Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Earns 10th Straight NCAA Bid
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The St. Thomas men's basketball team savored the moment after beating Bethel 66-63 in the title game of the MIAC Playoffs Sunday, but there wasn't a ton of time to celebrate after cutting down the nets.
After all, the players had to get to class Monday morning and the game-planning started once their placement in the Division III bracket was finalized. For the 16th time overall and 10th straight year, the Tommies are one of 62 teams in the tournament playing for the national championship. The Tommies also won their 8th MIAC Playoffs title in the last 10 years in the process.
"It's the first time I've ever walked into a classroom with applause," coach John Tauer, who is also a philosophy professor, said Monday.
With a three-point lead late, they exhaled when Bridgeport Tusler's contested 3-pointer at the buzzer that would've sent the game to overtime rimmed out.
Monday, St. Thomas, ranked No. 3 in the nation at 24-3, learned it's heading to a region hosted by No. 6-ranked St. Norbert this weekend. The Tommies will face UMAC champion Northwestern College of St. Paul Friday night. It's an ironic match-up in that they'll be traveling more than 250 miles to face a school that's a few miles up the road from their St. Paul campus.
Under normal circumstances, St. Thomas would be hosting a regional. But the St. Thomas women's team, MIAC champions themselves and undefeated on the season, is hosting its own regional this weekend. There's a chance that the Tommies could host next weekend, assuming they beat Northwestern Friday and the winner of St. Norbert/Elmhurst.
The road to an NCAA Tournament bid was anything but easy for St. Thomas. The Tommies needed a game-tying shot from Marcus Alipate to force overtime in the MIAC semifinals against Gustavus. They eventually won 83-79. St. Thomas trailed Bethel 34-32 at half and had a 54-45 lead with about eight minutes left. The Tommies held off a late Royals surge for the win.
"I really like the way our guys stuck together against two really good teams," Tauer said. "This year was one of the deeper MIAC leagues I've been a part of in 19 years. It's fun to win and we told the guys to savor the title. Even though we've won a lot, it doesn't happen very often."
Point guard Grant Schaeffer, just a sophomore, has been one of the most consistent players St. Thomas has had all year. He scored 20 in the win over Gustavus and led the Tommies with 13 points against Bethel.
"For a sophomore he has a composure that's beyond his years. I love what he brings to the floor," Tauer said. "He loves to rise to the challenge in big moments and he's become a much more all-around point guard this year."
The Tommies face Northwestern at 5:30 p.m. Friday in DePere, Wis. It's an interesting match-up. The last time the two teams played, St. Thomas won 70-60 in the 2011 tournament on the way to winning a national championship.
The Eagles started 2-9 this year, but have won 16 straight since and earned the UMAC's bid to the tournament after beating UM-Morris 68-39. They score about 70 points per game and are shooting about 45 percent from the field on the season, including nearly 38 percent from three-point range. They're led in scoring by Michael Carney's 15.5 points per game. Porter Morell adds more than 10 points per game as they each shoot better than 40 percent from three-point range. They have two others who are on the verge of scoring in double figures.
On paper, it's a match-up that favors St. Thomas. Northwestern faced five MIAC opponents this year and went 1-4. The lone victory was against Macalester, while the losses were to Hamline, Gustavus, Bethel and St. Olaf.
"They're a very well-coached team and they play a fun style. It's a great test for us in the first round," Tauer said. "They are one of the hottest teams in the country right now. They're playing with a lot of confidence right now, as they should be."
If the Tommies win Friday night, they would play the St. Norbert/Elmhurst winner Saturday night. St. Norbert (24-1) is ranked No. 6 in the country and has the luxury of playing on its home court.
Tauer said he won't change much in preparation this week compared to what they've done in previous NCAA Tournaments. The team had a light practice Monday after Sunday's win, had regular practices Tuesday and Wednesday and are traveling to St. Norbert Thursday morning. The Tommies get a 90-minute practice Thursday afternoon and will have a 60-minute shoot-around before Friday night's game.
"Our goal is two win two games this week. It's a little bit different when you're trying to prepare for teams you haven't played. There aren't enough hours in the day," Tauer said. "But we'll do what we do and we'll do it as best we can. Our guys trust in the system."