This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team returns to the road this week, visiting Denver on Thursday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT) at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo., 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 video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.

Quick Hits
•Omaha shares first place in the Summit League standings with Fort Wayne, as both teams are 4-1 in league play.
•The Mavericks saw their six-game win streak snapped by IPFW on Saturday. It was Omaha's most consecutive wins since winning seven straight from Jan. 29 to Feb. 19, 2011 and the longest streak of UNO's five-year Division I era.
•Omaha received votes for the second straight week in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The last time the Mavericks received votes in the poll was Jan. 13, 2013.
•UNO and IPFW combined for 207 points last Saturday, the most in any Summit League contest since December 2007.
•Four Mavericks average double-figure scoring: senior guard Devin Patterson (18.1 ppg), senior forward Jake White (16.5 ppg), sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman (14.7 ppg) and junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins (10.7 ppg).
•Hollins is the nation's leader in both steals (81) and steals per game (4.3).
•Patterson has 983 career points and needs just 17 to become Omaha's 36th 1,000-point scorer.
•In league action, Patterson paces the conference in points per game (24.2), points scored (121), free throws made (40) and field goals made (37).
•Eleven different Mavericks have had at least one double-figure scoring performance this season.
•According to kenpom.com, UNO is sixth nationally with an adjusted tempo of 77.7, 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 was picked seventh in the Summit League's preseason poll.

Scouting the Denver Pioneers
Denver carries a record of 10-9 (2-4 Summit League) into the week, coming off a 76-61 loss at IUPUI on Saturday. Joe Rosga led the Pioneers with 12 points.

Head coach Joe Scott is in his ninth season at Denver with a record of 140-125 and a career mark of 229-234 over 16 years. Thursday marks the seventh meeting between Omaha and DU, with the Pioneers leading the all-time series 5-1. Denver won the most recent matchup, 88-74, on Feb. 7, 2015 in Denver, Colo.

Last Time Out: Fort Wayne Edges Omaha 106-101 in OT
Omaha found itself in another position to rally late on Saturday but fell just short in its bid, dropping a 106-101 overtime decision to Fort Wayne at Baxter Arena. Two Mavericks registered double-double performances, as senior forward Jake White achieved one with team highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins added another -- the first of his career -- on season highs of 23 points and 13 assists. Hollins also tallied five rebounds and a season-best eight steals, the latter of which garnered him UNO's single-season record at 81 steals for the season.

Senior guard Devin Patterson also put up 24 points with three 3-pointers, and sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

As a team, Omaha shot 49 percent (38-of-78) from the field, 44 percent (10-of-23) from long range and 88 percent (15-of-17) at the line. Fort Wayne came in at 52 percent (39-of-75) from the floor, 55 percent (17-of-31) behind the arc and 92 percent (11-of-12) at the stripe. The Mastodons had the edge in rebounding (42-33) and blocks (8-2), while the Mavericks came out ahead in steals (11-8), assists (20-19) and turnovers forced (22-13).

Hollering About Hollins
Junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins had one of his finest games of the season vs. Fort Wayne last Saturday, finishing with season highs of 23 points, 13 assists and eight steals alongside five rebounds. He claimed Omaha's single-season steals record (81), breaking the previous mark of 80 set by Vernon Manning (1981-82).

Hollins' 13 assists were the third-highest single-game total in school history and the most since Andrew Bridger had 13 vs. Missouri Western on Jan. 2, 2010.

Hollins was also the first Omaha player in six years to record a double-double off points and assists. The last Maverick to do so was Bridger, who had 22 points and 16 assists vs. Missouri Southern on Feb. 25, 2010.

Production in the Paint
Omaha's production in the paint stood out vs. Fort Wayne on Saturday, as UNO posted a season-high-tying 50 points in the paint to match its total at Minnesota (Nov. 27). The Mavericks have averaged 36.8 points in the paint per game this year -- the most since 2009-10 (36.8) -- and when scoring 30 or more points in the lane, they are 11-4.

Man of Steal
Junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the nation in both total steals (81) and steals per game (4.3). Driven by his efforts on defense, Omaha as a team is also first in the country for total steals and seventh for steals per game.

If Hollins maintains his pace, he will become just the 12th Division I player to average 4.0 steals or more for a season. The last time it happened was 2002, when Alabama A&M's Desmond Cambridge averaged a nation-leading 5.52 spg and Providence's John Linehan had 4.48 spg.

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.

Stacking Up Nationally
Omaha is second in the nation in free throws made (382) and total steals (188), as well as third for scoring offense (85.9 ppg). The Mavericks are also fifth for steals per game (9.9), sixth for free throws attempted (515) and 15th for turnovers forced (16.6).

Individually, junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the nation in steals (81) and steals per game (4.3) and is 15th for assists (113) and 22nd for assists per game (5.9).

Two for 20
Omaha has had at least two scorers with 20 or more points on the same night five times this season and is 4-1 in those games. An astonishing four Mavericks were 20-point scorers on Jan. 16 vs. Fort Wayne, marking the first time that has occurred in the modern era.

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.

DP for Three
Senior guard Devin Patterson hit three 3-pointers vs. Fort Wayne on Saturday, becoming the Mavericks' active career leader in that category with 93 treys in three seasons. Patterson leads Omaha this year with 34 triples.

League Leaders
Omaha leads the Summit League in seven statistical categories: points (1,633), points per game (85.9), field goals made per game (30.0), field goal attempts per game (64.2), free throws made per game (20.1), free throws attempted per game (27.1) and steals per game (9.9).

Individually, junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is first among all league players for assists (113) and steals (81).

Close Calls
Omaha's seven losses have come by an average margin of just 4.1 points this year. The Mavericks have fallen by one (vs. UC Santa Barbara, at Wyoming), three (at Minnesota), five (at Colorado, vs. Fort Wayne) and seven (vs. Eastern Michigan, at Missouri).

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 49.3 points per game is over seven points ahead of the scoring average for the next trio on the list, Oral Roberts' Obi Emegano, Albert Owens and Jalen Bradley (42.2). Patterson is second among conference scorers with 18.1 ppg, while White is eighth (16.5) and Thurman is 10th (14.7 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. In the middle of his senior season, he ranks eighth on the Omaha career steals list with 149 in three years, tying former teammate CJ Carter (2011-15). Patterson's next hurdle is Vernon Manning (1978-82), who had 155.

Patterson also joined the top 20 in school history for career assists in the opening weekend, and his total has risen to 264 for 12th place. His next target is Thor Palamore (1987-91), who owned 276 helpers.

Additionally, Patterson has pushed his career scoring total to 983 points, which is the most of any active Maverick. Patterson needs 17 points to become Omaha's 36th 1,000-point scorer.

Tracking Tre'Shawn
After 30 blocked shots to his credit as a freshman and 24 more this season, sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman has made his way into the top 15 in school history for career blocks. The Omaha Central product is now 13th on the list, and his next target is Chris DeSpain (2002-06), who had 55 for 12th place.

Thurman put up five blocks at South Dakota on Jan. 9, matching his career high set against Nevada as a freshman.

Picking Up the Pace
Omaha ranks third nationally in scoring with 85.9 points per game, up from 78.8 ppg at this point of the season last year. In its 12 wins this season, UNO has averaged 89.6 points per contest, scoring 95 points or more in five of those games. In their wins, the Mavericks have also shot 49 percent from the field, 32 percent from long range and 76 percent at the line, compared to 43 percent, 29 percent and 70 percent, respectively, across their seven losses.

Bouncing Back
Omaha has shown the ability to bounce back from losses this season, going 4-1 in games that follow a defeat.

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 16.5 points per game. He has scored in double figures in all but three games. White owns a Summit League-best five double-double performances this season: Dec. 1 vs. Eastern Michigan (14 points/12 rebounds), Dec. 9 at Missouri (18 points/10 rebounds), Dec. 16 vs. Simpson (17 points/11 rebounds), Dec. 19 at Wyoming (17 points/career-high 13 rebounds) and Jan. 16 (career-high 26 points/11 rebounds).

White was named to the Global Sports Classic All-Tournament Team for his play over the four tournament games, Dec. 13-22. He averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, shooting 62 percent (26-of-42) from the field and 77 percent (23-of-30) at the line.

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 but one game this year. Over 19 games UNO has:
    •More or equal steals compared to its opponent 18 times
    •Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent 16 times
    •More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent 14 times
    •More rebounds compared to its opponent 10 times
    •More or equal blocks compared to its opponent nine times
    •More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent eight times

Hitting the Century Mark
Omaha hit the century mark for the fifth time this season in its 106-101 overtime loss to Fort Wayne on Jan. 16. Over the 11-year Derrin Hansen era, the Mavericks are 17-1 when scoring 100 points or more in a game.

#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.

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 173-145 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.

Entering the season, the Mavericks had never faced six of their opponents: UC Santa Barbara, Saint Mary's (Minn.), Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Montana State and Southern. They hold a combined all-time record of 170-193-2 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha returns to action Saturday, Jan. 23, traveling to Oral Roberts. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on KOIL 1290 AM. Fans can stream the audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “The Mighty 1290,” and links to ­stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.