This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team concludes non-conference play this Wednesday, Dec. 21, visiting Pitt. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., and the game will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra with Jeff Hatthorn on play-by-play and Curtis Aiken providing color commentary. 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
•Wednesday's game at Pitt marks the first time Omaha will square off with a team from the ACC.
•Omaha's Sunday victory over Cal State Fullerton marked the third straight game in which the Mavericks rallied for a win after trailing at the half and also put them on a three-game win streak.
•Four of Omaha's starters average double-figure scoring: junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman (14.0 ppg), senior guard Marcus Tyus (13.4 ppg), sophomore guard Zach Jackson (12.8 ppg) and senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins (11.0 ppg).
•Sophomore center Zach Pirog made his first career start Sunday vs. Cal State Fullerton.
•Over their careers, Thurman and Hollins have both averaged at least 12 points per game, notching at 12.2 ppg and 12.1 ppg, respectively.
•Thurman needs just nine rebounds to join the top 20 in school history for career caroms.
•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.
•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 2-1.
•Eight different Mavericks have scored in double figures over the first 12 games this year.
•Thurman registered his team-leading fourth double-double of the year Sunday vs. Cal State Fullerton. In games with a Thurman double-double over the last three seasons, Omaha is 6-4.

Scouting the Pitt Panthers
Pitt is 9-2 (0-0 ACC) on the year following an 83-73 home win over Rice on Dec. 17, when Jamel Artis scored a season-high 31 points and Ryan Luther added 20 points and seven rebounds. Artis and Michael Young both average over 20 points for the Panthers, notching at 20.1 ppg and 22.0 ppg, respectively.

Head coach Kevin Stallings is in his first season at Pitt and carries a record of 9-2 and a career mark of 455-283 over 24 years.

Wednesday's meeting marks the first meeting all-time between Omaha and Pitt.

Last Time Out: Omaha Outlasts Cal State Fullerton in OT, 102-96
Omaha swept its non-conference series with Cal State Fullerton Sunday afternoon, outlasting the Titans 102-96 in overtime at Baxter Arena. Two Mavericks had double-double performances -- senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins with team highs of 20 points and 10 assists along with eight rebounds, three steals and a block, as well as junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman with 15 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, an assist and a block.

Three other Mavericks scored in double figures: sophomore guard Zach Jackson (19), sophomore forward Mitch Hahn (18) and senior guard Marcus Tyus (16). Jackson had a trio of 3-pointers and added five rebounds, while Hahn's scoring total was a season high, helped by a perfect 10-of-10 showing at the free throw line.

Cal State Fullerton got a double-double from Davon Clare on 11 points and 12 rebounds. Lionheart Leslie scored a game-high 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting, while Austen Awosika added 15 points and Dwight Ramos had 13.

CSUF shot .480 (36-of-75) from the field, .444 (8-of-18) from long range and .667 (16-of-24) at the free throw line. Omaha finished at a .433 (29-of-67) clip from the floor, .417 (10-of-24) from distance and .791 (34-of-43) at the stripe. The Titans had the edge in rebounding, 48-36.

Double the Trouble, Double the Fun
Senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins (20 points/10 assists) and junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman (15 points/12 rebounds) both had double-doubles last Sunday vs. Cal State Fullerton. It marked the first time this season UNO had two double-doubles in a single game.

In 2015-16, Omaha had three such showings, with double-doubles from two Mavericks vs. Fort Wayne (Jan. 16, 2016), vs. Simpson (Dec. 16, 2015) and vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 1, 2015).

Road Warriors
Omaha has played seven of its first 12 games on the road this season, with trips to UC Santa Barbara, USC, Kansas State, Eastern Michigan, Cal State Fullerton, Iowa, Iowa State and UMKC. The Mavericks will have traveled 15,490 miles by tipoff Wednesday night at Pitt.

Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman has led the charge for Omaha in road battles, averaging 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

On the road, Omaha is a .790 free throw shooting team, up from .724 at home. The Mavericks also average 38.4 rebounds per game in away games compared to 33.2 at Baxter Arena.

Solid at the Stripe
Omaha has been strong at the free throw line this season, hitting at a .761 clip. The Mavericks have shot below .700 just three times and earlier this year fired at over .900 in back-to-back games -- .923 (24-of-26) Nov. 26 at Eastern Michigan and .926 (25-of-27) Dec. 30 at Cal State Fullerton.

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 948 career points, spurred most recently by a 16-point performance Dec. 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton. 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 112 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 77, 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 rebounding with 5.5 boards per game and third for scoring with 12.8 points per game this season. In Omaha's season opener Nov. 12 at UCSB, he scored 14 points and pulled down a career-best and eight rebounds and has matched the rebounding performance twice more -- Nov. 15 at Kansas State and Dec. 3 at Iowa. Jackson also put up a career-high 21 points against the Hawkeyes, and he has scored in double figures in all but two games this season.

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 9.5 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 scored a season-high 18 points Dec. 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton, helped by his 10-of-10 showing at the free throw line. He is also second on the team for threes made this season with 18.

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 27.3 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.

Compared to the Opposition
Over the first 12 contests of the 2016-17 season, Omaha has:
    •More or equal field goals made compared to its opponent five times
    •More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent five times
    •More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent nine times
    •More rebounds compared to its opponent five times
    •More or equal steals compared to its opponent four times
    •Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent six times
    •More or equal blocks compared to its opponent five times

Stacking Up Nationally
As a team, Omaha ranks 10th nationally for free throws made (236), 21st for free throws attempted (310) and 26th for free throw percentage (.761). Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is fourth among Division I players for fourth for total assists (81) and total steals (34), eighth for steals per game (2.8) and 11th for assists per game (6.8). Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman is 43rd for defensive rebounds per game (6.6).

League Leaders
As a team, Omaha is the Summit League's leader in free throws made per game (19.7) and free throws attempted per game (25.8). Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the way in steals (34) and assists (81) for the second straight season.

History-Making Hollins
Senior 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 seventh in school history Dec. 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton, passing Andrew Bridger (2006-10), and now has a career total of 161 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 moved up to 12th vs. Cal State Fullerton, as his 277 helpers passed Thor Palamore (1987-91).

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.

Hitting the Century Mark
Omaha hit the century mark for the second time this season in its 102-96 overtime win over Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 18. Over the 12-year Derrin Hansen era, the Mavericks are 19-2 when scoring 100 points or more in a game.

Double Down
Five Mavericks scored in double figures Dec. 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton, the second time that has happened this season. Senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins led the way with 20 points, followed by sophomore guard Zach Jackson (19), sophomore forward Mitch Hahn (18), senior guard Marcus Tyus (16) and junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman (15).

In 2015-16, Omaha had five or more double-figure scorers seven times.

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 139-175 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha opens Summit League play on Thursday, Dec. 29, traveling to South Dakota. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Vermillion, S.D., and the game will be televised live on Midco and ESPN3. Gary Sharp will also have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.