This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team plays its last game before the holiday break this weekend, welcoming UT Pan American on Sunday, Dec. 21. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Ralston Arena. Gary Sharp and former Maverick Grant Nieland will have the radio call on KOIL 1290 AM, and fans can also stream the audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “The Mighty 1290 KOIL.” Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
    
Scouting the UT Pan American Broncs
UT Pan American carries a record of 5-6 (0-0 WAC) into Sunday after falling 75-60 at Creighton on Friday night. Shaquille Hines led the Broncs with 16 points and seven rebounds. Everett Osborne also scored a career-high 15 points, and Janari Joesaar added another 12 points.

UTPA is led by second-year head coach Dan Hipsher, who owns a record of 14-29 at the school and a career mark of 252-211 over 17 seasons.

Sunday marks the third meeting all-time between UT Pan American and Omaha. The Broncs lead the series 2-0, and the two teams last faced each other on Dec. 22, 2012, when UTPA won 80-72 in Edinburg, Texas.

Quick Hits
•Junior Devin Patterson scored a game-high 23 points against Northern Colorado on Wednesday, marking his fifth 20-point performance of the season and his career.
•Patterson leads the Summit League in steals (24) and assists (48).
•UNO has five players who average 8.0 or more points per game, and seven different Mavericks have scored in double figures in at least one game.
•According to kenpom.com, UNO is second nationally 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 is listed at 76.2, behind only VMI's 77.9.
•Every player scored in Omaha's win over Iowa Wesleyan on Dec. 10, the only time that has happened this season.
•The Mavericks have scored 20 or more points off turnovers in four of their 10 games so far.
•Omaha has taken a 16-point lead in the first five minutes of play in two games this year. The Mavericks went up 16-0 against Iowa Wesleyan on Dec. 10 and 23-7 at Nebraska on Nov. 25.
•UNO earned its first win over a power-six conference on Nov. 22 with a 97-89 triumph at Marquette.
•The Mavericks shot a season-best .571 at Marquette and added another .500 effort against Nevada on Nov. 29. In the last three years, Omaha is 17-5 when shooting .500 or better as a team, including a perfect 4-0 this season.
•UNO has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds seven of its 10 games: 26 vs. Central Arkansas, 11 at Seattle, 11 at Marquette, 15 at Air Force, 11 vs. Iowa Wesleyan, 17 at UMKC and 12 vs. Northern Colorado.
•Since the 2012-13 season, Omaha is 18-10 when senior guard CJ Carter scores 15 or more points in a game.
•The Mavericks have hit at least three 3-pointers in 63 consecutive contests since Dec. 9, 2012.
•Omaha leads the Summit League in points, field goals made and steals per game, as well as rebounding margin.
•The Mavericks were picked sixth in this year's Summit League preseason poll.

Last Time Out: Omaha Claws Past Northern Colorado, 92-82
The Omaha men's basketball team picked up a 92-82 win over Northern Colorado in front of 1,287 fans on Wednesday night, improving to a perfect 4-0 at Ralston Arena this season. Junior guard Devin Patterson led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field with two 3-pointers and a 7-of-8 showing at the foul line. Patterson added three rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Junior guard Marcus Tyus chipped in a season-high 19 points, hitting 5-of-8 shots from the floor with a 3-of-3 effort from beyond the arc and a 6-of-6 night from the charity stripe. Tyus also grabbed three boards, dished out six assists and had one block.

Senior guard CJ Carter rounded out the Mavericks' double-figure scoring efforts, totaling 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He added two rebounds, two assists and a block. Senior forward Mike Rostampour finished with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds, seven of which were offensive caroms.

As a team, Omaha shot 30-of-55 (.545) and was 9-of-19 (.474) from long range, while Northern Colorado came in at 29-of-62 (.468) from the field. The Mavericks also outrebounded the Bears, 34-27.

Stacking Up Nationally
The Mavericks have maintained their place the top 50 in the national statistical rankings, as Omaha's 80.1 points per game ranks 20th among Division I programs, and its 8.8 steals per game are 34th.

Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 29th with 2.4 steals per game.

Home Sweet Home
The 2014-15 season marks UNO's third and final 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 eight conference games, and in total they have 13 games on the slate at Ralston. In 2015-16, Omaha will move its games to the on-campus UNO/Community Arena, which is currently being constructed just south of Aksarben Village between 64th and 67th streets on Center Street.

Last season, Omaha was 11-4 at Ralston Arena. UNO's 11 home wins came at an average margin of 21.4 points, and the Mavs scored an average of 82.3 points per game on their home court while holding their opponents to 69.8.

On Nov. 16, UNO opened its season at Ralston Arena, defeating Central Arkansas by a 100-75 tally. They followed up with wins over Nevada, 78-54 on Nov. 29, Iowa Wesleyan, 94-67 on Dec. 10, and Northern Colorado, 92-82 on Dec. 17, bringing their average margin of victory at home to 21.5.

House of Carter
CJ Carter's position in UNO's record books has been rapidly rising during his senior season. He is ninth all-time for career assists (295), 10th in steals (122), 13th in 3-pointers made (112), 14th in scoring (1,173 points) and 19th for field goals made (413). On Wednesday against Northern Colorado, the Omaha native passed former Maverick Art Allen (1968-71) on the scoring list, and he is now 23 points away from tying Jim Gregory (1977-81) for 13th.

Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Monday, Dec. 29, traveling to Chicago State. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. in Chicago, Ill., and Gary Sharp will have the call of the game live on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.