For complete notes, please refer to the PDF version.

This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team (15-13, 4-8 Summit League) begins its final homestand of the season this Thursday, Feb. 27, hosting IUPUI. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and KOZN 1620 AM will carry the radio broadcast live with Gary Sharp and Grant Nieland calling the action. Fans can also stream the radio broadcast on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “1620 The Zone.” Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.

Scouting the IUPUI Jaguars
IUPUI enters Thursday's game with a record of 6-23 (1-11 Summit League) after an 84-60 loss to Fort Wayne last Saturday. Marcellus Barksdale led the Jaguars with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and both Donovan Gibbs and Khufu Najee added 11 each.

Ian Chiles has led IUPUI with 15.2 points per game this season, while Barksdale has 6.5 rebounds per contest. Mitch Patton (12.7 ppg) and Najee (10.2 ppg) also average double-figure scoring. The Jaguars are led by head coach Todd Howard, who holds a record of 26-67 over three seasons in Indianapolis.

Omaha leads the all-time series with IUPUI, 3-0. The two teams last met on Feb. 1 in Indianapolis, earning a 99-71 win. IUPUI last visited Ralston Arena on Jan. 10, 2013, with UNO picking up a 90-79 victory.

Quick Hits
•Omaha has averaged 90.1 points per game in the all-time series with IUPUI, its highest against any Summit League peer as a member of the conference.
•Senior center John Karhoff is the 13th player in program history to surpass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career. He now sits at 1,294 points and 506 boards.
•Kenpom.com lists Omaha's adjusted tempo of 74.6 possessions per 40 minutes at third nationally.
•The Mavericks' average scoring margin of 5.0 points is 97th in the country. UNO's wins have come with an average margin of victory of 18.0 points, while their losses have come by an average of 9.9.
•UNO is 10-3 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 14-6 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: at Denver (Feb. 22)
The Omaha men's basketball team played its final regular-season road game of the season on Saturday, falling 72-60 to Denver at Magness Arena. Junior guard CJ Carter led the Mavericks with 12 points on 6-for-12 shooting with five rebounds and an assist. Junior forward Mike Rostampour joined him in double figures with 10 points, narrowly missing a double-double as he pulled down nine boards as well.

Sophomore guard Marcus Tyus chipped in eight points and five rebounds off the bench, while senior forward Matt Hagerbaumer had six points and pulled down seven boards.

As a team, Omaha shot 34 percent (21-of-61) from the floor, 20 percent (3-of-15) from 3-point range and 56 percent (15-of-27) from the line. For its part, Denver came in with 44 percent (25-of-57) shooting, 35 percent (8-of-23) from long range and 88 percent (14-of-16) at the line.
    
#Socks4SlamDunk: Simmons Advances in Dark Horse Dunker Competition
Senior guard Justin Simmons is one of eight candidates to advance to Round Two of 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. Voting began Feb. 10 with 16 finalists, Simmons won his Round One matchup against Deonte Jones of Texas Wesleyan. Round Two, which begins today, features four head-to-head matchups and runs one week, for which Simmons will be paired against Brison White of Northwestern State. Subsequent semi-final and final rounds 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.

The eight remaining finalists hail from schools outside the national spotlight and possess the leaping ability, creativity, and power to compete against college basketball's stars in the Slam Dunk Championship. Fans determine the winner by voting daily on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/CollegeSlam) throughout the five-week competition.

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 losses to South Dakota State (77-60) and North Dakota State (75-59) last week.

UNO's nine home wins have come at an average margin of 18.3 points, and the Mavs have scored an average of 80.0 points per game on their home court while holding their opponents to 67.5.

Karhoff Joins 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 1,294 career points over three-plus years, which ranks 10th in school history, and 506 rebounds, which is 18th in the record book. Two weeks ago, Karhoff became 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 -- 1,294 (ranks 10th, needs 15 to tie for ninth)
Rebounds -- 506 (ranks 18th, needs two to tie for 17th)
FG Made -- 513 (ranks sixth, needs 34 to tie for fifth)
Assists -- 209 (needs three to tie for 20th)
Steals -- 77 (needs 20 to tie for 19th)
Blocks -- 67 (ranks ninth, needs one to tie for eighth)

Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, March 1, hosting Fort Wayne in the Mavericks' final regular-season game of the year. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and KOZN 1620 AM will carry the game live with Gary Sharp and Grant Nieland on the call. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com. UNO will celebrate its five seniors -- Matt Hagerbaumer, John Karhoff, Alex Phillips, Justin Simmons and Caleb Steffensmeier -- with festivities prior to tipoff.