | 15–5 (5–0) | 17 – Minessale | 8 – Blue | 3 – 2 tied | Schoenecker Arena (1,694) St. Paul, MN |
| January 23, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | at Omaha | L 78–89 | 15–6 (5–1) | 18 – Blue | 9 – Blue | 2 – 4 tied | Baxter Arena (3,234) Omaha, NE |
| January 25, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | at Kansas City | W 68–65 | 16–6 (6–1) | 16 – Barnstable | 8 – 2 tied | 4 – Dobbs | Swinney Recreation Center (1,534) Kansas City, MO |
| January 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | Oral Roberts | W 86–71 | 17–6 (7–1) | 23 – Barnstable | 7 – 2 tied | 5 – Blue | Schoenecker Arena (1,042) St. Paul, MN |
| February 2, 2025 3:00 p.m., CBS Sports Network | | North Dakota State | W 79–62 | 18–6 (8–1) | 23 – Minessale | 9 – Barnstable | 4 – Dobbs | Schoenecker Arena (2,068) St. Paul, MN |
| February 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | at South Dakota State | L 86–102 | 18–7 (8–2) | 23 – Dobbs | 4 – 3 tied | 4 – Blue | First Bank & Trust Arena (3,144) Brookings, SD |
| February 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., SLN | | at Denver | W 79–76 | 19–7 (9–2) | 21 – Dobbs | 4 – 2 tied | 4 – Dobbs | Hamilton Gymnasium (977) Denver, CO |
| February 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., FOX 9+/SLN | | Omaha | W 95–84 | 20–7 (10–2) | 23 – Dobbs | 4 – 2 tied | 5 – Minessale | Schoenecker Arena (2,008) St. Paul, MN |
| February 19, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | at South Dakota | L 80–85 | 20–8 (10–3) | 16 – Barnstable | 5 – Bjerke | 5 – Minessale | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,814) Vermillion, SD |
| February 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | at Oral Roberts | L 66–71 | 20–9 (10–4) | 17 – Minessale | 7 – Bjerke | 4 – Minessale | Mabee Center (4,527) Tulsa, OK |
| February 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | North Dakota | W 86–71 | 21–9 (11–4) | 25 – Barnstable | 10 – Blue | 5 – Blue | Schoenecker Arena (1,752) St. Paul, MN |
| March 1, 2025 7:00 p.m., SLN | | Kansas City | W 65–59 | 22–9 (12–4) | 22 – Blue | 6 – 2 tied | 3 – Dobbs | Schoenecker Arena (1,783) St. Paul, MN |
| Summit League tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2025 8:30 p.m., SLN | (2) | vs. (7) Denver Quarterfinals | W 80–62 | 23–9 | 17 – Barnstable | 7 – Byhre | 8 – Dobbs | Denny Sanford Premier Center (5,814) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 8, 2025 9:45 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (6) North Dakota Semifinals | W 85–69 | 24–9 | 21 – Blue | 5 – Barnstable | 5 – Dobbs | Denny Sanford Premier Center (8,345) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 9, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (1) Omaha Championship | L 75–85 | 24–10 | 20 – Minessale | 8 – Blue | 3 – 2 tied | Denny Sanford Premier Center (7,597) Sioux Falls, SD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
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