This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team visits Iowa this Saturday, Dec. 3 in the third stop of a four-game road swing. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, and the game will be broadcast live on BTN Plus on BTN2GO with Zach Mackey on play-by-play, Jess Settles providing color commentary and Taylor Brooks on the sideline. Gary Sharp will also have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and fans can stream audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “1620 The Zone.” Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
•Omaha plays its sixth road game of the season Saturday at Iowa.
•The Mavericks are 0-11 all-time against Big Ten teams -- 0-1 vs. Illinois, 0-2 vs. Iowa, 0-1 vs. Michigan State, 0-2 vs. Minnesota, 0-3 vs. Nebraska and 0-2 vs. Wisconsin.
•Four of Omaha's starters average double-figure scoring: junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman (13.9 ppg), sophomore guard Zach Jackson (12.0 ppg) and senior guards Tra-Deon Hollins (11.1 ppg) and Marcus Tyus (10.9).
•Over their careers, Hollins and Thurman have both averaged at least 12 points per game, notching at 12.3 ppg and 12.0 ppg, respectively.
•Omaha capped the 2015-16 season at 18-14 overall and 10-6 in the Summit League, finishing third in the conference standings. The Mavericks were picked fourth in the league's 2016-17 preseason poll last month.
•Hollins and Thurman were both named Preseason All-Summit, with Hollins on the first team and Thurman on the second team.
•Hollins was the nation's leader in both steals (127) and steals per game (3.9) as a junior.
•Senior guard Marcus Tyus has returned to the lineup after redshirting in 2015-16. Previously, Tyus had not played in a game since Feb. 7, 2015 at Denver, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
•UNO lost five letterwinners from 2015-16, including second-team All-Summit performers in guard Devin Patterson and forward Jake White.
•Omaha was a perfect 10-0 when shooting 50 percent or better last year. This year, the Mavericks are 1-1.
•Eight different Mavericks have scored in double figures over the first seven games this year.
•Thurman registered his third double-double of the year Wednesday at Cal State Fullerton. In games with a Thurman double-double over the last three years, Omaha is 5-4.
Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa is 3-4 (0-0 Big Ten) on the year after a 92-78 loss at Notre Dame on Tuesday. Jordan Bohannon led the Hawkeyes with 23 points on seven 3-pointers, while Nicholas Baer grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
Iowa's leading scorer is Peter Jok, who ranks fifth nationally with 23.9 points per game as well as 10th for 3-pointers per game (3.7), 11th for 3-pointers made (26) and 14th for total points (167). Jok scored 42 points last Saturday vs. Memphis, the most by any Hawkeye player in four decades.
Head coach Fran McCaffery is in his seventh year at Iowa, carrying a record of 121-90 and a career mark of 372-267.
Saturday's game is the third meeting all-time between Omaha and Iowa. The Hawkeyes won the last matchup 83-75 on Nov. 10, 2013 in Iowa City. Marcus Tyus is the only current Maverick to have played in that game, posting five points, a rebound and a steal.
Last Time Out: Thurman, Hollins Key Omaha Past CSU Fullerton, 83-73
Omaha picked up a key road win Wednesday night on the backs of Omaha Central duo Tre'Shawn Thurman and Tra-Deon Hollins, defeating Cal State Fullerton 83-73 at Titan Gym. Thurman, a junior forward, recorded his second straight double-double -- and his third of the season -- with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Hollins, a senior guard, added a game-high and season-best 20 points along with six boards, four assists and four steals. He hit 5-of-10 from the field and was a flawless 8-of-8 at the free throw line.
Sophomore guard Zach Jackson also tallied in double figures, finishing with 12 points on perfect 10-of-10 shooting at the line as well as five rebounds. Senior guard Marcus Tyus also had 10 points, firing in 4-of-7.
As a team, Omaha shot .419 (26-of-62) to CSUF's .435 (27-of-62) but finished at a .926 (25-of-27) clip at the line, ahead of the Titans' .458 (11-of-24). The Mavericks also had the advantage on the boards, outrebounding Fullerton 46-35.
Road Warriors
Omaha has played five of its first seven games on the road this season, with trips to UC Santa Barbara, USC, Kansas State, Eastern Michigan and Cal State Fullerton. In total, the Mavericks will have traveled 13,483 miles by tipoff Saturday at Iowa.
Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman has led the charge for Omaha in road battles. At home, he has averaged 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game; in away contests, he has doubled his scoring to 16.2 points per game and tripled his performance on the glass to 9.2 rebounds per game.
On the road, Omaha is an .846 free throw shooting team, up from .649 at home. The Mavericks also average 38.0 rebounds per game in away games compared to 33.0 at Baxter Arena.
Solid at the Stripe
Omaha has been solid at the free throw line this season, hitting at a .782 clip. The Mavericks have shot below .700 just once, and they have fired at over .900 in each of the last two games -- .923 (24-of-26) at Eastern Michigan last Saturday and .926 (25-of-27) at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday.
The last time a Maverick team shot .900 or better at the stripe in back-to-back games was 2007-08 vs. York College (.926 on Jan. 12, 2008) and Nebraska-Kearney (.900 on Jan. 14, 2008).
Tyus on Track
Though he entered the 2016-17 season having not played a game since Feb. 7, 2015, senior guard Marcus Tyus is the next Omaha player on track to join the prestigious 1,000-Point Club. Over four active seasons (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2016-17), he has amassed 863 career points. If he reaches 1,000, Tyus will be the 37th UNO player to achieve the feat.
Omaha's active career leader for 3-pointers, Tyus is 15th on the Mavericks' career triples chart. His career total of 102 sits behind Devin Patterson (2013-16), who had 116.
Tracking Tre'Shawn
After 30 blocked shots to his credit as a freshman and 35 more as a sophomore, junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman made his way into the top 10 in school history with 65 career blocks. Midway into the 2016-17 campaign, the Omaha Central product now sits at seventh on the list with 72, and his next hurdle is Matt Hagerbaumer (2010-14), who had 79 for sixth.
Thurman's 35 blocks in 2015-16 were the 10th-highest single-season mark in school history, and the total ranked him third in the Summit League. His 21 blocks in league play were also the second-most of any league player last year.
Action Jackson
Sophomore guard Zach Jackson is second on the team for scoring and rebounding with 12.0 points and 4.9 boards per game this season. In Omaha's season opener Nov. 12 at UCSB, he scored 14 points and pulled down a career-best and game-high eight rebounds, then matched the rebounding performance Nov. 15 at Kansas State with eight more. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season -- including his latest with a career-high 18 points at Eastern Michigan on Nov. 26.
Jackson started 24 games in his freshman campaign in 2015-16, averaging 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest. A native of Wichita, Kan., he scored in double figures twice, first notching 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting vs. Saint Mary's, then 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting at Montana State.
Jackson was the first Omaha freshman to start a season opener since CJ Carter in 2011. Jackson also had the distinction of making the first basket in Baxter Arena history, nailing a jumper 52 seconds into last year's season opener vs. UC Santa Barbara.
Feelin' Hahn, Hahn, Hahn
Sophomore forward Mitch Hahn is averaging 8.3 points per game, the most of any Maverick coming off the bench.
The Fremont, Neb., native had an impressive debut Nov. 12 at UC Santa Barbara, leading all scorers with 15 points in reserve with five 3-pointers. Hahn was the first Maverick to knock down at least five triples in a season opener since former Maverick Jeff Martin did so in 2009-10.
Hahn matched his season best of 15 points Nov. 19 vs. Rice, shooting 5-of-7 with two 3-pointers. He now holds the team lead for threes made this season with 12.
Looking to the Bench
Omaha's bench outscored Buena Vista's bench 60-28 on Nov. 22. The last time the Mavericks' bench enjoyed a scoring margin of 30 or more was March 1, 2014, when UNO outscored Fort Wayne's reserves 59-26.
The 2016-17 Mavericks are averaging 29.3 points per game by bench scorers, the highest of any Derrin Hansen-coached team. The next highest average is courtesy of the 2013-14 squad, which had 24.9 bench points per game.
Erickson Granted Sixth Year of Eligibility by NCAA
Senior guard Kyler Erickson was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA to play in 2016-17, it was announced in May. The waiver was granted after the university submitted a request for an extension of eligibility beyond Erickson's five-year window.
Erickson began his collegiate career at Northwest Missouri State, redshirting in 2011-12 before playing the 2012-13 season. Upon transferring to UNO, he sat out the 2013-14 season in compliance with the NCAA's one-year residency requirement for transfers. Erickson then played in 2014-15 and 2015-16 for the Mavericks, moving into a starting role in the middle of the latter season.
As a senior at Millard South High School, Erickson had witnessed a shooting in his school's administration office on Jan. 5, 2011. Nearly a year and a half later, he suffered the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and since undergoing successful treatment, he has become a vocal advocate encouraging others to seek assistance for mental health issues. Erickson runs a website, KylerErickson.com, that details his story, and his videos have garnered widespread attention with over 120,000 views in 114 countries. Erickson's message of “turning tragedy into testimony” encourages people in all walks of life to confront mental health challenges they may be facing.
For his dedication to community service, Erickson was named to the 2016 Allstate NABC Good Works team. Over the last five years, he has served as a speaker, member and volunteer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and spoken to over 20 elementary, middle and high schools in Omaha and San Diego. He also starred in an episode of “The Harbor TV,” a hope-filled homeroom program for high schools across the country and has mentored several mentally ill students and residents in the Omaha area. Additionally, Erickson has volunteered with multiple local charities, organizations and schools.
Welcome to the Good Life
Omaha's roster includes six players from the state of Nebraska: senior guards Tra-Deon Hollins and Kyler Erickson, junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman, junior guard Alex Allbery, sophomore forward Mitch Hahn and redshirt freshman forward Ben Kositzke. Hollins, Erickson and Thurman -- all three Omaha natives -- tote previous starting experience, as Hollins and Thurman started every game in 2015-16, and Erickson got the nod in the last seven games of the year.
Stacking Up Nationally
As a team, Omaha ranks 16th nationally for free throw percentage (.782) and 38th for free throws made (136).
Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is fifth among Division I players for total steals (21), sixth for steals per game (3.0), 14th for assists per game (6.4) and 15th for total assists (45). Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman is 27th for double-doubles (three).
League Leaders
As a team, Omaha is the Summit League's leader in free throws made per game (19.4). Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the league in steals (21) for the second straight year.
Compared to the Opposition
Over the first seven contests of the 2016-17 season, Omaha has:
•More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent three times
•More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent five times
•More rebounds compared to its opponent three times
•More or equal steals compared to its opponent two times
•Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent four times
•More or equal blocks compared to its opponent three times
History-Making Hollins
Junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is Omaha's all-time single-season steals leader, and he joined the top 20 for career steals on Feb. 6, 2016. Hollins moved up to 10th in school history Nov. 19 vs. Rice and now has a career total of 148 swipes.
Hollins' 196 assists last season were also the second-highest single-season mark in school history. He broke into the all-time top 20 for assists Nov. 19 vs. Rice and has since moved up to tie for 16th with Denny Johnston (2004-08), who also had 241 helpers.
Hollins had one of his finest performances of the 2015-16 season vs. Fort Wayne on Jan. 16, 2016, finishing with 23 points, a season-high 13 assists and a season-best eight steals alongside five rebounds. He claimed Omaha's single-season steals record (then 81) in the game, clearing the previous mark of 80 set by Vernon Manning (1981-82). Hollins was also the first Omaha player in six years to record a double-double off points and assists.
Bouncing Back
Omaha showed the ability to bounce back from losses last season, going 8-4 in games that followed a defeat. The Maverick offense also came back with a vengeance in those games, averaging 92.8 points per game in the next contest after a loss. This season, UNO is 2-2 after a loss and averages 87.5 points in those games.
2016-17 Slate = Tough Test for Mavericks
Omaha's 2016-17 schedule includes 29 games, and the team will play in 13 states against schools from nine other Division I conferences. The schedule has two opponents from both the Big 12 and Big West and one each from the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC, Conference USA, MAC, Big Sky and WAC. Five opponents – USC, Iowa, Iowa State, Pitt and defending Summit League champion South Dakota State – played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
The 2016-17 season also features four opponents the Mavericks have never faced: USC, Rice, Cal State Fullerton and Pitt. They now hold a combined all-time record of 135-174 over all teams on the regular-season slate.
Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Monday, Dec. 5, visiting Iowa State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
