Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Caps Season With National Title
Unbelievable. Amazing. Indescribable. Pure joy.
Those were some of the words used to describe what took place when the clock hit zero in the NCAA Division III national championship game between St. Thomas and Benedictine. The Tommies had done it. They were national champions after an 82-76 victory over a Ravens squad that was previously 31-0 on the season.
It was the second national championship for St. Thomas and first for head coach John Tauer. He was an assistant coach for the 2011 team that won the national title under Steve Fritz, who soon after retired from coaching and focused on being the school's athletic director.
So how did Tauer celebrate after such an emotional run to a national championship? He got home with the team, was on about two hours of sleep and hopped on a plane headed for Maui to relax on Spring Break. The Tommies have since been honored at a Timberwolves game, participated in Tuesday night's Let's Play Hockey before the Wild game and Tauer spent last Saturday at the Division I Final Four in Houston.
"Tremendous joy, a little bit of exhaustion because it's such a long season," Tauer said. "It's been a whirlwind last few weeks, but it's something you welcome because this doesn't happen very often."
Sure, the Tommies had the talent this year to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. But having the potential to get to the Final Four, actually getting there and winning a national championship are very different things.
So how did they do it? In a span of 10 days, the Tommies beat teams ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 in the country to win the national title. That stretch started with a win over No. 1-ranked Augustana in their gym to take the region championship and advance to the Final Four. In the national semifinals, St. Thomas beat No. 4-ranked Christopher Newport 66-62, a team that had lost just once all year.
"One of our team mantras is 'Dare to be Great.' We want to be at the point where we feel like we can compete with anybody in the country," Tauer said. "We had the same record last year going into the tournament and we were ranked third in the country. We were eighth this year but had the toughest schedule of anyone in the nation. We felt like we were prepared."
Benedictine got to the national title game unbeaten and was ranked No. 2 in the country.
"We had to beat No. 1, 2, 4 and 7 in the tournament and most years you just won't have to do that," Tauer said. "Every team we beat was exceptional."
St. Thomas prided itself on a balanced scoring attack all season, but the Tommies were led largely during the NCAA Tournament by seniors Taylor Montero and Ryan Saarela. For the tournament, Montero averaged 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He also shot nearly 57 percent from the field. Saarela averaged 18.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting better than 65 percent from the field.
Against Benedictine, Montero had 27 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 8-of-12 from the field and 10-of-12 at the free-throw line. Saarela had 26 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 11-of-13 from the field. Two seniors picked a great night to both have arguably the best games of their college career. Montero was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
"I'm just so proud of them as I am all of our guys. Usually you hope for one guy to have a career game in a national championship but to have two guys do that, it doesn't get any better," Tauer said.
The approach St. Thomas took at the Final Four was arguably the most impressive part of its national championship. The Tommies came in averaging better than 60 percent shooting from three-point range. At the Final Four, they went a combined 2-for-15 in two games. Both Christopher Newport and Benedictine were determined to take away the perimeter, but the Tommies made their adjustments. They scored in the post, in the mid-range game and in transition when the chances were there.
The Tommies will lose six seniors, including three starters, heading into next year. It's a group that won 106 games, four MIAC titles and went to two Final fours in four years. So what's next?
"Quite frankly I haven't thought about that yet," Tauer said. "Beating Augustana was the defining moment of our season. Two years ago they destroyed us, they physically manhandled us so to beat them, we knew it would be something special."
And quite frankly, Tauer still wakes up pinching himself some days, still trying to fathom winning a national title.
One emotion he said he's experiencing that most would never think after winning it all? Sadness.
"It's weird because after the national championship, you're celebrating and you never really get a chance to grieve that it's the last time this group will be together. Cortez Tillman came up to me and said it was weird that we didn't have another practice or game to prepare for," Tauer said. "I'll be sad to never coach these seniors again."
One thing that also could get overlooked in an incredible year for the Tommies: They had the same starting five in 33 straight games. St. Thomas largely stayed healthy, something that can have a huge impact on a season.
St. Thomas will look to reload rather than rebuild next season, but for now, they're embracing and enjoying the label of national champions.
