St. Thomas men's basketball is ascending quickly — and at a good time

The St. Thomas men's basketball season was going to end sooner rather than later, no matter what happened in Monday's Summit League tournament semifinal.

But even in a 70-65 loss to top-seeded Oral Roberts that officially ended the Tommies' second season in Division I, it was easy to see another step in a journey that is moving along at a pace faster than many of us would have expected.

St. Thomas, which still has three seasons to play before it will become eligible for NCAA tournament play in 2025-26 — a stipulation of its historic decision to leap from Division III to Division I — is foreshadowing a future that might, indeed, feature a legitimate regular opportunity to get to the Big Dance.

By finishing 19-14 overall, including 9-9 in the Summit League, it feels like St. Thomas is a year or two ahead of schedule — something I talked about on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast.

"I did feel like throughout the course of the year, this journey, they represented our university incredibly well," St. Thomas coach John Tauer said after Monday's loss. "They way they compete; we talk a lot about competitive joy and cherishing every moment out on the court together. I thought they did that phenomenally well."

Competitive joy is an underrated aspect of a crowd-pleasing team.

By putting together this season, with this style, at the same time there were big-time struggles for the Gophers men's basketball team — for a long time the only D-I men's program in the state — the Tommies have also started to carve out an enthusiastic base of fans connected to the school.

More interestingly, one gets the sense that they have the attention of a growing group of Minnesota basketball fans curious about the style and early success shown by the other D-I team in town.

Comparisons to the Gophers, as natural as they might be, are a bit apples to oranges. The Summit League is not the Big Ten. The programs — at least at the moment — are not chasing many of the same caliber of recruits nor playing the same caliber of competition.

But in a fair comparison: In the NCAA Net Ratings of 363 D-I men's basketball programs, St. Thomas this season is currently No. 198. Minnesota is No. 231.

Ultimately, there will be plenty of room for both. The dream for basketball fans would be successful D-I men's basketball programs in both of the Twin Cities, with a competitive rivalry that sharpens as the years go by.

For now, it's still early. But the pace is picking up faster than we thought it would.

"I'm so excited about the journey we're on," Tauer said. What we're doing is a special story not just at our school, but something that hasn't been done before."