Complete Notes (Omaha | NIU)
The Omaha men's basketball team opens the 2012-13 season this weekend, hosting Northern Illinois on Friday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. and Saint Mary on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. Friday marks the inaugural basketball game played at newly constructed Ralston Arena, as the facility on 72nd and Q streets will become the home of Maverick men's basketball. Links to live stats and live video for both games will be available on OMavs.com.
Thursday's game against Northern Illinois is part of UNO's campus-wide Homecoming Week celebration, and fans are encouraged to wear red shirts as part of a “Red Out.”
UNO is in its second year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2012-13 and officially joined The Summit League in July 2012 with a full regular-season conference schedule ahead. The Mavericks are led by head coach Derrin Hansen, who is in his eighth year at the helm of the UNO program with a career record of 121-86.
Scouting the Northern Illinois Huskies
Northern Illinois (0-0) returns six letterwinners and four starters from last season's squad that went 5-26 (3-13 MAC). The Huskies ended the 2011-12 season at the MAC Tournament, falling 71-54 to Western Michigan. Head coach Mark Montgomery (Michigan State, 2003) is in his second year at Northern Illinois with a career coaching mark of 5-26.
Omaha leads the all-time series with NIU 1-0, having defeated the Huskies 77-72 on Dec. 3, 2011 in DeKalb, Ill.
Scouting the Saint Mary Spires
Saint Mary enters the weekend with a record of 2-1 (0-0 KCAC), having most recently won an 86-50 decision over Hillsdale Free Will Baptist on Nov. 6. Head coach Jon Bishop enters his fifth year with the Spires' program.
UNO leads the all-time series against USM, 6-0. The Mavericks defeated Saint Mary 87-65 on Dec. 15, 2011 at Sapp Fieldhouse.
Ralston Becomes a Reality
The 2012-13 season marks UNO's inaugural season playing at newly constructed Ralston Arena, which will serve as the new home of Maverick men's basketball, Omaha Lancers hockey and Omaha Beef indoor football. The Mavs begin a full Summit League schedule this year, and they will host 13 games at Ralston, including a game for the ESPN Sears BracketBusters series.
Albers Leaves a Legacy
UNO's most notable loss from the 2011-12 lineup is former Maverick Mitch Albers, who closed his career as the No. 2 all-time scorer in school history. As a senior, he averaged 18.3 points per game to rank 32nd nationally in scoring. In the Omaha career record books, Albers is also third in field goals made (633), third in 3-pointers made (187), 14th in assists (230), 16th in steals (101) and 18th in blocks (35).
On the Road Again
Following its home opening weekend, the Mavericks embark on a challenging 10-game away schedule that keeps them on the road until Dec. 18. Omaha travels to Texas Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 14, then visits Tulane on Friday, Nov. 16 and Nebraska on Sunday, Nov. 18. The Tulane and Nebraska contests are part of the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic, which also continues with contests the next week against Bethune Cookman (Nov. 23) and Valparaiso or Chicago State (Nov. 24).
After two Summit League games at North Dakota State (Nov. 29) and South Dakota State (Dec. 1), Omaha closes the span with No. 21 Wisconsin (Dec. 4), Iowa State (Dec. 9) and Denver (Dec. 15).
Welhouse Nears Top 10 in Career 3-Pointers
Forward Alex Welhouse enters his senior season as one of UNO's top returners, having averaged 10.4 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game as a junior. A three-year starter, he sits at 12th all-time on UNO's career 3-pointers chart with 102 threes made. Welhouse needs just 19 treys to tie Patrick Voss (121) for 11th and 23 to tie Denny Johnston for 10th (125).
Transfer Doluony Brings Division I Experience to Mavericks
Senior forward Koang Doluony is the only Maverick on the roster with prior experience with a full Division I schedule. A transfer from Indiana State, Doluony lettered three years for the Sycamores and redshirted one. He was a member of Indiana State's 2011 Missouri Valley Conference championship team and averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game over three seasons.
Doluony was born in Sudan, spent time in an Ethiopian refugee camp and came to the United States as a fourth grader. The Omaha Bryan product earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from ISU in 2012 and is now pursuing a master's degree at UNO during his final year of eligibility.
Mavericks Add Six for 2012-13
Head coach Derrin Hansen and his staff have added six new players to the 2012-13 roster: senior forward Koang Doluony, junior guards Alex Phillips and Justin Simmons, junior forward Mike Rostampour and freshman guards Jalen Bradley and Marcus Tyus.
Doluony joins the Mavericks after graduating from Indiana State, where he lettered three years and redshirted one. Rostampour comes from St. Cloud State, where he averaged eight points and five rebounds per game as a starter and led the Huskies with .530 shooting from 3-point range.
Phillips and Simmons are the Mavs' two junior college transfers. Simmons began his career in track & field at Concordia (Wis.), then transferred to Butler Community College. Last season at Butler, he averaged 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game, shooting 49 percent from the field. Phillips played two years at New Mexico Junior College, earning first-team all-conference accolades as a sophomore and averaging 10.3 points per game, including 17.8 points per contest in league play.
Bradley and Tyus, both true freshmen, begin at UNO with outstanding prep experience. Tyus was a two-time all-conference pick at Anoka High School in Ramsey, Minn. As a senior, he averaged 27 points and four assists per game, and as a junior he broke the Anoka school record with 46 points in a single game. Bradley, a Norfolk High School product, was a two-time all-state selection and was part of the NHS team that was state runner-up in 2010. He led the state of Nebraska in scoring two straight seasons, averaging 21.1 points per game as a junior and 21.9 as a senior. Bradley finished as Norfolk's all-time leading scorer and the fifth-best scorer in Class A history with 1,638 career points.
Welcome to The Summit League
The 2012-13 season marks UNO's first year with a full regular-season Summit League schedule. UNO will play all eight Summit League foes twice, once in Omaha and once on the road. Although the Mavericks will appear in the Summit League standings, they cannot qualify for the Summit League Championship or the NCAA Tournament, and Maverick student-athletes are not eligible for all-conference awards until 2015-16.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2012-13 schedule includes 31 games with 20 different Division I opponents, and the team will play in 13 states and all four time zones across the country. UNO will match up with opponents from nine different conferences: Big 12, Big Ten, Conference USA, Great West, Horizon League, Mid-American (MAC), Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC), Summit League and Western Athletic (WAC).
The Mavericks have never faced six of their 2012-13 opponents -- Texas Tech, Tulane, Bethune-Cookman, Valparaiso, Oakland and IUPUI -- and they hold a combined all-time record of 165-107-1 over all opponents on the slate this season.
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
The Summit League released its annual preseason men's basketball coaches' poll on Oct. 17, with newcomer Omaha picked ninth for its first year of conference play. The poll was conducted with a vote of the league's head coaches, media and media relations personnel.
South Dakota State was the favorite to win the 2012-13 Summit League Basketball Championship, receiving 30 of 31 first-place votes after claiming the 2012 Summit League Tournament title and representing the league in the NCAA Tournament. North Dakota State, which earned the remaining first-place vote, finished second in the poll with 321 points. Oakland placed third with 310 points, followed by 2012 Tournament runner-up Western Illinois in fourth. IUPUI edged Fort Wayne by two points for fifth while Kansas City, South Dakota and league newcomer Omaha rounded out the poll.
2012-13 Schedule Highlighted by Three NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
In 2011-12, Omaha played a mixed schedule with Division I, Division II and NAIA competition, but the 2012-13 season will be the Mavericks' first with a full Division I slate for their second year of reclassification. Three foes were 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers: defending Summit League champion South Dakota State, Wisconsin and Iowa State. Of those three, UW had the longest postseason run, falling 64-63 to Syracuse in the Sweet 16.
Hansen Enters Eighth Year With Mavericks
Head coach Derrin Hansen enters his eighth season at the helm of the Omaha men's basketball program in 2012-13, boasting a career record of 121-86 over the first seven years of his head coaching career. He took the job after serving as an assistant coach for seven years with former Maverick head coaches Kevin McKenna and Kevin Lehman. Hansen has the second-most victories of any coach in program history, behind only Bob Hanson, and Hansen hit the century mark for wins on Jan. 12, 2011.
Hansen has coached or assisted teams that have earned five trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, while also garnering two regular-season league titles and three tournament crowns. In 2007-08, his squad recorded a school-record 25 wins in its final season of North Central Conference play, and the Mavs won their final NCC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2004-05. In 2009-10, UNO earned an NCAA Tournament berth by capturing the MIAA Tournament crown in just its second year as a member of the league.
As a player at Nebraska Wesleyan, Hansen's 1988 squad advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals, and while serving as a student coach, the 1990 Plainsmen advanced to the final 16.
Hansen is assisted by assistant coaches Randall Herbst, Pat Eberhart and Tyler Erwin.
Kids Growing Up In the Heartland
The 2012-13 UNO roster is loaded with local talent, with six of the 14 players hailing from three Nebraska cities. Four come from Omaha: senior Koang Doluony (Bryan), juniors John Karhoff and Caleb Steffensmeier (Creighton Prep) and sophomore CJ Carter (Benson). Junior Matt Hagerbaumer is a product of Lincoln Southeast, and freshman Jalen Bradley (Norfolk) is a native of Norfolk, Neb.
2011-12 Mavs Finish in Nation's Top 25 in Multiple Categories
The 2011-12 UNO men's basketball team finished the season tied for ninth nationally with Buffalo with 16.5 assists per game, as well as 26th nationally in a tie with Temple with a 1.23 assist-to-turnover ratio. Individually, sophomore Caleb Steffensmeier was second in the country with a 3.40 assist-to-turnover ratio, and former Maverick Mitch Albers was 32nd nationally in scoring with 18.3 points per game.
Welhouse, Karhoff, Carter Earn All-Independent Recognition
Following the 2011-12 season, Alex Welhouse, John Karhoff and CJ Carter each earned postseason recognition from College Sports Madness. Welhouse and Karhoff were both named second-team all-independent, while Carter was honored as independent freshman of the year.
Welhouse was the Mavericks' leading rebounder with 6.7 boards per game, had a team-best 50 3-pointers made and ranked third on the team with 10.4 points per contest. Karhoff averaged 12.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, both of which were second on the squad. He also shot .529 (146-276) from the field and .741 (80-108) at the charity stripe.
Carter averaged 10.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game in his inaugural campaign. He was the first true freshman to start for UNO since 2006-07, and his 34 steals led the Mavericks. Carter totaled 17 double-figure scoring efforts and was UNO's third-best scorer over 29 games.
Up Next for the Mavericks
Omaha hits the road for three games next week, traveling to Texas Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 14, Tulane on Friday, Nov. 16 and Nebraska on Saturday, Nov. 18. Links to live stats, live audio and live video will be available on OMavs.com, and all three games will be broadcast on 1620 AM or 1180 AM.
