This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team closes its three-game road swing this weekend, visiting Western Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 4. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Western Hall in Macomb, Ill. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and fans can also stream the audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “1620 The Zone.” Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
    
Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
Western Illinois carries a record 6-6 (1-0 Summit League) into Sunday's meeting after defeating preseason Summit League favorite Fort Wayne, 73-67 on Friday night. Jabari Sandifer led all scorers with a career-best 22 points, and Mohamed Conde finished with a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds. Garret Covington added 17 points, all in the second half, and Mike Miklusak had 11 points.

Head coach Billy Wright is in his first year at Western Illinois, and he holds a career coaching mark of 6-6.

Sunday marks the 13th meeting all-time between Western Illinois and Omaha, with the Leathernecks leading the all-time series, 8-4. The two teams last squared off on Feb. 8, 2014, with the Mavericks earning a 71-60 win at Ralston Arena.

Quick Hits
•Junior guard Kyler Erickson scored a career-high six points at South Dakota. He came off the bench to relieve Devin Patterson, hitting two key 3-pointers in the midst of Omaha's comeback run against the Coyotes.
•UNO's 57 points in the second half at USD were the most it has scored this season. The Mavericks are 3-0 when tallying 50 or more second-half points.
•Patterson leads the Summit League in steals (28) this season.
•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 75.4, behind only VMI's 78.4.
• When scoring 40 or more points in the first half, Omaha has gone 5-0 this season.
•The Mavericks have scored 20 or more points off turnovers in five of their 12 games so far.
•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 17-5 when shooting .500 or better as a team, including a perfect 4-0 this season.
•UNO has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds eight of its 13 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 and 16 at Chicago State.
•Since the 2012-13 season, Omaha is 19-11 when senior guard CJ Carter scores 15 or more points in a game.
•This year, UNO is 4-1 when Patterson tallies 20 or more points.
•The Mavericks have hit at least three 3-pointers in 66 consecutive contests since Dec. 9, 2012.
•Omaha leads the Summit League in points per game, field goals made per game, rebounding margin and steals per game.
•The Mavericks were picked sixth in this year's Summit League preseason poll.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Rally to Defeat South Dakota, 86-77
Omaha rallied for a gritty road triumph to open conference play on Friday night, defeating South Dakota 86-77 at the DakotaDome. Senior guard CJ Carter led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, shooting 10-of-23 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers. The Omaha Benson product added two rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block for the night.

Junior guard Marcus Tyus added 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting, along with two boards, two assists and three steals. Junior forward Jake White also scored in double figures, totaling 13 points with eight caroms, a block and a steal, and senior forward Mike Rostampour finished with 10 points, six rebounds, an assist and a block.

Freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman posted his second straight double-figure rebound performance, pulling down a game-high-tying 12 boards. Thurman added six points, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

As a team, Omaha shot 29-of-61 (.475) to South Dakota's 28-of-70 (.400). The Coyotes hit 10 threes for the night, including eight in the first half alone. The two teams were identical in rebounding, 38-38, and the Mavericks forced 13 USD turnovers while committing a season-low nine of their own.

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 (306), 10th in steals (124), 13th in 3-pointers made (117), 13th in scoring (1,221 points) and 16th for field goals made (431). On Dec. 29 at Chicago State, the Omaha native passed former Maverick Jim Gregory (1977-81) on the scoring list, and he is now 33 points away from tying Bob Mackie (1951-55) for 12th.

Terrific Twosome Tearing It Up
Senior guard CJ Carter and junior guard Devin Patterson are the third-highest scoring duo in the Summit League this season. Their combined average of 29.7 points per game is behind only South Dakota's Brandon Bos and Tyler Larson (32.4 ppg) and Oral Roberts' Obi Emegano and Korey Billbury (30.8 ppg).

Individually, Carter ranks fourth in the conference with 16.1 ppg, while Patterson is ninth with 13.6 ppg. Additionally, Carter has 10 double-figure scoring games and has led Omaha in scoring five times, while Patterson owns seven double-digit scoring performances and has led the Mavericks in five games this year.

Rebounds by Rostampour
Senior forward Mike Rostampour is second in the Summit League for rebounding this season. The West St. Paul, Minn., native is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, up from his 5.5 rpg at this point last year.

Rostampour has grabbed at least six boards in each of the last eight games, including his third double-digit rebound effort of the season with 11 vs. Northern Colorado (Dec. 17).

Stacking Up Nationally
The Mavericks have maintained their place the top 50 in the national statistical rankings, as Omaha's 79.2 points per game ranks 24th among Division I programs, and its 8.9 steals per game are 22nd. Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 24th with 2.3 steals per game.

Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 8, hosting North Dakota State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be televised live on ESPN3 and Midco. Gary Sharp and former Maverick Grant Nieland will also have the radio call of the game on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as Ralston Arena will offer $1 beers, sodas and hot dogs for one hour prior to tipoff.