Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Salem-Bound After Beating No. 1 Augustana
St. Thomas basketball coach John Tauer enjoyed the luxuries of his team hosting a first-round regional in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Tommies could stay on their practice schedule and film session. The players could maintain their class schedule and they didn't have to make travel plans. This week, he's more than happy to handle extra logistics as St. Thomas is headed to its third Final Four in six seasons.
St. Thomas, ranked No. 8 in the country, did what no other team has done this season to get there. They beat No. 1-ranked Augustana (Illinois) on their home court in a hostile environment. The Augies finished 15-1 at home this year, and the one was a night for St. Thomas to celebrate. The Tommies trailed 39-35 at the half and used a 15-2 run in the second half to claim an 86-76 victory. St. Thomas outscored Augustana 51-37 in the second half for the win.
St. Thomas will face No. 4-ranked Christopher Newport in Salem, Va., Friday night at 6:30 p.m. in the semifinals. It follows the other semifinal between Amherst and No. 2-ranked Benedictine. The winners meet Saturday night for the national championship.
Tauer said after Saturday's win that Augustana was the most physically dominating team he's seen in 16 years. Many of his players faced that same team two years ago in the first round of the tournament, an 88-77 loss.
Heading into the Final Four, Tauer's senior class of Cortez Tillman, Ryan Saarela, Taylor Montero, Jimmy Remke and two others who see limited minutes has a record of 104-15 over four years. In five-plus seasons as head coach, Tauer has a 126-22 record.
Tauer will now be one of the few who has been at a Final Four as a head coach, assistant coach and player. He played on the 1994 Final Four team and was an assistant on the 2011 national championship team.
St. Thomas did a lot of studying before departing for Virginia. Christopher Newport is largely an unknown program for the Tommies. The Captains have just one loss on the season, and it came at the end of December. They won the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid, and they got the Final Four with wins over Lycoming College, NYU, Keene State and Wooster.
It's a great match-up on paper as Christopher Newport scores about 75 points per game on the season while giving up just 61. The Captains are shooting about 45 percent from the field for the season and 34.8 percent from three-point range. Their top scorer, Marcus Carter, is also one of their top rebounders. He scores nearly 16 points per game and grabs seven rebounds.
Aaron McFarland scores 14 points per game, and Tim Daly adds 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. If there is one area St. Thomas will look to attack, it's on defense. The Captains are averaging 14 turnovers per game, and the Tommies thrive off creating offense from turnovers.
St. Thomas junior Grant Schaeffer continued an outstanding NCAA Tournament thus far with 24 points in the win over Augustana. Saarela added 18 points and 11 rebounds, Tillman scored 15, Montero had 13 and Remke scored 12. Over the course of the tournament, they've all had big games when it's mattered the most.
The best chance for St. Thomas to win Friday will come with its interior defensive play. The Tommies will need to contain Carter and Daly, which will be a tall task. Carter is a NABC First Team All-America selection. The Captains also out-rebound opponents on average 38-31 for the season.
St. Thomas also has a great shot if it can get the guard play that's gotten the Tommies this far. It's already been a special season for the Tommies, but coming home with a trophy would be the ultimate memory.