This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team returns from its winter break this weekend, traveling to Central Arkansas for a rescheduled game on Saturday, Dec. 28. Tipoff is set for Noon at the Farris Center in Conway, Ark., and the game will be broadcast live on KOZN 1620 AM with Jon Green on the call. Links to live stats, video and audio will be posted on OMavs.com, and fans can also stream the radio broadcast on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “1620 The Zone.”

Scouting the Central Arkansas Bears
Central Arkansas enters the weekend with a record of 2-7 (0-0 Southland), having last dropped a 97-90 double overtime loss to Charleston Southern on Dec. 21 at home. LaQuentin Miles, playing his first game since regaining his academic eligibility, led the Bears with 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. DeShone McClure added 20 points with three 3-pointers.

McClure averages in double figures with 14.7 points per game, while Jalen Jackson comes in at 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. UCA is led by interim head coach Clarence Finley, who took over head coaching duties in August following the departure of Corliss Williamson to the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Previously, Finley had served as the associate head coach at Central Arkansas since 2010. He holds a career record of 2-7.

Saturday's contest marks the first ever meeting between Omaha and Central Arkansas. The two squads were previously scheduled to play on Dec. 7, but poor weather conditions in Conway necessitated rescheduling to Dec. 28.

Quick Hits
•Omaha received votes in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll for the second straight week, marking the Mavericks' inclusion for the first time in school history.
•UNO's 3-point shooting stole the show in the first half at Minnesota on Dec. 20, as the Mavericks hit first-half 10 triples. It was the most of any Omaha squad since Nov. 24, 2007, when the Mavs had 11 vs. MSU-Billings.
•Senior guard Alex Phillips has drained a career-high four 3-pointers in back-to-back games (at Nevada on Dec. 14 and at Minnesota on Dec. 20). The last player with at least four treys in consecutive games was senior guard Justin Simmons, who had five vs. Kansas City on Dec. 31, 2012 and four at Oakland on Jan. 3, 2013.
•The Mavericks' five-game win streak from Nov. 25 to Dec. 14 was their longest stretch since beginning the Division I transition, and it was the UNO's longest since the 2010-11 season.
•UNO is 6-1 this season when scoring 80 or more points in a game.
•Karhoff's 25 points at Nevada on Dec. 14 marked his sixth career performance with 20 or more points scored, and it was the highest single-game total of any Maverick this season.
•Omaha tallied its ninth win of the season on Dec. 22, defeating Seattle at home, 76-69. In 2012-13, it was Feb. 9 at IUPUI before the Mavericks earned their ninth victory.
•Over 2012-13 and 2013-14, Omaha is 12-4 when junior guard CJ Carter scores 15 or more points in a game. Carter led the Mavericks in three straight games to open the year with 18 points at Northern Illinois, 22 at Iowa and 22 vs. UMKC.

Mavericks Making Headway Nationally
UNO has made its presence known in the national rankings of late, as the Mavericks' .775 free throw percentage ranks seventh nationally. Omaha is also 17th in assists per game (16.8) and 20th in points per game (83.4) as a team.

Individually, senior guard Alex Phillips is 34th with a .500 3-point shooting percentage, and senior center John Karhoff's .882 free throw shooting percentage has him ranked 54th among Division I players.

Last Time Out: vs. Seattle (Dec. 22)
The Omaha men's basketball team remained undefeated at home Sunday afternoon, picking up a 76-69 win over Seattle in front of a season-high 1,593 fans at Ralston Arena. With the win, the Mavericks improve to 9-4 (0-0 Summit League), while the Redhawks drop to 8-4 (0-0 WAC).
Four Mavericks finished with double-figure scoring efforts, led by 17 points from junior guard CJ Carter, who also added two rebounds, three assists and a steal. Senior center John Karhoff also totaled 14 points with four boards, four assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Devin Patterson and senior guard Justin Simmons rounded out the performance with 12 points apiece.

Sophomore guard Marcus Tyus pulled down a team-leading six rebounds, while senior forward Matt Hagerbaumer grabbed another five with six points and a block. Simmons also had four rebounds with two steals for the day.

As a team, Omaha shot 38 percent (22-of-58) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from long range. Seattle finished with a 45 percent (25-of-56) effort from the floor and 44 percent (10-of-23) from beyond the arc. Neither team shot a single free throw in the first half, but Omaha closed the game with an 81 percent (26-of-32) showing, and SU came in at 82 percent (9-of-11).

League Leaders
With a strong opening to 2013-14, the Mavericks sit atop the Summit League standings and are among the top statistical performers in the conference. As a team, Omaha tops the league in points per game (83.4), field goals made per game (27.8), free throws made per game (20.2), free throw percentage (.774), total rebounds per game (36.1), defensive boards per game (25.9), assists per game (16.8) and steals per game (8.0).

Senior guard Alex Phillips' .500 shooting from 3-point range ranks first among league players and 34th in the country, and senior center John Karhoff ranks second in free throw percentage (.882), which is also 54th nationally.

Karhoff Joins 1,000-Point Club
With his 13-point effort at South Carolina State on Nov. 25, senior John Karhoff's became the 34th Maverick to join the Mavericks' 1,000 Point Club. The Creighton Prep product has now amassed 1,089 career points over three-plus years, which ranks 23rd in school history.

Karhoff has also joined the career leaders list in field goals made and blocks, and he is on the brink of entering the top 20 in rebounds and steals. Karhoff's current totals and progress climbing the career ranks is listed below:

        KARHOFF IN THE OMAHA CAREER RECORD BOOK
        Points -- 1,089 (ranks 20th, needs four to tie for 19th)
        Rebounds -- 446 (needs 30 to tie for 20th)
        Blocks -- 60 (ranks 11th, needs three to tie for 10th)
        FG Made -- 436 (ranks 14th, needs two to tie for 13th)
        Steals -- 66 (needs 30 to tie for 20th)

Tyus Takes on Starting Role
Sophomore Marcus Tyus has stepped up in the last nine games, filling in for Justin Simmons, who has been slowed by an injury. Tyus scored a career-best 24 points against South Carolina State on Nov. 19, and in the last nine games, he has averaged 10.7 points per game while shooting .538 from the floor with 14 threes made. Over the first four games of the season, Tyus had previously averaged 7.0 points per game with just three treys made.

What Makes Up the Mavericks
•Omaha returns eight letterwinners from 2012-13, including four who started: senior guards Justin Simmons and Alex Phillips, senior center John Karhoff and junior guard CJ Carter.
•UNO returns 84 percent of its offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 1,850 of the Mavericks' 2,215 points.
•Simmons is the Summit League's leading returning scorer after pacing the conference with 16.7 points per game last season. In his first year as a Maverick, Simmons was second among all UNO players with 28.4 minutes per game but led with 879 total minutes played. He shot .473 from the floor, .402 from long range and added 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
•CJ Carter played the most minutes per game of any Maverick player last season, averaging 29.2 minutes per contest.
•Karhoff is Omaha's leading returner in rebounds, having averaged 4.1 boards per game in 2012-13.
•UNO's roster includes one true freshman, one redshirt freshman, four sophomores, three juniors and five seniors.
•The Mavericks hail from six different states. Six are from Nebraska, and four are from Minnesota, while Iowa, Wisconsin, Alabama and Virginia are all represented once on the roster.

Carter Chosen Summit League Co-Player of the Week
Junior guard CJ Carter was named Summit League Co-Player of the Week for his performance in the opening weekend of play, the conference office announced on Nov. 11. It was the first such award of Carter's career, and he became the first Maverick to earn a Summit League Player of the Week nod.

For the week, Carter averaged 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. He shared the honor with IUPUI's Mitch Patton, who recorded a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Simmons Named to Preseason All-Summit First Team
Senior guard Justin Simmons was among six players named to the Preseason All-Summit First Team last month. The league's top returning scorer this season, he ranked fourth among conference players in 2012-13 after averaging 16.7 points per game, as well as 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per contest. The Milwaukee, Wis., native had 11 20-plus point performances, and he scored in double figures in all but five games as a junior. Simmons finished his first year as a Maverick by earning second-team All-Summit honors, becoming the first UNO men's basketball player to earn all-conference accolades since moving to Division I. His 517 points last year put him at 14th on the Mavericks' single-season scoring list.

Simmons is playing essentially just his fourth year of organized basketball. He played for South Division High School as a senior, then became an All-American long jumper at Division III Concordia (Wis.) over two years and played one year of basketball. In 2011-12, Simmons transferred to play basketball at Butler CC, where he averaged 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game, which drew the attention of the UNO staff and prompted him to join the Maverick program in 2012-13.

On Nov. 10, Simmons was granted an extension of eligibility waiver by the NCAA, which will allow him to play the entirety of his senior season.

Looking Back at 2012-13
•Omaha played its second year as a reclassifying Division I school and its first as a member of the Summit League. The Mavericks went 11-20 (6-10 Summit League), finishing sixth after being picked last in the preseason poll.
•Justin Simmons was chosen second-league All-Summit, while John Karhoff was an Academic All-Summit selection and a first-team Academic All-District pick.
•Omaha lost three letterwinners from the 2012-13 squad, most notably forward Alex Welhouse, who finished his career ranked ninth in school history with 150 3-pointers made. Guards Jacques Coleman and Tyler Egli were also lost to graduation.
•As a team, Omaha tied for 39th nationally in field goal percentage and 72nd in scoring offense. Individually, Simmons tied for 95th in scoring, and Karhoff was 89th in field goal percentage.
•According to the website kenpom.com, UNO ranked first nationally last season in adjusted tempo, which estimates of the possessions per 40 minutes a team would have against a team that wants to play at an average Division I tempo. Omaha's adjusted tempo was listed at 72.8 (possessions per 40 minutes).

Home Sweet Home
The 2013-14 season marks UNO's second season playing at Ralston Arena, which serves as the home of Maverick men's basketball, Omaha Lancers hockey and Omaha Beef indoor football. The Mavs will play a full Summit League schedule this year with seven conference games, and in total they have 14 games on the slate at Ralston.

In 2012-13, its inaugural season at Ralston, Omaha enjoyed a 7-6 advantage at home. The Mavericks are 6-0 at home this year, having defeated UMKC (101-71), South Carolina State (91-59), Iowa Wesleyan (86-36), Waldorf College (100-66), CSU Bakersfield (93-88) and Seattle (76-69). UNO's six home wins have come with an average margin of 26.3 points, and the Mavs have scored an average of 91.2 points per game on their home court.

Hansen Enters Ninth Year With Mavericks
Head coach Derrin Hansen enters his ninth season at the helm of the Omaha men's basketball program in 2013-14, boasting a career record of 140-110 over 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.

Fresh Faces: The Maverick Newcomers
The Mavericks have welcomed six newcomers to the roster this season: freshman forward Rylan Murry, redshirt freshman Jalen Bradley, sophomore guards Devin Patterson and Kyler Erickson and junior forwards Mike Rostampour and Jake White.

Murry was an all-state selection at West Branch High School in West Branch, Iowa, where he lettered four years and owns the school's single-game scoring record (45 points). Patterson is a transfer to the Mavericks, coming from New Mexico Junior College, a program that also produced senior guard Alex Phillips. Prior to NMJC, Patterson played for the nationally-ranked Norcom High School program in Portsmouth, Va., where he helped his squad to a state championship as a junior and earned first-team all-district honors.

White transferred to UNO after two seasons at Wichita State, and he will sit out in 2013-14 in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. White was part of the Shocker squad that played in the 2013 NCAA Final Four. He previously starred at Chaska High School in Chaska, Minn., where he was a fourth-team Parade All-American and second-team all-state.

Erickson was a member of the Northwest Missouri State program for two seasons before transferring to UNO and will also sit out due to transfer rules. A native of Omaha, he was second-team All-Nebraska as a senior at Millard South High School and took the Patriots to their first state tournament appearance in eight years.

Rostampour, a transfer from St. Cloud State, is expected to contribute in a big way after sitting out last season. A starter two years ago with the Huskies, he averaged eight points and five rebounds per game and led the team with .530 shooting from 3-point range.

Bradley, who redshirted last year, is an in-state product from Norfolk High School, where he was a two-time first-team all-state honoree. He led the state in scoring two straight years and closed his career as Norfolk's all-time leading scorer and the fifth-best scorer in Nebraska Class A history with 1,638 points. His career free throw percentage of .934 was also a state record and ranked second all-time nationally.

Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2013-14 schedule includes 30 games against 22 different opponents, and the team will play in 12 states and five time zones across the country, including a trip to Hawaii to start the second half of the season. The schedule also features games against three 2013 NCAA Tournament teams -- UNLV, Minnesota and defending Summit League champion South Dakota State. In total, UNO will square off with opponents from seven other conferences.

The Mavericks have never faced six of their opponents: UNLV, South Carolina State, Waldorf College, Central Arkansas, Minnesota and Hawaii. They hold a combined all-time record of 138-152 over all teams on the slate.

No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its third year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2013-14 and its second as a member of the Summit League. In 2012-13, the Mavericks played their first full season as a member of the conference, finishing 6-10 in league play and sixth in the standings.

UNO is ineligible for the Summit League Tournament and NCAA/NIT postseason play until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule through its transitional years. It is, however, eligible for the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) in the postseason.

Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
Omaha was picked to finish fifth in the 2013-14 Summit League Preseason Poll, the conference office announced Oct. 16. The poll was tallied in a vote of the league's head coaches, communications personnel and media.

The Mavericks collected 130 points to come in fifth in the poll. North Dakota State was the favorite to win the Summit League, garnering 25 first-place votes for 305 points. League newcomer Denver, which earned a share of the WAC regular-season title in 2012-13, was second and received three first-place votes for 260 points. Two-time defending Summit League Tournament champion South Dakota State placed third with 233 points, followed by last season's regular-season co-champion Western Illinois in fourth with 161 points. Omaha, Fort Wayne (120), South Dakota (102) and IUPUI (81) rounded out the poll.

Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Friday, Jan. 3, traveling to Hawaii. Tipoff is set for 11 p.m. (CT) at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and links to live stats, video and audio will be available on OMavs.com. The game will be broadcast live on KZOT 1180 AM.