Complete Release
Live Video
Live Stats
The Omaha men's basketball team carries a three-game win streak into the weekend, hosting Oakland on Saturday, Feb. 2. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com.
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 129-102.
Quick Hits
•Omaha's .783 second-half shooting against Fort Wayne was its highest since an .840 second-half effort against Hastings College on Dec. 31, 2002.
•UNO has shot .500 or better from the field in six of its last eight games dating back to Jan. 3. In that span, the Mavericks have shot a combined .535 as a team, highlighted by a season-high .627 against Fort Wayne on Thursday. That game held Omaha's highest shooting percentage since beginning the transition to Division I and bested its previous season best of .623 against IUPUI (Jan. 10).
•UNO has won three straight Summit League contests in the last week: 95-90 at South Dakota (Jan. 24), 67-59 at Kansas City (Jan. 26) and 86-79 against Fort Wayne (Jan. 31).
•The Mavericks' last winning streak of at least three games was in 2011-12 with victories over Peru State, Avila and Doane College. The current streak is UNO's first with three victories over all Division I opponents.
•Omaha enjoys a 5-3 advantage when playing at Ralston Arena.
•UNO had five players score in double figures in back-to-back contests at CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 19) and at South Dakota (Jan. 24). Previously, the Mavericks did not have a game with five double-figure scorers.
•Omaha's leads the Summit League with 26.2 field goals made per game. It is also second in field goals percentage .470) and third in steals per game (7.1).
•The Mavericks are 5-2 when leading at halftime and enjoy a 5-3 advantage when playing at Ralston Arena.
•UNO's .470 field goal percentage ties them for 28th nationally with Pacific.
•Omaha is 2-0 when a player records a double-double. Junior guard Justin Simmons had one against Benedictine (32 points, 11 rebounds), and senior forward Alex Welhouse had one against Kansas City (10 points, 10 rebounds).
•The Mavs have had three games this season in which two players score 20-plus points on the same night. Simmons and sophomore guard CJ Carter did so against UMKC, followed by Simmons and freshman guard Marcus Tyus at IPFW. Thursday's rematch with the Mastodons resulted in the same thing, as Simmons had 23 points and Tyus had a season-best of 22.
Scouting the Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Oakland (10-13, 5-4 Summit League) last took the court on Jan. 26, defeating Western Illinois by a score of 67-60 in Rochester, Mich. The win gave head coach Greg Kampe his 500th career win, and he became the 21st active Division I coach to reach the milestone. Travis Bader led the Golden Grizzlies with 26 points, while Duke Mondy added 17 points, and Corey Petros had 12 rebounds.
In OU's previous game, an 89-71 triumph over IUPUI last Thursday, Bader recorded a career-high 47 points with a school-record 11 3-pointers. His performance marked the highest single-game total by any Division I player this season and earned him Summit League Player of the Week and Capital One Performance of the Week accolades. Bader leads the nation with 99 threes made this year.
Kampe (Bowling Green, 1978) is in his 29th year at Oakland with a career record of 500-362. Oakland leads the all-time series against the Mavericks, 1-0, having taken a 91-79 win in Rochester on Jan. 3.
Last Time Out
Omaha captured its third consecutive conference win Thursday night, defeating Fort Wayne, 86-79, at Ralston Arena. UNO posted its highest field goal shooting percentage of the season, finishing at a .627 clip. The Mavs used .783 second-half shooting and hit 15 of their first 16 second-half shots to rally from a five-point halftime deficit.
Four Mavericks finished with double-figure scoring, led by 23 points from junior guard Justin Simmons, 22 of which came in an outstanding second-half effort. Simmons added four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Freshman guard Marcus Tyus joined Simmons with a season-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Twelve points from junior center John Karhoff, who shot 6-for-8, and 11 points from junior guard Alex Phillips, rounded out the performance. Karhoff also grabbed three boards with two assists and two blocks, while Phillips had four rebounds and a steal to his credit.
Sophomore guard CJ Carter finished with seven points, a career-high-tying eight rebounds, six assists and a steal. Senior forward Alex Welhouse added seven points, and junior guard Caleb Steffensmeier chipped in three rebounds, two points and a pair of assists.
Rewind With the Golden Grizzlies
Omaha made 11 threes at Oakland on Jan. 5 but was unable to come away with a win, falling 91-79 at the O'rena. Junior guard Justin Simmons paced Omaha with a game-leading 24 points, shooting 8-of-16 from the field with four 3-pointers. He added a 4-for-4 showing at the free throw line, three rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Junior center John Karhoff also finished in double figures, totaling 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three boards, three assists and a blocked shot. Senior forward Alex Welhouse posted nine points and a team-leading six rebounds, hitting a trio of 3-pointers to move within one shot of tying for ninth on the UNO career threes list. Junior guard Alex Phillips matched Welhouse with nine points, adding three boards, three helpers and a steal.
As a team, Omaha shot 55 percent (30-of-55) from the field and 50 percent (11-of-22) from long range. Oakland finished at a 51 percent (35-of-69) showing from the floor and a 38 percent (11-of-29) effort from beyond the arc.
All five Oakland starters finished with double-figure scoring efforts, led by Drew Valentine's double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds with five assists and two steals. Ryan Bass added 20 points, followed by Travis Bader (19), Duke Mondy (18) and Corey Petros (16). Bader posted five 3-pointers, and Mondy narrowly missed a double-double with nine assists and six steals to his credit.
Karhoff Named to Capital One Academic All-District 7 Team
Junior center John Karhoff has earned Capital One Academic All-District 7 distinction, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Jan. 31. Karhoff's inclusion on the team marks his first academic all-district honor. As a first-team honoree, he advances to the Academic All-America ballot and will be considered for national accolades later this month. Karhoff is Omaha's fifth academic all-district selection in school history and the first to garner such recognition as a Division I student-athlete. He is the first Maverick named academic all-district since Denny Johnston earned back-to-back awards in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
A native of Omaha and a product of Creighton Prep, Karhoff has been a three-year starter at center. He has averaged 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as a junior in UNO's first year as a member of the Summit League.
Karhoff carries a 3.64 grade-point average with a journalism major and physical education minor, and he is a member of the UNO Dean's List.
Welhouse Continues Climb Up Career 3-Pointers List
Forward Alex Welhouse entered his senior season as one of UNO's most experienced returners, having averaged 10.4 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game as a junior. A three-year starter, he is ninth all-time on UNO's career 3-pointers chart with 137 threes made, which passes former Maverick Troy Kloewer (131). Welhouse stands 24 from matching Michael Jenkins for eighth (161).
Home Sweet Home
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.
On Nov. 9, Omaha hosted its first game in the facility, defeating Northern Illinois 77-64 in front of 2,224 fans. After a five-week, 10-game span of away games, the Mavericks returned to Ralston on Dec. 18 to host Benedictine. UNO is now 5-3 at home after rallying for an 86-79 win over Fort Wayne on Jan. 31.
Simmons' Nabs Mavs' First Double-Double of 2012-13
Omaha played its first home game in over five weeks on Dec. 18, rallying for a 74-70 victory over Benedictine. Junior guard Justin Simmons paced the Mavericks with a double-double on a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds. The Milwaukee, Wis., native shot 12-of-18 from the floor and added four assists and a steal. His scoring performance marked the most points since Tyler Bullock had 32 against Southwest Baptist on Feb. 20, 2010, and he is the Mavs' first player to cross the 30-point threshold since Mitch Albers had 31 at Avila on Feb. 2, 2012.
Road Warriors
In mid-December, the Mavericks closed a challenging 10-game away schedule that kept them on the road from Nov. 14 to Dec. 15. Omaha traveled to Texas Tech on Nov. 14, Tulane on Nov. 16 and Nebraska on Nov. 18. The Tulane and Nebraska contests were part of the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic, which continued with games against Bethune Cookman (Nov. 23) and Chicago State (Nov. 24).
After two Summit League games at North Dakota State (Nov. 29) and South Dakota State (Dec. 1), as well as a mid-week game at Wisconsin (Dec. 4), Omaha visited Iowa State (Dec. 9) and closed with Denver (Dec. 15).
Phill-ing In
Junior guard Alex Phillips has been a major contributor in the first half of the season, averaging 8.7 points per contest with .439 shooting from beyond the arc and a .497 clip from the field, which ranks 11th in the league. He is third on the team in scoring behind only fellow juniors Justin Simmons and John Karhoff.
Phillips scored in double figures in three consecutive games early in the year-- vs. Saint Mary (16), at Texas Tech (10) and at Tulane (13) -- and his season-high 17 points led the Mavs against Chicago State on Nov. 24. He chipped in 11 points with a trio of 3-pointers at Iowa State.
Simmons Steps Up for Starting Role
Junior guard Justin Simmons has made an impression early in his Omaha career, stepping into an immediate starting role for the Mavericks after transferring from Butler Community College. He has averaged 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest over 24 games, and he finished with a season-high 32 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double against Benedictine on Dec. 18.
Simmons ranks among the top 10 in the Summit League in a variety of categories: first in field goals made (148), fourth in total points (380), fourth in scoring (15.8 points per game), sixth in steals (33), ninth in free throw percentage (.746) and 10th in free throws made (53). He has had seven 20-plus point performances, including three straight from Dec. 31 to Jan. 5.
Simmons is playing essentially just his third year of organized basketball. He played for South Division High School as a senior, then became an All-American long jumper at Concordia University in Wisconsin. In 2011-12, Simmons returned to the basketball court 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.
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 against 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 eight different conferences: Big 12, Big Ten, Conference USA, Great West, Mid-American (MAC), Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC), Summit League and Western Athletic (WAC).
Three foes were 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers: defending Summit League champion South Dakota State, Wisconsin and Iowa State. UW had the longest postseason run, falling 64-63 to Syracuse in the Sweet 16.
The Mavericks have never faced five of their 2012-13 opponents -- 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.
Mavericks Add Five for 2012-13
Head coach Derrin Hansen and his staff added five new players to the 2012-13 roster: junior guards Alex Phillips and Justin Simmons, junior forward Mike Rostampour and freshman guards Jalen Bradley and Marcus Tyus.
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 and returned to the basketball court. 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.
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.
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.
Hansen In Eighth Year With Mavericks
Head coach Derrin Hansen is in his eighth season at the helm of the Omaha men's basketball program in 2012-13, boasting a career record of 129-102 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.
Kids Growing Up In the Heartland
The 2012-13 UNO roster is loaded with local talent, with five of the 14 players hailing from three Nebraska cities. Three come from Omaha: 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.
Up Next for the Mavericks
Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 7, traveling to Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Waste Management Court at Western Hall, and links to live video and live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
