Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Basketball Wins 10th Straight MIAC Title
The St. Thomas men's basketball team had reason to celebrate Monday night. The Tommies, ranked No. 3 in Division III, used a suffocating defense and balanced scoring to dominate No. 19-ranked St. Olaf 66-49. They led the game 35-17 at the half.
The victory assured the Tommies of at least a share of the MIAC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs next week. That's crucial as they'll be playing on their home court in front of their home fans as long as they win. It's also the 10th straight year St. Thomas has at least shared the top spot in the league.
Until Wednesday night, The Tommies' only losses this season came at Gustavus in early December and at Concordia (Moorhead) on Valentine's Day. St. Thomas fell at home to Bethel 71-65 to drop to 21-3 on the season. Even if the Tommies lose to Hamline in their regular season finale Saturday, where they'll be heavily favored, they still win the MIAC regular season title by virtue of their sweep over St. Olaf.
St. Thomas beat Hamline on the road 75-41 earlier this season.
Here's the scary part about this seaosn: The Tommies will have Senior Day on Saturday, but it's the final regular season home game for only three players: Marcus Alipate, Conner Nord and Jimmy Ancius. They're 21-2 and should have no difficulty getting into the NCAA Division III Tournament if they get upset in the MIAC Playoffs. The league's playoff champion earns an automatic bid.
It's not the 21 wins that makes this program impressive. It's the way they go about doing it. Of their 16 MIAC wins through 18 games, 12 have been by double digits. Nine of those 12 have been by at least 15 points.
For the season, St. Thomas is shooting 48 percent from the field, including nearly 45 percent from three-point range. The Tommies average about 14 assists on 28 made shots per game. Their leading scorer, Alipate, scores about 13 points per game on a team that averages about 75 points per game. Four players average scoring in double figures, and two others are just below 10 points per game.
They share the basketball, play the game as one unit and often pass up good shots for great shots. If they had a weakness, it might be free-throw shooting. For the season, the Tommies are just under 70 percent from the free-throw line.
Defensively, St. Thomas is second in the MIAC, allowing about 61 points per game. They force about 13 turnovers, four steals and more than two blocks per game.
This is a team that's bought into coach John Tauer's team philosophy. It features an intense full-court press, and they run the floor to score in transition whenever the opportunity presents itself. If you're an opponent who blinks early, you're down double digits before you know what hit you.
If they can keep up what they've done all season, there might be more celebrating with what they hope is an NCAA Tournament run in March.
