This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team returns home this weekend, welcoming IUPUI on Sunday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on 1620 The Zone with Gary Sharp and former Maverick Grant Nieland on the call. Fans can 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 IUPUI Jaguars
IUPUI carries a record of 6-12 (2-2 Summit League) into Sunday's meeting after falling 68-53 at South Dakota State on Wednesday. Elijah Ray led the Jaguars with 12 points and three boards off the bench, while Khufu Najee had 11 points and another three rebounds.

Head coach Jason Gardner is in his first year at IUPUI, and he holds a career coaching mark of 6-12.

Sunday marks the fifth meeting all-time between Omaha and IUPUI, and the Mavericks lead the series, 4-0. The two teams last met on Feb. 27, 2014, when UNO earned an 88-66 win at Ralston Arena.

Quick Hits
•Senior forward Mike Rostampour leads the Summit League in offensive rebounds (50) and is second in rebounds per game (7.6), while junior guard Devin Patterson is first in the conference for steals (36).
•Rostampour has scored in double figures in three straight games since Jan. 8, and junior guard Marcus Tyus has tallied a double-digit scoring total in nine of the last 10 contests since Dec. 10.
•Senior guard CJ Carter is averaging a team-high 16.2 points per game over the first five games of Summit League play, which is fifth among conference scorers. Overall, he is also fifth in the league for scoring with 15.6 ppg.
•UNO has five players who average 8.0 or more points per game, and eight different Mavericks have scored in double figures in at least one game.
•According to kenpom.com, UNO is third 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 75.6, behind only VMI (77.7) and Coppin State (76.3).
•When scoring 40 or more points in the first half, Omaha has gone 5-1 this season.
•Omaha has taken a 16-point lead in the first five minutes of play twice 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. In the last three years, Omaha is 17-6 when shooting .500 or better as a team, including a 4-1 this season.
•UNO has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds 10 of its 17 games: 26 vs. Central Arkansas, 11 at Seattle, 11 at Marquette, 15 at Air Force, 11 vs. Iowa Wesleyan, 17 at UMKC, 12 vs. Northern Colorado, 12 vs. UT Pan American, 16 at Chicago State, 13 at Western Illinois and 19 vs. South Dakota State.
•Since the 2012-13 season, Omaha is 19-13 when Carter scores 15 or more points in a game.
•This year, UNO is 4-1 when Patterson tallies 20 or more points.
•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 at Oral Roberts, 102-86
Omaha faced Oral Roberts on Wednesday night for the first time since joining the Summit League, falling 102-86 at the Mabee Center. Senior guard CJ Carter paced UNO with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting with a pair of threes. He added one rebound, three assists and two steals.

Senior forward Mike Rostampour also finished in double figures with 12 points, going 4-of-7 from the floor with a 2-of-2 effort behind the arc. Junior guard Marcus Tyus added another 11 points, shooting 4-of-6 with two 3-pointers, alongside four rebounds and a pair of assists.

Junior forward Jake White led the way on the glass, grabbing five boards with seven points and a blocked shot.

As a team, Omaha shot .532 (33-of-62) from the floor and .500 (8-of-16) from long range. Oral Roberts finished at .581 (36-of-62) for the night, including .526 (10-of-19) from three.

House of Carter
CJ Carter's position in UNO's record books has been rapidly rising during his senior season. He is eighth all-time for career assists (314), ninth in steals (130), 12th in 3-pointers made (122), 11th in scoring (1,278 points) and 10th for field goals made (450). On Jan. 14 at Oral Roberts, the Omaha native passed Bob Mackie (1951-55) and tied Stan Schaetzle (1953-57) on the scoring list, and he is now 31 points away from tying Thor Palamore (1987-91) for 10th.

Rebounds by Rostampour
Senior forward Mike Rostampour has been solid on the glass this year, as he ranks second the Summit League for rebounding. The West St. Paul, Minn., native is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game, up from his 6.0 rpg at this point last year.

Rostampour grabbed at least six boards in 11 consecutive games from Dec. 2 to Jan. 10, including his fifth double-digit rebound effort of the season with 13 vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 10).

White Out
Despite nagging injury issues to start the season, junior forward Jake White has been highly productive in the time he has seen on the court. Over eight appearances, including one start in the season opener, White has averaged 7.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranks second on the team. In those contests, he has had three double-figure scoring efforts and two double-figure rebounding performances, including a season-high 13 points at South Dakota (Jan. 2) and a season-best 11 boards twice, vs. Central Arkansas (Nov. 16) and at UMKC (Dec. 13).

Tyus On a Tear
Junior guard Marcus Tyus finished with a career-high 25 points at Western Illinois on Jan. 4, shooting 9-of-17 with a pair of threes. He scored in double figures in seven straight contests from Dec. 10 to Jan. 4, averaging 18.0 points per game in that span.

In UNO's last 10 games, Tyus has shot 51-of-97 (.526) from the floor, including 18-of-37 (.486) from long range. In the first seven games of the year, Tyus shot 23-55 (.418) overall and 7-of-20 (.350) behind the arc.

In Omaha's three-game start to conference play, Tyus has averaged a 14.4 points per game, up from his 11.8 ppg during the Mavericks' non-conference portion of the schedule.

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. It followed with wins over Nevada, 78-54 on Nov. 29, Iowa Wesleyan, 94-67 on Dec. 10, Northern Colorado, 92-82 on Dec. 17 and UT Pan American, 77-72 on Dec. 21. Last weekend, North Dakota State and South Dakota State dealt the Mavericks their first home losses of the season. UNO's average margin of victory at home is 9.9, and they score an average of 83.0 points per game.

Over three years at Ralston, Omaha has posted a home record of 23-12.

Terrific Trios
Senior guard CJ Carter and junior guards Devin Patterson and Marcus Tyus are the third-highest scoring trio in the Summit League this season. Their combined average of 40.7 points per game is behind only Oral Roberts' Obi Emegano, Kory Billbury and Bobby Word (41.8 ppg) and South Dakota's Tyler Larson, Brandon Bos and Casey Kasperbauer (42.4 ppg).

Individually, Carter ranks fifth in the conference with 15.6 ppg, while Patterson is 12th with 12.6 ppg. Additionally, Carter has 13 double-figure scoring games and has led Omaha in scoring six times, while Patterson owns seven double-digit scoring performances and has led the Mavericks in five games this year.

Stacking Up Nationally
The Mavericks have maintained their place the top 50 in the national statistical rankings, as Omaha's 78.5 points per game ranks 21st among Division I programs, and its 8.5 steals per game are 26th. UNO's 315 free throws made this year are also sixth in the country.

Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 14th with 2.4 steals per game.

Double-Double = Double-Trouble
Senior forward Mike Rostampour has accounted for Omaha's last six double-doubles, including three this season against Central Arkansas, Marquette and South Dakota State. UNO has gone 4-2 in the last two seasons when Rostampour registers a double-double, including 2-1 in 2014-15.
    
Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 24, hosting Denver. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be broadcast on 1620 The Zone with Gary Sharp and former Maverick Grant Nieland on the call. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.