This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team closes the Ralston Arena era with its home finale this week, hosting Oral Roberts on Thursday, Feb. 19. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be the Mavericks' final contest at Ralston before they move into their new facility next season. Action 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.

Fans are also encouraged to arrive early, as Ralston Arena will offer $1 beers, sodas and hot dogs for one hour prior to tipoff. UNO will also honor its seniors, CJ Carter and Mike Rostampour, with Senior Night festivities before the game.
    
Scouting the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts carries a record of 14-12 (7-5 Summit League) into Thursday's game. The Golden Eagles last played on Saturday, falling 83-70 to South Dakota. Obi Emegano led ORU with 19 points, and Korey Billbury added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Scott Sutton is in his 16th year as head coach at Oral Roberts and holds a career record of 301-205.

Saturday will be the fourth all-time meeting between Oral Roberts and Omaha, with the Golden Eagles holding a 3-0 advantage. In the last clash on Jan. 14, Oral Roberts earned a 102-86 win in Tulsa, Okla. Thursday marks the first time ORU will visit Ralston Arena.

Quick Hits
•Junior guard Tim Smallwood has made two straight starts -- the first of his career -- taking the place of injured junior guard Marcus Tyus.
•Two Mavericks lead the Summit League in at least one statistical category: senior forward Mike Rostampour in rebounds per game (7.8) and offensive boards (77) and junior guard Devin Patterson in steals (51).
•Senior guard CJ Carter averages 18.1 points per game in Summit League play, which ranks third. He is also third in the league for overall scoring with 16.8 ppg.
•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 74.3, tied with Coppin State and behind only VMI (78.1).
•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.
•When scoring 40 or more points in the first half, Omaha has gone 5-1 this season.
•Since the 2012-13 season, Omaha is 21-16 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: Omaha Dominant in 77-58 Win Over Western Illinois
Omaha put together a balanced team performance on Saturday afternoon, snapping a five-game losing streak with a commanding 77-58 win over Western Illinois at Ralston Arena. Three Mavericks scored in double figures, led by 20 points from senior guard CJ Carter. He finished a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line and added four rebounds, three steals, two assists and a blocked shot. Senior forward Mike Rostampour tallied 12 points with eight rebounds, a steal and a block, and junior guard Devin Patterson totaled 13 points, four boards, three assists and a steal.

Junior forward Jake White also matched Rostampour on the glass, pulling down eight rebounds with seven points and an assist.

Omaha shot 28-of-66 (.424) as a team, improving from 10-of-33 (.303) in the first half to 18-of-33 (.545) in the final 20 minutes, while Western Illinois came in at a 21-of-60 (.350) clip from the floor. The Mavericks committed just nine turnovers for the game while forcing 16 Leatherneck miscues.

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 (1,432 points), seventh for assists (333), eighth for steals (140) and field goals made (505), 10th in 3-pointers made (138) and 19th for blocked shots (37).

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 25 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 18 times this year. Through 25 games Omaha has:
    •More or equal steals compared to its opponent 18 times
    •Less or equal turnovers compared to its opponent 18 times
    •Shot more or equal FT attempts compared to its opponent 17 times
    •More rebounds compared to its opponent 12 times
    •More or equal blocks compared to its opponent 11 times
    •More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent 11 times

Rebounds by Rostampour
Senior forward Mike Rostampour has been solid on the glass this year, as he is the Summit League's leading rebounder. The West St. Paul, Minn., native is averaging 7.8 rebounds per game, up from his 6.6 rpg at this point last year. Rostampour's scoring is also up to 10.7 points per game from 8.2 ppg last season.

Rostampour grabbed at least six boards in 11 consecutive games from Dec. 2 to Jan. 10. He achieved his fifth double-double of the year -- and the eighth of his career -- against South Dakota on Feb. 12, finishing with a career-high-tying 24 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, which was also his seventh double-digit rebound effort of the season.

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 25-15.

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. The Mavericks' last home win came last Saturday against Western Illinois, 77-58. UNO's average margin of victory at home is 17.3, and they score an average of 80.0 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 41.3 points per game is just ahead of Oral Roberts' Obi Emegano, Korey Billbury and Denell Henderson (41.1).

Individually, Carter ranks third in the conference with 16.8 ppg, has 18 double-figure scoring games and has led Omaha in scoring 10 times. Tyus is also 12th among league scorers with13.0 ppg, while Patterson is 13th (11.5 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 44 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.

Stacking Up Nationally
The Mavericks have maintained their place the top 50 in the national statistical rankings, as Omaha's 76.3 points per game ranks 24th among Division I programs, and its 8.2 steals per game are 20th. UNO's 437 free throws made this year are also 14th in the country.

Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 18th with 2.2 steals per game.

Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 26, traveling to Fort Wayne. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT) in Fort Wayne, Ind., and the game will be broadcast on 1180 Zone 2 with Gary Sharp on the call. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.