This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team hosts another nationally-broadcast game this weekend, welcoming South Dakota State on Saturday, Jan. 10. Tipoff is set for 4:35 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be available on ESPN3, ESPN Full Court and Midco with Tom Nieman on play-by-play and Brad Newitt providing color commentary. Fans may access the broadcast on television with ESPN Full Court and/or Midco, online at WatchESPN.com and with the WatchESPN app.
Gary Sharp and former Maverick Grant Nieland will also have the radio call on 1620 The Zone, and fans can 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.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as Ralston Arena will offer $1 beers, sodas and hot dogs for the hour prior to tipoff.
Scouting the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
South Dakota State carries a record of 10-7 (1-2 Summit League) into Saturday's meeting after defeating Western Illinois on Wednesday, 75-44. George Marshall led the Jackrabbits with 17 points, while Cody Larson and Deondre Parks each had 14. Larson also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds.
Head coach Scott Nagy is in his 20th year at South Dakota State, and he holds a career coaching mark of 360-221.
Saturday marks the 82nd meeting all-time between Omaha and SDSU, and the Jacks lead the series, 49-32. The last meeting of the two teams was Feb. 13, 2014, when SDSU earned a 77-60 win at Ralston Arena. UNO's last win over South Dakota State came on Jan. 18, 2014 with an 80-71 triumph at Frost Arena.
Quick Hits
•Omaha committed a season-low eight turnovers on Thursday night against North Dakota State.
•Senior guard CJ Carter is averaging a team-high 18.7 points per game over the first three games of Summit League play, which is third among conference scorers. Overall, he is fourth in the league for scoring with 16.1 ppg.
•Senior forward Mike Rostampour leads the Summit League in offensive rebounds (43) this season.
•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 75.2, behind only VMI (77.8) and Coppin State (76.1).
•When scoring 40 or more points in the first half, Omaha has gone 5-0 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 17-5 when shooting .500 or better as a team, including a perfect 4-0 this season.
•UNO has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds nine of its 14 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 and 13 at Western Illinois.
•Since the 2012-13 season, Omaha is 19-12 when 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 68 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: Bison Deal Mavericks 75-72 League Loss
Omaha hosted its first conference home game Thursday night, falling 75-72 to North Dakota State at Ralston Arena in its first home loss of the year. Senior forward Mike Rostampour and freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman led the Mavs with 18 points apiece. Thurman pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, and Rostampour added another six.
Senior guard CJ Carter also finished in double figures with 14 points, and junior guard Devin Patterson chipped in 11 points with seven assists and two steals.
As a team, Omaha shot 21-of-63 (.333) from the floor, 7-of-21 (.333) from long range and 23-of-27 (.852) at the line. North Dakota State came in at 23-of-44 (.523) from the field, 5-of-15 (.333) behind the arc and 24-of-27 (.889) in free throwing shooting. The Bison outrebounded UNO, 34-25, but committed 20 turnovers to Omaha's season-low eight.
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 eight games, Tyus has shot 44-of-84 (.524) from the floor, including 16-of-33 (.485) 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 16.7 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. They followed up 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 before North Dakota State dealt them their first loss on Thursday night. The Mavericks' average margin of victory at home is 14.7, and they score an average of 85.5 points per game.
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 (310), 10th in steals (128), 13th in 3-pointers made (120), 13th in scoring (1,253 points) and 13th for field goals made (440). On Dec. 29 at Chicago State, the Omaha native passed former Maverick Jim Gregory (1977-81) on the scoring list, and he is now one point away from tying Bob Mackie (1951-55) for 12th.
Terrific Twosome
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 29.5 points per game is behind only South Dakota's Brandon Bos and Tyler Larson (32.0 ppg) and Oral Roberts' Obi Emegano and Korey Billbury (30.9 ppg).
Individually, Carter ranks fourth in the conference with 16.1 ppg, while Patterson is 10th with 13.4 ppg. Additionally, Carter has 12 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 7.6 rebounds per game, up from his 6.1 rpg at this point last year.
Rostampour has grabbed at least six boards in each of the last 10 games, including his fourth double-digit rebound effort of the season with 10 at Western Illinois (Jan. 4).
Stacking Up Nationally
The Mavericks have maintained their place the top 50 in the national statistical rankings, as Omaha's 78.7 points per game ranks 22nd among Division I programs, and its 8.7 steals per game are 24th. UNO's 272 free throws made this year are also 11th in the country.
Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 25th with 2.3 steals per game.
Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 14, traveling to Oral Roberts. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla., and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3. Gary Sharp 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.
