Complete Game Notes

After a 12-day break, the Mavericks will return to action with two Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association games at Sapp Fieldhouse this week. Thursday, New Year's Eve, Nebraska-Omaha will host Emporia State at 2:00 p.m. and then Saturday the Mavs will host Missouri Western at 3:30 p.m.

The Mavericks are 9-1 and tied for fourth in the MIAA at 2-1. They have won three straight, including an 83-73 win on December 18 against Nebraska-Kearney in their most recent game. Emporia State is 6-5 overall and sixth in the league at 2-2. The Hornets have won two straight, including a 92-84 win over Truman Monday. The Griffons are 8-3 overall and fourth in the conference at 3-1. They defeated Washburn, 75-69 in overtime on Monday and earlier this year defeated ESU.

Junior guard Tyler Bullock continues to lead UNO in scoring with 18.4 points per game and a .600 field goal percentage. He's scored in double figures in eight of UNO's 10 games and he's led the team in scoring in those eight games. Six Mavs are averaging at least six rebounds a game with junior forward Eugene Bain leading with 6.9 a contest.

Following The Mavericks
Thursday's game will be broadcast on KVNO 90.7 FM or online at omavs.com/KVNO. Fans can follow all the action Saturday on 90.7-2 KVNO HD with a high-definition radio or online at omavs.com/kvnoHD2. Fans can find a link to live video for both games at omavs.com/LiveVideo and fans can find free live stats at omavs.com/Live Stats.

Most games throughout the year will be available through 90.7 KVNO FM or 90.7-2 KVNO HD. Live stats will be available for all home games and many away games. Fans can find links to all live video, audio and stats through omavs.com/mbb on the schedule page.

The Coaches
UNO head coach Derrin Hansen is in his fifth year at Nebraska-Omaha and overall as a head coach. He is 78-51 with a .605 winning percentage. His winning percentage ranks fourth all-time among UNO coaches with at least four years at the school. Hansen served as the assistant coach at UNO from 1998-2005 before taking over for the 2005-06 season.

Hansen is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan. He played for the Plainsmen and helped lead them to the Division III semifinal in 1987-88. He coached high school for two seasons after graduating and then spent two years at Nebraska-Kearney from 1993-95 as a graduate assistant and two years at Mid-Plains CC from 1995-98.

Emporia State's David Moe is 138-102 (.575) in his ninth year with the Hornets and overall as a head coach. He's led ESU to two NCAA tournament appearances and winning seasons in six of the last seven years. Prior to coming ESU, he was an assistant coach at Colorado since 1993 and an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. His father, Doug Moe, was the head coach of the Denver Nuggets for 10 years and the 76ers for two years.

Missouri Western head coach Tom Smith is 407-220 (.649) in his 22nd season with the Griffons. Overall, he's 577-404 (.588) in 35 years as a head coach. He's led the Griffons to 10 NCAA tournaments, five MIAA titles and four MIAA postseason titles. He started his career at  Central Missouri from 1975-80 and then he went to Valparasio for eight years. He is a 1967 graduate of Valparasio where he earned All-America honors as a player.

The Series
- ESU leads the all-time series with UNO, 33-18. The Hornets swept UNO last year in their two games but prior to that, UNO had won four of five.
- The series goes back to the 1952-53 season and the two played each other nearly every year through the 1974-75 season.
- UNO coach Derrin Hansen is 1-3 against ESU in his career.
- UNO leads the series against MWSU, 6-5 after the two split their season series last year.
- The series began in 1978-79.
- MWSU won the only overtime game played between the two schools.
- Hansen is 2-3 against the Griffons in his career.

Rebounds Well Distributed
Five different Mavericks have led or tied for the team lead in rebounds in UNO's first 10 games. Senior forward Matt Newman has led UNO five times, Dion Curry and Eugene Bain have each led three times while Tyler Bullock and Josh Lynch have led or shared the lead once each. Six different times those top rebounders have come off the bench (Newman five times and Lynch once).

Three different Mavericks are averaging six rebounds a game or more. Bain leads the team with 69 rebounds and 6.9 a game while Matt Newman is second with 68 and 6.8 a game. Dion Curry is right behind them with 62 and 6.2 a game.

In the latest MIAA statistics report, the Mavs were first with 40.9 rebounds a game. They are third with a +8.0 rebounding margin.

Bridger Unselfish And Well-Rounded
Head coach Derrin Hansen pointed out before the season started that Andrew Bridger will have to do more than just score baskets when he's running UNO's offense. The senior point guard has been able to shoot and draw fouls to score for UNO and he also has produced opportunities for the rest of his team with assists.

He has 70 assists this year and he leads the MIAA with 7.0 assists a game. With just 31 turnovers, he has a 2.3 assist/turnover ratio, the best in the MIAA. In the opener against Doane he had a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists and at Rockhurst he had 10 assists to reach double figures for the second straight time and then he did it one more time with 12 on November 27 against Chadron State.

Bridger is third in the MIAA with a .878 free throw percentage. In the last six games he's made 37 of 41 (.902) free throws with two 6-for-6 performances.

Bridger is UNO's leading returning scorer from last year. He averaged 11.5 points a game and shot 82 percent from the free throw line. Both of those totals were second best on the team last year. He led the team with 125 assists and he is currently sixth with 359 career assists. Another season with at least 100 will move him into the top five.

Bullock Shooting 60 Percent To Start Season
Senior guard Tyler Bullock, who sat out all of last year after transferring, is shooting .600 from the field and leading the team with 18.4 points a game. He's been the leading scorer in all but the first game of the year and the loss to FHSU on December 5. He had a team season-high 28 points at Rockhurst on November 18 and he had 25 at Northwest Missouri last weekend.

The Mavericks are 8-0 when he leads them in scoring. Minus the two games he didn't lead UNO in scoring, he's averaging 21.8 points a game and shooting 62 percent. In those other two games he's averaging 5.0 points and shooting 40 percent.

Bullock is one of three Mavericks who was at Nebraska-Kearney before coming to UNO. He did not play for the Lopers but prior to that, he was a starter at Denver. He started all 29 games for the Division I Pioneers in 2006-07 and averaged 11.0 points a game.

Curry Keeps On Scoring Inside For UNO
Senior forward Dion Curry reached double figures in scoring in the first eight games this year for UNO. This year he's averaging 12.3 points a game and he's third with 6.2 rebounds a game. Curry has two double-doubles this year. He recorded one December 12 at Northwest Missouri State with 18 points and 11 rebounds and on November 28 he had one with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Curry started 24 of 28 games last year and scored 9.4 points a game with 5.4 rebounds.

Bain Strong Off The Boards
Junior forward Eugene Bain leads the Mavericks with 69 rebounds and 6.9 a game. He's also scoring big with 9.6 points a game and he's had three double-doubles this year, including two straight. December 18 he had 11 rebounds and 12 points against UNK and December 13 against York he had one with 11 rebounds and 15 points. He also had a double-double with 11 rebounds and 12 points in the season-opener against Doane.

Bain is averaging 9.3 points a game and shooting 56 percent from the field. He's scored in double figures six times this year and he's reached double figures in rebounding four times.

Bain played at North Platte Community College for two seasons and averaged 16.9 points a game and 11.2 rebounds last year. His rebound average was No. 10 in the nation and he earned NJCAA second team All-America.

Newman Strong Off The Boards And Strong Off The Bench
Senior forward Matt Newman came off the bench to lead UNO in rebounding four times this year before getting his first start on December 18 against UNK. He came up big in his first start of the year with 11 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Newman is second on the team with 6.8 rebounds a game. He's also scoring 8.5 points a game and shooting 55 percent. Coming off the bench in those first nine games, he averaged 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 57 percent.

Newman averaged 3.1 rebounds a game last year and 5.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 19 games with four starts.

Martin Continues Hot Shooting
Junior guard Jeff Martin shot 51 percent from the field and 52 percent from 3-point range in UNO's first five games this year. He averaged 13.8 points a game and 3.4 made 3-pointers a game. After that he went 1-of-16 from the field through two games before bouncing back with 14.7 points a game in the last three contests.

Overall, Martin is averaging 12.2 points a game and shooting 41 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range. He's tied for second in the MIAA with 2.9 made 3-pointers a game.

The two games when he only had one field goal were the only two when he didn't reach double figures. In the other eight games he's scoring 14.1 points a game and shooting 49 percent from the field and 51 percent from 3-point range.

Martin played in UNO's first five games last year before a broken ankle forced him to miss the rest of the season and get a medical redshirt. He averaged 9.6 points a game and shot 53 percent in those five games. He played his first two seasons at UNK and averaged 13.5 points a game his sophomore year as a full-time starter with the Lopers.

Coming Up
The Mavericks will head to Truman on Wednesday, January 6, and then host Central Missouri on Saturday, January 9 at Sapp Fieldhouse.