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St. Thomas Basketball: Tommies journey from D-III to the Summit League

By Jason Burgess

Jun 11, 2021; Eugene, Oregon, USA; An NCAA logo flag at the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 11, 2021; Eugene, Oregon, USA; An NCAA logo flag at the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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St. Thomas guard Riley Miller takes a shot Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at Sexton Arena.St Johns Bball 16
St. Thomas guard Riley Miller takes a shot Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at Sexton Arena.St Johns Bball 16 /

The Tommies return a solid core

In their last full year, they ranked 33rd in scoring defense and 97th in offense, scoring nearly 81 per game while giving up just over 66. The three-pointers and defense were big for them, knocking down 10.8 per game and hit at over 38%. On the other end of the floor, the Tommies were the best team in Division III in turnovers per game, committing just 9.3 while forcing nearly 15 per game.

Coach Tauer will have nearly his entire roster returning for their inaugural Division I season. They had four players averaging double figures last season, and three of them return led by the senior guard duo of Riley Miller and Anders Nelson who both netted at least 19 points per contest in a season that began in February but then saw the NCAA cancel winter championships.

They must replace guards Burt Hedstrom (10.1 ppg) who was the team’s third-best rebounder at 4.7, and he along with fellow graduate Ryan Lindberg was second on the team with 21 assists in the seven games.

With the move to Division I, not only is the competition about to get tougher, but competition off the court will get tougher as well. The program will have to begin recruiting at a Division I level and battle other teams for those athletes. Tauer got started early as he has used the transfer portal to supplement his current roster with five guys that played Division I ball last season.