Nothing pointed to the St. Thomas men's basketball team taking a big step last season better than a competitive showing against two major Division I conference opponents.

The Tommies, who finished 20-13 overall and fourth in the Summit League, lost by five points on the road against both then-No. 7 Marquette and California a year ago. They're again playing a challenging nonconference schedule for the 2024-25 season, which was released Monday.

St. Thomas coach Johnny Tauer returns only two starters (Drake Dobbs and Kendall Blue) but reloaded with a solid recruiting class and potential impact transfers. Tauer's team will be tested at Oklahoma State and Arizona State on Nov. 10 and Nov. 17, respectively.

This will be the Tommies' first time playing against Big 12 opponents. Their non-league home opponents this season include Green Bay (Nov. 8), Chicago State (Dec. 2) and Western Michigan (Dec. 13).

The season opener for St. Thomas is scheduled for Nov. 4 at home against North Central. The Cream City Challenge will put St. Thomas against Wofford, Portland State and host Milwaukee from Nov. 22-24. Early Summit League play starts Dec. 7 against visiting Montana. The rest of the conference slate resumes Jan. 2 at North Dakota State.

Tommies women's schedule

The St. Thomas women open at home Nov. 4 against Milwaukee. Highlighting their schedule will be the games at Iowa State (Nov. 14) and Wichita State (Nov. 16) and the home game against Drake on Dec. 21.