This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team closes the book on the 2014-15 season this week, traveling to North Dakota for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday, March 3. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D., and the game will be televised live on Fox Sports North Plus and Fox College Sports Pacific. Gary Sharp will also have the radio call on KOIL 1290 AM, and fans can stream the audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “The Mighty 1290 KOIL.” Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
    
Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota carries a record of 8-20 (4-13 Big Sky) into Tuesday's game. UND last played on Saturday at home, falling to Southern Utah, 71-65. Quinton Hooker led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while Jaron Nash pulled down a team-best five rebounds.

Brian Jones is in his ninth year as head coach in Grand Forks and holds a career record of 127-151.

Tuesday marks the 90th meeting between North Dakota and Omaha, with UND leading the all-time series 54-35 since 1934. The Mavericks have won six straight in the series dating back to both schools' days as members of the North Central Conference, and Omaha is 6-3 against North Dakota in the Derrin Hansen era.

UNO has won the only two meetings with both teams competing as Division I programs, the last of which came on March 19, 2014 in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), with the Mavs winning 91-75 at Ralston Arena. Omaha also won on Feb. 23, 2013 in the ESPN BracketBusters series at Ralston, 83-75.

Quick Hits
•Freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman achieved his first career double-double at IUPUI on Saturday with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
•Prior to Saturday's 87-80 double-overtime victory at IUPUI, Omaha's last win in overtime came on Dec. 11, 2012 against Northwest Missouri State, 85-80. UNO's last double overtime game was a 98-97 win over Augustana on Jan. 10, 2008.
•Two Mavericks lead the Summit League in at least one statistical category: senior forward Mike Rostampour in offensive boards (84) and junior guard Devin Patterson in steals (58).
•Senior guard CJ Carter averages 18.4 points per game in Summit League play, which ranks third. He is also third in the league for overall scoring with 17.1 ppg.
•Junior guard Tim Smallwood has made five straight starts -- the first of his career -- taking the place of injured junior guard Marcus Tyus. On Saturday at IUPUI, Smallwood had a career-high 15 points on a career-best five 3-pointers.
•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 74.0, behind only VMI (77.2) and Coppin State (74.1).
•When leading five minutes into a game, the Mavericks are 7-7 on the season. When leading with five minutes left in a game, Omaha is 11-2.
•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 nine 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 22-17 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.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Down IUPUI 87-80 in Double OT Thriller
Omaha pulled out a gritty double-overtime win Saturday afternoon, defeating IUPUI 87-80 at Indiana Fairgrounds Coliseum to close conference play. Senior guard CJ Carter led all scorers with 29 points alongside four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Six weeks ago, Carter also put up 45 points against the Jaguars, bringing his season scoring total to 74 in the season series with IUPUI.

Freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman achieved the first double-double of his young career, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds, as well as two helpers, a steal and a block. Junior guard Tim Smallwood led UNO's long range attack, posting 15 points by way of a career-high five 3-pointers, finishing 5-of-7 beyond the arc.

As a team, Omaha outshot IUPUI .462 (30-of-65) to .418 (28-of-67) from the floor, including .500 (10-of-20) from 3-point range to the Jags' .273 (3-of-11).

House of Carter's
CJ Carter's position in UNO's record books has been rapidly rising during his senior season. He is fifth all-time for career scoring (1,491 points), seventh for assists (340) and field goals made (530), eighth for steals (145), 10th in 3-pointers made (141) and 18th for blocked shots (40).

Last Thursday at Fort Wayne, the Omaha native passed Phil Cartwright (1988-92) and moved up to fifth on the scoring list, and he is 65 points away from tying Michael Jenkins (2005-09) for fourth at 1,556 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 21 times this year. Through 28 games Omaha has:
    •More or equal steals compared to its opponent 21 times
    •Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent 21 times
    •Shot more or equal FT attempts compared to its opponent 18 times
    •More rebounds compared to its opponent 13 times
    •More or equal blocks compared to its opponent 12 times
    •More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent 12 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 7.6 rebounds per game, up from his 7.5 rpg at this point last year. Rostampour's scoring is also up to 10.3 points per game from 9.2 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. It was 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 19 appearances, including three starts, White has averaged 7.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranks third 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 7.4 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 (41.5).

Individually, Carter ranks third in the conference with 17.1 ppg, has 21 double-figure scoring games and has led Omaha in scoring 11 times. Tyus is also 12th among league scorers with13.0 ppg, while Patterson is 15th (11.7).

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 15 occasions, and his 47 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 25 of 28 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.

Thurman has averaged 9.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in his debut season, tallying 13 double-digit scoring efforts. He achieved his first career double-double at IUPUI on Saturday, finishing with 14 points and 11 boards.

Wiping Down the Offensive Glass
UNO has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds in 17 of 28 (61 percent) 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, 10 vs. South Dakota and 10 at Fort Wayne.

Only three other teams in the Summit League have had more games with double-digit offensive boards: South Dakota (24), IUPUI (21) and Oral Roberts (19).

Stacking Up Nationally
The Mavericks have maintained their place the top 50 in the national statistical rankings, as Omaha's 76.6 points per game ranks 22nd among Division I programs, and its 8.1 steals per game are 22nd. UNO's 494 free throws made this year are also 20th in the country.

Individually, junior guard Devin Patterson is 14th 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 160-138 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 192-239 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its fourth and final year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2014-15 and its third as a member of the Summit League. UNO is ineligible for the Summit League Tournament and NCAA/NIT postseason play until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule through last transitional year. It is, however, eligible for the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) in the postseason. Omaha played in the first and second rebounds of the 2014 CIT, and it was the first reclassifying school to receive an at-large bid in the tournament's history.