St. Thomas – Minnesota () vs UMKC (12-18)
March 1, 2025 at 08:00 PM EST
The Line: St. Thomas-MN Tommies -8.5 — Over/Under: 141.5
The Kansas City Kangaroos and the Saint Thomas Minnesota Tommies meet Saturday in college basketball action from Schoenecker Arena. Here’s a Kansas City vs St. Thomas-MN prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Kansas City vs St. Thomas-MN pick. We will examine:
The Kansas City Kangaroos recent form and player performance
The Saint Thomas Minnesota Tommies recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Kansas City Kangaroos
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Saint Thomas Minnesota Tommies
Recent betting trends in games played between Kansas City and St. Thomas-MN
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Kansas City vs St. Thomas-MN game
Kansas City Kangaroos Betting Preview
The Kangaroos didn’t start out on too terrible of a run, but they’ve struggled since early January. Kansas City hit a 4-7 stretch out of the gate, but then took wins over Portland, Bowling Green, Wichita State, East Tennessee State, South Dakota and Oral Roberts in the next six. Since then however, UMKC has won just twice over North Dakota and Denver. Otherwise it’s been losses to Omaha, North Dakota State, North Dakota, South Dakota State, St. Thomas-MN, Denver, Oral Roberts, North Dakota State, South Dakota, Omaha and South Dakota State in succession. That gives the Roos a 12-8 overall run through 30 games so far.
In the Denver matchup on Thursday, the Kangaroos opened up the game on a 28-16 advantage. Kansas City was outscored 40-36 the rest of the way but still won it 64-56 in the end. Leading the scoring was Jamar Brown, who managed a double-double on 25 points with 11 boards, two assists and two steals in 40 minutes of work. The only other player on the team to finish in double-figures was Melvyn Ebonkoli with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes of action on the court.
St. Thomas-MN Tommies Betting Preview
Over on the Tommies’ side, they’ve had a spotty run or two this season but overall they’re doing pretty well. St. Thomas-MN posted a shaky 4-4 run right out of the gate, but then won six straight outings heading into late December. Following a loss to UC Riverside, the Tommies hit another win streak over North Dakota State, North Dakota, South Dakota State, South Dakota and Denver. A 5-2 run came next with losses to Omaha and South Dakota State among wins over UMKC, Oral Roberts, North Dakota State, Denver and Omaha. After losses to South Dakota and Oral Roberts, the Tommies took out North Dakota for a 21-9 overall record across 30 games this season.
Matched up against North Dakota in their Thursday game, the Tommies held a 47-32 edge by the break. St. Thomas MN kept the pace from there on a 39-39 run and took the win in the end 86-71. Miles Barnstable led the way with his 25 points, four assists and three rebounds, while Kendall Blue had 10 boards, five assists and nine points. Tops off the bench was Carter Bjerke with 17 points, one rebound and two assists on 26 minutes of work.
Why the St. Thomas Tommies will win
- St. Thomas (MN) has won each of its last 17 games at Schoenecker Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Kansas City has lost each of its last seven road games against the Summit League.
- Kansas City has lost the first half in each of its last four road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Kansas City Roos will win
- St. Thomas (MN) has lost three of its last four games following a home win.
Kansas City vs St. Thomas-MN Prediction
I’ll stay with the Tommies. In their latest win over North Dakota, St. Thomas MN didn’t have too many issues. The Tommies shot a nice 54.1 percent from the field with a 41-33 rebounding advantage and just eight turnovers in the home victory. It was a much-needed win after consecutive road defeats and evens the team’s record at 3-3 over the last half-dozen games.
The Tommies posted a 68-65 road win the last time these teams saw each other back on January 25. St. Thomas MN shot just 40.4 percent from the field in that one though, so I’d like to see a better shooting performance in the home rematch.