This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team begins a three-game stretch this weekend to close the non-conference slate, traveling to Wyoming on Saturday, Dec. 19 as part of the Global Sports Classic. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.  (CT) at Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. 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.

Quick Hits
•UNO played its first game of the Global Sports Classic last Sunday, visiting Grand Canyon. The tournament finals will be held next week in Las Vegas.
•Omaha hit the century mark for the fourth time this season with its 108-104 overtime win at GCU on Dec. 13. Over the 11-year Derrin Hansen era, the Mavericks are a perfect 17-0 when scoring 100 points or more in a game.
•The Mavericks' 108 points at GCU were the most since scoring 113 vs. Missouri Southern on Feb. 25, 2010.
•UNO returns nine letterwinners from its 2014-15 team, including three starters in senior guards Marcus Tyus and Devin Patterson and sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman. Tyus, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last February, will redshirt this season.
•Patterson leads the team in scoring (16.2 ppg), while Thurman is first for rebounding (7.9 rpg). Four Mavericks average double-figure scoring: Patterson, Thurman (14.5 ppg), senior forward Jake White (15.8 ppg) and junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins (10.1 ppg).
•Hollins is the nation's leader in both steals (44) and steals per game (4.0).
•Eleven different Mavericks have had at least one double-figure scoring performance this season.
•UNO's top scorer off the bench is senior guard Tim Smallwood, who averages 6.5 points per 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 80.0 behind The Citadel (81.2).
•Omaha was picked seventh in the Summit League's preseason poll.

Scouting the Wyoming Cowboys
Wyoming brings a record of 6-4 (0-0 Mountain West) into Saturday's matchup with Omaha. The Cowboys last played Dec. 13 at New Mexico State, earning a 62-59 win behind a game-high 22 points from Josh Adams, who ranks fifth nationally in scoring. Head coach Larry Shyatt is in his sixth season at Wyoming with a record of 109-64 and an 11-year career mark of 179-184.

Saturday marks the second meeting between Omaha and Wyoming and the first in nearly 60 years. The Cowboys lead the all-time series 1-0, having won the last meeting 68-65 in 1956-57.

Last Time Out: Omaha Tops Simpson, 81-71
After three straight games on the road, Omaha returned home Wednesday night, defeating Simpson 81-71 at Baxter Arena. UNO had two players register double-doubles in the same game for the second time this season. Senior forward Jake White had a team-high 17 points with 11 rebounds, while sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman put up 10 points and a team-leading 14 boards. It marked the fourth double-double of the year for Thurman and the third for White.

Senior guard Kyler Erickson scored a career-high 13 points with two 3-pointers and pulled down a career-high-tying five rebounds. Senior guard Tim Smallwood rounded out the Mavericks' double-figure scorers, adding 10 points with a pair of threes.

As a team, Omaha shot 41 percent (30-of-73) from the floor, 29 percent 7-of-24) from three and 56 percent (14-of-25) at the line. Simpson finished at 40 percent from the field, 38 percent (15-of-39) from long range and 100 percent (2-of-2) at the stripe. The Mavericks outrebounded the Storm 56-33.

Man of Steal
Eleven games into the season, junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the nation in both total steals (44) and steals per game (4.0). Driven by his efforts on defense, Omaha as a team is fourth in the country for total steals (109) and ninth for steals per game (9.9).

Hollins has long been regarded for his defensive prowess and is no stranger to pacing the nation in steals, as he led the all players in the NJCAA with 4.1 swipes per game while playing at Central CC in 2013-14.

Two for 20
Omaha has had two scorers with 20 or more points on the same night twice this season: Dec. 6 at Montana State and Dec. 13 at Grand Canyon. At MSU, senior guard Devin Patterson tallied a career-high 38 and sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman notched 20. At GCU, Patterson accounted for 26, while senior forward Jake White had another 23.

Last season, the Mavericks had two 20-point scorers in the same game just once -- Nov. 22, 2014 in their road upset of Marquette, when Patterson had 26 points and CJ Carter had 25.

#euromavs: A Maverick Adventure to Italy
Omaha embarked on its first overseas training trip August 12-22 of this year with a tour of Italy, spending 11 days in three cities with four games against foreign competition. The Mavericks won all four contests, defeating All Star Varese 85-43, Stellazzurra 75-39, Isernia 107-31 and Luiss University 81-41. Sophomore forward Daniel Meyer (11.5 points per game), senior forward Jake White (10.0 ppg) and senior guard/forward Randy Reed II (10.0 ppg) all averaged double-figure scoring for the trip.

The team stayed in Milan, Florence and Rome, and sightseeing activities included a private boat tour at Lake Como, visits to the Duomo, the Accademia Museum, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella, the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain and tours of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Vatican.

League Leaders
Omaha leads the Summit League this season in nine statistical categories: points (975), points per game (88.6), field goals made per game (30.8), field goals attempted per game (66.9), free throws made per game (20.6), free throws attempted per game (28.0), offensive rebounds per game (12.7), total rebounds per game (41.4) and steals per game (9.9).

Individually, junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is first among all league players for assists (64) and steals (44). Sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman has a league-best 7.9 rebounds per game, and senior forward Jake White owns the conference's top field goal percentage (.602).

The Terrific Trio
Senior guard Devin Patterson, senior forward Jake White and sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman are the highest-scoring trio in the Summit League this season. Their combined average of 46.5 points per game is ahead of Oral Roberts' Obi Emegano, Jalen Bradley and Albert Owens (43.7).

Patterson is sixth in the conference with 16.2 ppg, while White is ninth (15.8 ppg) and Thurman is 12th (14.5 ppg).

Pitter Patterson
Senior guard Devin Patterson is known for his quickness, and the Portsmouth, Va., native led the Summit League in steals each of the last two seasons. Now 11 games into his senior season, he is 10th on the Omaha career steals list with 135 in two and a half seasons. Patterson's next hurdle is Thor Palamore (1987-91), who had 136 steals for ninth.

Patterson also joined the top 20 in school history for career assists in the opening weekend, and his total has risen to 236 in 15th place. His next target is Denny Johnston (2004-08), who owned 241 helpers.

After Sunday's game at Grand Canyon, Patterson pushed his career scoring total to 813 points, which is the most of any active Maverick. Patterson needs 187 points to become Omaha's 36th 1,000-point scorer.

Tracking Tre'Shawn
After 30 blocked shots to his credit as a freshman and nine more this season, sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman entered the top 20 in school history for career blocks on Nov. 25. The Omaha Central product is now 19th on the list.

Thurman started all but three games in his freshman season, becoming the first UNO freshman to earn a start since CJ Carter in 2011-12. Thurman finished with 18 points and a career-best five blocks against Nevada last year, the most blocks by any Maverick since Gabe Zweiner tallied five against Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 3, 2005.

Thurman followed his five blocks against the Wolf Pack with three at Kansas State, along with a career-high 19 points. He became the first player to have three or more blocks in back-to-back games since Jerry Bennett did so in 2007-08 with three apiece against North Dakota and Fort Lewis.

Thurman averaged 9.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in his debut season, tallying 14 double-digit scoring efforts.

Picking Up the Pace
Omaha ranks fifth nationally in scoring with 88.6 points per game, up from 79.8 ppg through the first 11 games last year. In its six wins this season over Saint Mary's, UMKC, Northern Colorado, Montana State, Grand Canyon and Simpson, UNO has averaged 98.8 points per contest, scoring 95 points or more in five of those games.

In their wins, the Mavs have also shot 49 percent (201-of-409) from the field, 34 percent (46-of-133) from long range and 78 percent (145-of-187) at the line, compared to 42 percent (138-of-327), 25 percent (24-of-98) and 68 percent (82-of-121), respectively, across their five losses.

White Out
In 2015-16, senior forward Jake White has taken a starting role and is one of four Mavericks averaging in double figures, credited for 15.8 points per game. He has scored in double figures in nine consecutive games, including a career-high 25 at Northern Colorado on Nov. 25. White owns a trio of double-double performances this season: Dec. 1 vs. Eastern Michigan (14 points/career-high 12 rebounds), Dec. 9 at Missouri (18 points/10 rebounds) and Dec. 16 vs. Simpson (17 points/11 rebounds).

Wiping Down the Offensive Glass
Omaha finished the 2014-15 season ranked second in the Summit League with 11.1 offensive boards per game, its highest average since head coach Derrin Hansen's first UNO team had 13.0 per game in 2005-06. Last year, the Mavericks tallied double-digit offensive rebounds in 62 percent (18 of 29) of their games, including a season-high 26 vs. Central Arkansas in the season opener.

This year, Omaha is up to 12.7 offensive boards per game, grabbing 10 or more in the eight out of the first 11 contests. The Mavericks have also averaged 14.2 second-chance points in that span.

Stacking Up Nationally
Through its first 11 games this season, UNO ranks second nationally for free throws made (227), third for free throw attempts (308), fourth for steals (109), sixth for scoring (88.6 ppg) and ninth for steals per game (9.9).

Individually, junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the nation in steals (44) and steals per game (4.0) and is 16th for total assists (64).

TT for a D-D
Sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman owns five of the last eight double-doubles of any Maverick after tallying his first at IUPUI on Feb. 28, 2014. He has added four more double-doubles this season: Nov. 17 vs. UMKC (career-high 30 points/11 rebounds), Nov. 27 at Minnesota (16 points/10 rebounds), Dec. 1 vs. Eastern Michigan (25 points/11 rebounds) and Dec. 16 vs. Simpson (10 points/career-high 14 rebounds).

Compared to the Opposition
One of the nation's top teams in steals per game, Omaha has equaled or tallied more steals than its opponent in all 11 contests this year. Over seven games UNO has:
    •More or equal steals compared to its opponent 11 times
    •Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent nine times
    •More or equal FT attempts compared to its opponent six times
    •More rebounds compared to its opponent six times
    •More or equal blocks compared to its opponent four times
    •More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent four times

Hansen Guides Mavericks in 11th Season
Head coach Derrin Hansen is in his 11th season at the helm of the Omaha men's basketball program in 2015-16, boasting a career record of 167-143 over his head coaching career. He took the job after serving as an assistant coach for seven years with former Maverick head coaches Kevin McKenna and Kevin Lehman. Hansen has the second-most victories of any coach in program history, behind only Bob Hanson.

Hansen has coached or assisted teams that have earned five trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, while also garnering two regular-season league titles and three tournament crowns. In 2007-08, his squad recorded a school-record 25 wins in its final season of North Central Conference play, and the Mavs won their final NCC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2004-05. In 2009-10, UNO earned an NCAA Tournament berth by capturing the MIAA Tournament crown in just its second year as a member of the league.

As a player at Nebraska Wesleyan, Hansen's 1988 squad advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals, and while serving as a student coach, the 1990 Plainsmen advanced to the final 16.

Hansen is assisted by assistant coaches Tyler Erwin, Pat Eberhart and James Miller.

2015-16 Slate Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2015-16 schedule includes 30 games, and the team will play in 13 states against schools from 10 other Division I conferences. The schedule has two opponents from both the WAC and the Big Sky and one each from the Big West, Pac-12, Big Ten, MAC, SEC, Mountain West, OVC and SWAC or MEAC. Two opponents – Wyoming and defending Summit League champion North Dakota State – played in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

The Mavericks have never faced seven of their opponents: UC Santa Barbara, Saint Mary's (Minn.), Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Montana State, Southern and North Carolina Central. They hold a combined all-time record of 164-191-2 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Monday, Dec. 21, facing Eastern Illinois in the Global Sports Classic. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT) at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nev., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Fans can stream the audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media' app “1620 The Zone,” and links to ­stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.