This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team opens a three-game homestand this week, welcoming South Dakota on Thursday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on 1180 Zone 2 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 South Dakota Coyotes
South Dakota brings a record of 11-14 (5-6 Summit League) to Ralston Arena this Thursday after falling 71-47 at North Dakota State last Saturday. Tre Burnette led the Coyotes with 10 points and six rebounds, as he was the only USD player to score in double figures.

Head coach Craig Smith is in his first year at South Dakota and holds an 11-14 mark at the school. Smith also carries a career mark of 83-43.

Thursday marks the 98th meeting between UNO and USD, with the Coyotes leading the all-time series, 52-45. The two teams last met on Jan. 2, when Omaha earned an 86-77 win in Vermillion, S.D. Omaha is 1-1 against South Dakota when playing at Ralston Arena.

Quick Hits
•Two Mavericks lead the Summit League in a statistical category: senior forward Mike Rostampour in offensive rebounds (66) and junior guard Devin Patterson in steals (47).
•Junior guard Marcus Tyus has tallied a double-digit scoring total in 14 of the last 16 contests since Dec. 10.
•Senior guard CJ Carter averages 18.7 points per game in Summit League play, which ranks second. For all games, he is third in the league for scoring with 17.0 ppg.
•Over the last three years, Omaha is 18-6 when shooting .500 or better as a team, including 5-2 this season.
•UNO has six players who average 7.0 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 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 74.7, behind only VMI (79.2).
•When scoring 40 or more points in the first half, Omaha has gone 5-1 this season.
•Since the 2012-13 season, Omaha is 20-16 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, free throws made per game and steals per game.
•The Mavericks were picked sixth in this year's Summit League preseason poll.

Last Time Out: Maverick Rally Falls Short in 88-74 Loss at Denver
Omaha closed out its conference roadtrip last Saturday, falling 88-74 to Denver at Magness Arena. UNO was led by a game-leading 20 points from senior guard CJ Carter, who finished 6-of-13 from the field with a pair of threes. Junior guard Marcus Tyus joined Carter in double figures with 19 points, as well as two rebounds, a game-high three steals and an assist.

Senior forward Mike Rostampour and junior forward Jake White each pulled down six boards to lead UNO, with Rostampour adding seven points and White chipping in eight of his own.

As a team, Omaha shot 25-of-52 (.481) from the floor, 4-of-12 (.333) from long range and 20-of-34 (.588) at the free throw line. Denver came in at a blistering 29-of-42 (.690) from the field, 8-of-16 (.500) beyond the arc and 22-of-27 (.815) at the line. The Mavericks outrebounded Denver, 26-23.

House of Carter
CJ Carter's position in UNO's record books has been rapidly rising during his senior season. He is sixth all-time for career scoring (1,403 points), seventh for assists (328), eighth for steals (137) and field goals made (496), 10th in 3-pointers made (137) and 19th for blocked shots (36).

On Feb. 7 at Denver, the Omaha native passed Mike Simons (1996-2000) and moved up to sixth on the scoring list, and he is now 54 points away from tying Phil Cartwright (1988-92) for fifth at 1,457 points.

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 17 times this year. Through 23 games Omaha has:
    •More or equal steals compared to its opponent 17 times
    •Less or equal turnovers compared to its opponent 16 times
    •Shot more or equal FT attempts compared to its opponent 15 times
    •More rebounds compared to its opponent 12 times
    •More or equal blocks compared to its opponent 10 times
    •More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent 10 times

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 7.5 rebounds per game, up from his 6.7 rpg at this point last year.

Rostampour grabbed at least six boards in 11 consecutive games from Dec. 2 to Jan. 10. He achieved his fourth double-double of the year -- and the seventh of his career -- at South Dakota State, finishing with a season-high-tying 18 points with 11 rebounds, which was also his sixth double-digit rebound effort of the season.

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 14 appearances, including three starts, White has averaged 7.1 points and 5.6 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).

White's scoring numbers have increased from 6.0 points per game in non-conference play to 7.4 points per game in Summit League contests.

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 16 games, Tyus has averaged 15.1 points per game and shot 81-of-158 (.513) from the floor, including 26-of-55 (.473) from long range. In the first seven games of the year, Tyus averaged 8.4 points per game and shot 23-55 (.418) overall and 7-of-20 (.350) behind the arc.

In conference play, Tyus has averaged a 14.5 points per game, up from his 11.8 ppg during the Mavericks' non-conference portion of the schedule.

While senior guard CJ Carter was the last Maverick to cross the 1,000 career points threshold, Tyus is the next UNO player on track to join the prestigious scoring club. Through Feb. 5, he has amassed 787 points in two and a half seasons.

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. Over three years at Ralston, Omaha has posted a home record of 24-14.

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. North Dakota State, South Dakota State and IUPUI dealt the Mavericks three straight losses before UNO earned an 80-69 win over Denver on Jan. 24. Last weekend, the Mavs returned home and took a 75-65 defeat at the hands of Fort Wayne. UNO's average margin of victory at home is 17.0, and they score an average of 81.0 points per game.

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.

Terrific Trios
Senior guard CJ Carter and junior guards Devin Patterson and Marcus Tyus are the highest scoring trio in the Summit League this season. Their combined average of 41.5 points per game is ahead of Oral Roberts' Obi Emegano, Kory Billbury and Denell Henderson (40.1) and North Dakota State's Lawrence Alexander, Kory Brown and AJ Jacobson (38.9).

Individually, Carter ranks third in the conference with 17.0 ppg, has 17 double-figure scoring games and has led Omaha in scoring nine times. Tyus is also 11th among league scorers (13.0 ppg), while Patterson is 14th (11.4 ppg).

Carter for Three
Senior guard CJ Carter has the most performances with multiple 3-pointers made of any Maverick this season. He has made at least two threes on at least 14 occasions, and his 43 total treys lead the team. Additionally, Carter hit 7-of-8 from long range on Jan. 18 in his 45-point scoring effort, a career best for both scoring and triples made.

Wiping Down the Offensive Glass
UNO has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds in 15 of its 23 games this year: 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, 19 vs. South Dakota State, 10 vs. Denver, 18 at South Dakota State, 11 at North Dakota State at 14 at Denver.

Only three other teams in the Summit League have had more games with double-digit offensive boards: South Dakota (20), IUPUI (17) and Oral Roberts (16).

Stacking Up Nationally
The Mavericks have maintained their place the top 50 in the national statistical rankings, as Omaha's 76.4 points per game ranks 24th among Division I programs, and its 8.2 steals per game are 23rd. UNO's 406 free throws made this year are also 12th in the country.

Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 17th with 2.2 steals per game.

Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 14, hosting Western Illinois. 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.