LINCOLN, Neb. — The St. Thomas men’s basketball team prepared for Friday’s NCAA Division III tournament game against the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse Thursday, Feb. 28 at Snyder Arena.

After ending the regular season with a loss to Augsburg in the MIAC semifinals Thursday, Feb. 21, the Tommies (22-4 overall, 18-2 MIAC) will play against Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent La-Crosse Eagles (17-9 overall, 10-4 WIAC) with an at-large bid after missing the tournament last season.

“We’re thrilled to be here,“ coach John Tauer said. “We’re certainly working hard and getting prepared for La-Crosse, but at the same time I want these guys to feel like this is (well deserved).”

Tommies sophomore guard Burt Hedstrom was recently given the MIAC Sixth Man of the Year award, but is focusing on the game ahead.

“It’s a great award and it’s humbling,” Hedstrom said. “But a weekend like (this) is what I play for.”

Senior forward Connor Bair was one of the two Tommies that were selected as First Team All-Conference beside first-year guard Anders Nelson.

“I think if we stick to our game plan and follow what the coaches say and do what we have to do, I think we have a good chance to get to the championship game,” Bair said.

Despite being happy about his team being here, Tauer, the 2019 MIAC Coach of the Year, will have his players focus on playing one game at a time.

“I think it’s one of the critical components of success in the national tournament… you can’t play any game except the one in front of you,” Tauer said. “I think our guys are very focused on La-Crosse, who in my mind are one of the better teams in the country.”

Eagles’ guard Brendon Manning helped lead his team, averaging 13.5 points per game. Manning is second in the conference in rebounds, averaging 8.5 per game. Eagles forward Ben Meinholz also leads the team with 13.5 ppg and leads the WIAC in steals, averaging two a game and is third in blocks with 24. It’s the Eagles’ toughness that the Tommies are focused on.

“They certainly have two players from a scoring perspective that lead them, but I think that the identity of their team is really centered around toughness. They’re hard nose on defense, they’re unselfish on offense,” Tauer said. “They’re a team that we have a lot of respect for.”

If the Tommies defeat the Eagles on Friday, they advance to the second round to play Eureka College or Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Matthew Curry can be reached at curr1523@stthomas.edu.