This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team kicks off its final road trip of the season this week, traveling to Fort Wayne on Thursday, Feb. 26. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT), and the game will be broadcast live on 1180 Zone 2 with Gary Sharp 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 Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne carries a record of 15-12 (8-6 Summit League) into Thursday's game. The Mastodons last played on Saturday, falling 66-62 at North Dakota State. Joe Edwards led IPFW with 20 points and four 3-pointers, while Max Landis (13), Steve Forbes (12) and Mo Evans (10) also finished in double figures.

Jon Coffman is in his first year as head coach at Fort Wayne and holds a career record of 15-12.

Thursday marks the eighth meeting between Fort Wayne and Omaha, with IPFW leading the all-time series 6-1. The two teams last met on Jan. 31, when the Mastodons earned a 75-65 win at Ralston Arena. UNO's last triumph over Fort Wayne came on Jan. 31, 2013 with an 86-79 win at home.

Quick Hits
•Two Mavericks lead the Summit League in at least one statistical category: senior forward Mike Rostampour in offensive boards (79) and junior guard Devin Patterson in steals (52).
•Senior guard CJ Carter averages 18.1 points per game in Summit League play, which ranks second. He is also third in the league for overall scoring with 16.8 ppg.
•Junior guard Tim Smallwood has made three straight starts -- the first of his career -- taking the place of injured junior guard Marcus Tyus.
•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 (77.7).
•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 5-2 this season.
•Since the 2012-13 season, Omaha is 21-17 when Carter scores 15 or more points in a game.
•This year, UNO is 4-2 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: Oral Roberts Sneaks Past Mavericks, 81-78
Omaha closed the Ralston Arena era last Thursday, falling 81-78 to Oral Roberts. Junior guard Devin Patterson led the Mavericks with 23 points for his sixth 20-point performance of the season. The Portsmouth Va., native shot 6-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-3 from long range, and hit 9-of-10 at the free throw line.

Senior guard CJ Carter, playing the final home game of his career, contributed 18 points with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and added 11 points and a game-high three blocks. Junior forward Jake White also registered 11 points and had seven boards with a pair of assists, two steals and two blocks.

As a team, Omaha shot .441 (26-of-59) from the field to Oral Roberts' .419 (23-of-34), but ORU narrowly outrebounded the Mavericks, 40-38. UNO finished with 11 blocks for the night, the most of any Derrin Hansen-coached team and the highest total since the Mavericks had 10 against Augustana on Jan. 6, 2005.

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 (1,450 points), seventh for assists (335) and field goals made (513), eighth for steals (142), 10th in 3-pointers made (139) and 18th for blocked shots (39).

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 seven 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 19 times this year. Through 26 games Omaha has:
    •More or equal steals compared to its opponent 19 times
    •Less or equal turnovers compared to its opponent 19 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 12 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 ranks second in the Summit League for rebounds per game. The West St. Paul, Minn., native is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game, up from his 6.5 rpg at this point last year. Rostampour's scoring is also up to 10.3 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.

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 17 appearances, including three starts, White has averaged 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranks second on the team. In those contests, he has had four 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 7.6 points per game in Summit League contests.

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 41.8 points per game is ahead of Oral Roberts' Obi Emegano, Kory Billbury and Denell Henderson (40.6).

Individually, Carter ranks third in the conference with 16.8 ppg, has 19 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 (12.0).

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 45 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.

Tracking Tre'Shawn
Freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman has started 23 of 26 games this season, breaking into the starting five on Nov. 19 and becoming the first UNO freshman to earn a start since CJ Carter in 2011-12. Thurman finished with a season bests of 18 points and five blocks against Nevada on Nov. 29, 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 on Dec. 2. He is the first player to have three or more blocks in back-to-back games since Jerry Bennett did in 2007-08 with three apiece against North Dakota and Fort Lewis. He also led the Mavericks with a season-high nine rebounds at K-State.

Thurman has averaged 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in his debut season, tallying 11 double-digit scoring efforts.

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 22nd among Division I programs, and its 8.1 steals per game are 21st. UNO's 459 free throws made this year are also 24th in the country.

Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 20th with 2.2 steals per game.

Hansen Guides Mavericks in 10th Season
Head coach Derrin Hansen is in his 10th season at the helm of the Omaha men's basketball program in 2014-15, boasting a career record of 158-138 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, and Hansen hit the century mark for wins on Jan. 12, 2011.

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 Randall Herbst, Pat Eberhart and Tyler Erwin.

Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2014-15 schedule includes 29 games, and the team will play in 11 states across the country. The schedule also features games against three 2014 NCAA Tournament teams -- Kansas State, Nebraska and defending Summit League champion North Dakota State. In total, UNO will square off with opponents from seven other conferences.

The Mavericks have never faced two of their opponents: Marquette and Kansas State. They hold a combined all-time record of 190-239 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 28, traveling to IUPUI. Tipoff is set for Noon (CT) at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The radio broadcast will be available on 1620 The Zone with Gary Sharp on the call, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.