For complete game notes, please refer to the PDF version.

This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team (15-10, 4-5 Summit League) closes its four-game homestand this Saturday, Feb. 15, hosting North Dakota State. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be televised nationally on Fox College Sports as well as Midco with Tom Nieman on play-by-play and Brad Newitt with color commentary. KOZN 1620 AM will carry the radio broadcast live with Gary Sharp and Grant Nieland calling the action, or fans can stream the radio broadcast on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “1620 The Zone.” Links to live stats, audio and video will also be available on OMavs.com.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as the first 500 attendees will receive a free limited-edition #Socks4SlamDunk t-shirt in honor of senior guard Justin Simmons' candidacy in the 2014 State Farm Dark Horse Dunker competition.

Scouting the North Dakota State Bison
North Dakota State enters Saturday's game with a record of 19-6 (8-2 Summit League) after a 56-52 win at Western Illinois on Thursday night. Taylor Braun paced the Jackrabbits with 19 points and three rebounds, while Lawrence Alexander added 14 points and Marshall Bjorklund had another 12.

Braun has led NDSU with 18.1 points per game this season and pulled down 4.9 rebounds per contest. The Bison are led by head coach Saul Phillips, who holds a record of 127-83 over seven seasons.

North Dakota State leads the all-time series with Omaha, 38-26. The Bison took the most recent meeting with an 91-69 victory on Jan. 16, their fourth straight win in the series. The last time UNO defeated NDSU in Omaha was Feb. 21, 2004, when the Mavs pulled out a 75-64 victory at Sapp Fieldhouse.

Quick Hits
•Kenpom.com lists Omaha's adjusted tempo of 74.0 possessions per 40 minutes at fourth nationally.
•According to RPIRatings.com, UNO's RPI is 145th nationally through games of Feb. 9, the third highest of any Summit League team.
•Senior center John Karhoff is on the brink of becoming the 13th player in program history to surpass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career, sitting just four boards shy entering today's game.
•The Mavericks' average scoring margin of 6.8 points is 69th in the country. UNO's wins have come with an average margin of victory of 18.0 points, while their losses have come with an average of 10.0.
•UNO is 10-2 this season when scoring 80 or more points in a game.
•Omaha finished with a season-high .556 shooting percentage in its win at South Dakota State on Jan. 18. In the last two years, Omaha is 13-5 when shooting .500 or better as a team, including a perfect 9-0 this season.
•Senior guard Justin Simmons has 13 career scoring performances with 20 or more points. Senior center John Karhoff is just behind him with eight, and junior guard CJ Carter has six.
•Omaha tallied its 15th win of the season on Feb. 8, defeating Western Illinois at home, 71-60. This season marks the Mavericks' highest wins total since going Division I.
•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.
•Omaha received votes in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll for five straight weeks from Dec. 16 to Jan. 13. This year marks the Mavericks' inclusion for the first time in school history.
•Over 2012-13 and 2013-14, Omaha is 14-5 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.

Last Time Out: vs. South Dakota State (Feb. 13)
The Omaha men's basketball team had its three-game win streak snapped on Thursday night, falling 77-60 to South Dakota State at Ralston Arena. The Mavericks were led by a strong performance from junior forward Mike Rostampour, who had 15 points and six rebounds and shot 5-of-7 from the field. Junior guard CJ Carter and senior guard Justin Simmons added 13 and 12 points, respectively, and senior center John Karhoff chipped in eight points and four rebounds.

Omaha was challenged by the size of the Jackrabbits' corps of guards. Jake Bittle recorded a double-double with 16 and 10 rebounds, while Brayden Carlson added 17 points and four assists. Cody Larson matched Bittle with a double-double on an identical 16 points and 10 boards.

The Jackrabbits also outrebounded UNO 50-29 while collecting 17 offensive boards and outscored UNO 48-16 in the paint. SDSU finished at 47 percent (31-of-66) from the field, while Omaha came in at a 32 percent (19-of-60) clip.

#Socks4SlamDunk: Simmons Up for 2014 State Farm Dark Horse Dunker
Senior guard Justin Simmons is one of 16 candidates for the 2014 “State Farm Dark Horse Dunker” competition, it was announced Monday by Intersport, producers of the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships.

The State Farm Dark Horse Dunker is a bracket-style elimination competition. Round One voting is open for two weeks and features eight head-to-head matchups, and Simmons will be paired against Deonte Jones of Texas Wesleyan. Winners will be announced Feb. 24 when Round Two opens. Voting for Round Two, the Semi-Finals and the Finals will be open one week each. The champion will be announced March 17 and compete at the 26th annual College Slam Dunk Championship in Dallas on April 3. Fans can view a video of each dunker and cast their vote at Facebook.com/CollegeSlam.

Previous “State Farm Dark Horse Dunker” winners include Corey Law (High Point University) in 2013, James Justice (Martin Methodist College) in 2012. The 2011 winner, Jacob Tucker (Illinois College), went on to win the Slam Dunk Championship.

In support of Simmons as a Dark Horse Dunker candidate, fans can vote daily on the College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships Facebook page. When posting on social media, fans are also encouraged to use the hashtag #Socks4SlamDunk, a nod to Simmons' nickname on and off the court, “Socks.”

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.

The Mavericks are 9-2 at home this year, starting with six straight wins over 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 was dealt its first loss on Jan. 23 against Denver before wins over South Dakota (77-73), Peru State (86-62) and Western Illinois (71-60). Omaha then dropped a 77-60 loss to South Dakota State on Thursday night.

UNO's nine home wins have come at an average margin of 18.3 points, and the Mavs have scored an average of 81.9 points per game on their home court while holding their opponents to 66.8.

Karhoff Comes Knocking for 1,000 Points/500 Rebounds 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 1,263 career points over three-plus years, which ranks 12th in school history, and 496 rebounds, which is 18th in the record book. Should he collect four more boards, Karhoff will become the 13th Maverick to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career.

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

KARHOFF IN THE OMAHA CAREER RECORD BOOK
Points -- 1,263 (ranks 11th, needs 15 to tie for 10th)
Rebounds -- 496 (ranks 18th, needs 12 to tie for 17th)
FG Made -- 502 (ranks seventh, needs eight to tie for sixth)
Steals -- 75 (needs 21 to tie for 20th)
Blocks -- 67 (ranks ninth, needs one to tie for eighth)

Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 20, traveling to South Dakota. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D., and KOZN 1620 AM will also carry the radio broadcast live with Gary Sharp calling the action. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.