Nearly 92 years have passed since the last meeting between Minnesota and St. Thomas.
Finally, the rematch has arrived. The Twin Cities teams will tip off Friday night in Minneapolis, where Minnesota (1-0) will look to defend its home court against St. Thomas (1-0) in the teams’ first meeting since 1934.
“It should be fun,” Minnesota coach Niko Medved said. “Especially early in the season, it’s a big game. I don’t want to make it bigger than it is, too. No matter what happens, we’ve got what, 27 games left?
“… It’s a great opportunity for us early in the season. It should be a good atmosphere.”
The schools are separated by less than three miles, and Medved knows that the arena will be louder than usual for a nonconference game. He’s excited to feel the energy in the building but he is spending most of his time trying to come up with a plan to guard St. Thomas.
“I think it’s a game that young people around the state grew up knowing that Minnesota was the only Division I program, and now they have two unbelievable programs,” Tommies head coach Johnny Tauer said.
The Tommies are coming off an 87-78 win over Presbyterian in their season opener. Tim Franks scored a team-high 24 points, and Hayden Tibbits and Jeremy Lorenz contributed 16 apiece.
Medved also is well aware of the threat that 6-foot-9 Carter Bjerke poses as an outside shooter.
How much does a shooting big man pressure an opposing defense?
“A ton,” Medved said. “Our teams at Colorado State, most of the time we had a shooting ‘5′ (or center). We kind of have that when (Jaylen) Crocker-Johnson is playing the 5. I think it changes the way you have to guard and creates a lot of spacing advantages for the offense.
“It’s not just him shooting 3s, but it’s also just the threat of him being out there. Bigger guys have to guard on the perimeter, it takes them away from the basket. They’re a terrific offensive team and they run great concepts, and I think having bigs who can shoot and play just changes their spacing.”
Bobby Durkin led Minnesota with 16 points in Monday’s 85-50 victory over North Dakota. Crocker-Johnson will look to build upon a 15-point performance, and Isaac Asuma will look to continue his efficiency from the floor after scoring 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting against North Dakota.