This Week
With a quick 48-hour turnaround from its last road game, the Omaha men's basketball team (3-4, 0-0 Summit League) returns to action this Wednesday, Dec. 10, hosting Iowa Wesleyan. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be carried 1180 Zone 2 with Gary Sharp and former Maverick Grant Nieland calling the action. Fans can also stream the audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “1620 The Zone,” and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.

Scouting the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers
Iowa Wesleyan enters the week with a record of 3-3 (0-2 SLIAC) after falling 57-56 at Blackburn College on Saturday, Dec. 6. CJ Singletary led the Tigers with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Will Stephenson pulled down nine rebounds. Iowa Wesleyan is led by first-year head coach Alex Huisman, who has a career record of 3-3.

Wednesday marks the third meeting all-time between Iowa Wesleyan and Omaha. The Mavericks lead the series 2-0, and the two teams last faced each other on Nov. 30, 2013, when UNO won 86-36 at Ralston Arena.

Quick Hits
•UNO has six 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 75.8 (possessions per 40 minutes).
•The Mavericks have scored 20 or more points off turnovers in three of their seven games this season.
•Omaha had its fastest start of the season at Nebraska on Nov. 25, surging ahead 23-7 in the first five minutes of play.
•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 16-5 when shooting .500 or better as a team, including a perfect 2-0 this season.
•UNO tallied double-digit offensive rebounds in each of their first three games: 26 vs. Central Arkansas, 11 at Seattle and 11 at Marquette. It had another such effort with 15 offensive boards at Air Force.
•Carter made at least two 3-pointers in his first three games of the season, including a career-high-tying four triples at Marquette.
•Since the 2012-13 season, Omaha is 17-9 when Carter scores 15 or more points in a game.
•The Mavericks have hit at least three 3-pointers in 60 consecutive contests since Dec. 9, 2012.
•Omaha leads the Summit League in points per game, field goals made per game and steals per game.
•The Mavericks were picked sixth in this year's Summit League preseason poll.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Fall Short at Air Force, 77-61
Omaha battled to a two-point game in the second half but came up short at Air Force Monday night, falling 77-61 at Clune Arena. Senior forward Mike Rostampour led Omaha on both sides of the ball, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. He shot 6-for-11 from the field and was a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line, and six of his rebounds were offensive caroms.

Senior guard CJ Carter also finished in double figures with 12 points on a trio of 3-pointers, adding two rebounds, two assists and a career-high three blocks. Freshman forward Tre'Shawn rounded it out with 11 points with four boards, shooting 5-for-8 for the night.

Junior guard Marcus Tyus chipped in eight points, a season-best-tying six rebounds and a career-high six assists, while junior forward Randy Reed tallied six points and two boards.

As a team, the Mavericks shot .397 (23-of-58) to Air Force's .540 (27-of-50). Omaha outrebounded the Falcons, 32-31, including 15-9 on the offensive tally.

Stacking Up Nationally
The Mavericks have maintained their place the top 50 in the national statistical rankings, as Omaha's 77.6 points per game ranks 38th among Division I programs. Additionally, Omaha is 44th with 8.4 steals per game.

Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 38th with 5.6 assists per game and 48th with 2.3 steals per game.

Tracking Tre'Shawn
Freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman has made six straight starts since Nov. 19, becoming the first UNO freshman to earn a start since CJ Carter in 2011-12. Thurman finished with a season bests of 18 points and five blocks against Nevada on Nov. 29, the most blocks by any Maverick since Gabe Zweiner tallied five against Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 3, 2005.

Thurman followed his five blocks against the Wolf Pack with three at Kansas State on Dec. 2. He is the first player to have three or more blocks in back-to-back games since Jerry Bennett did in 2007-08 with three apiece against North Dakota and Fort Lewis.

Thurman has averaged 10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in his debut season, tallying four double-digit scoring efforts. He also led the Mavericks with a season-high nine rebounds at Kansas State on Dec. 2.

House of Carter
CJ Carter's position in UNO's record books has been rapidly rising during his senior season. He is 10th all-time for career assists (287), 12th in steals (117), 13th in 3-pointers made (109) and 15th in scoring (1,129 points). On Monday night at Air Force, the Omaha native passed former Mavericks Tyler Bullock (2009-11) and Andrew Bridger (2006-10) on the scoring list, and he is 31 points away from tying Art Allen (1968-71) for 14th.

Additionally, Carter has 396 field goals in the last four years, six away from breaking into the school's top 20.

Starting It Off
Three Mavericks have been the first player to come off the bench in Omaha's first seven games this season: Rylan Murry four times, Tim Smallwood three times and Randy Reed once.

Five different players have scored Omaha's first points of the game in 2014-15: Jake White, Devin Patterson, Marcus Tyus, Tre'Shawn Thurman and Rostampour. When Tyus records UNO's first score, the Mavericks are a perfect 2-0 this season.

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 a 78-54 win over Nevada on Nov. 29, bringing their average margin of victory at home to 24.5.

Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2014-15 schedule includes 29 games, and the team will play in 11 states across the country. The schedule also features games against three 2014 NCAA Tournament teams -- Kansas State, Nebraska and defending Summit League champion North Dakota State. In total, UNO will square off with opponents from seven other conferences.

The Mavericks have never faced two of their opponents: Marquette and Kansas State. They hold a combined all-time record of 184-226 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 13, traveling to UMKC. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., 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.