This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team opens Summit League play this Thursday, Dec. 29, visiting South Dakota. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, S.D., and the game will be broadcast live on Midco and ESPN3. 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 is 2-2 in Summit League openers since joining the league in 2012-13. The Mavericks won last year's conference opener 82-80 vs. Western Illinois, as well as the previous season's opener 86-77 at South Dakota.
•The Mavericks finished 7-6 in non-conference play, marking their fourth straight season finishing .500 or better against non-conference opponents.
•From Dec. 10-18, Omaha rattled off three straight wins, rallying from halftime deficits vs. Montana State, at UMKC and vs. Cal State Fullerton.
•Four of Omaha's starters average double-figure scoring: junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman (14.3 ppg), senior guard Marcus Tyus (13.2 ppg), sophomore guard Zach Jackson (12.8 ppg) and senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins (11.5 ppg).
•Sophomore center Zach Pirog made his first career start Dec. 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton, while redshirt freshman guard JT Gibson followed with his first career start Dec. 21 at Pitt.
•Head coach Derrin Hansen has used three different lineups throughout the first 13 games this year.
•Over their careers, Thurman and Hollins have both averaged at least 12 points per game, notching at 12.3 ppg and 12.2 ppg, respectively.
•Thurman joined the top 20 in school history for career rebounds Dec. 21 at Pitt, as his last of nine boards in the game put him in a tie for 20th with former Maverick Tom Thompson (1984-88).
•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.
•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 13 games this year.
•Thurman registered his team-leading fourth double-double of the year Dec. 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton. In games with a Thurman double-double over the last three seasons, Omaha is 6-4.

Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
South Dakota is 9-6 (0-0 Summit League) on the year following a 102-65 loss Dec. 21 at No. 7 Gonzaga, where Tyler Flack and Matt Mooney each scored a team-leading 13 points. Mooney averages a team-high 14.6 points per game, while Flack has 13.2 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game. USD was picked seventh in the Summit League's preseason poll, three spots behind Omaha.

Head coach Craig Smith is in his third season at South Dakota and carries a record of 40-40 and a career mark of 112-69 over six years.

Thursday's game marks the 87th meeting all-time between Omaha and South Dakota, with USD leading the series 53-46. The Mavericks won the last matchup, 96-83, on Jan. 30, 2016 at Baxter Arena, as well as the last tilt in Vermillion, 79-73, on Jan. 9, 2016 at the DakotaDome. Omaha is 5-4 vs. USD in the Division I era.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Cap Non-Conference, Fall 94-75 at Pitt
Omaha brought its non-conference schedule to a close on Dec. 21, falling 94-75 to Pitt at Petersen Events Center.

Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman led Omaha with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Omaha Central product's last board of the game moved him into the top 20 in school history for career rebounds, tying him with Tom Thompson (1984-88) at 483.

Senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins added 17 points, a season-high six steals, five assists and three rebounds for the night, shooting 6-of-9 from the field.

Redshirt freshman JT Gibson, making his first career start, finished 5-of-9 from the field en route to a career-high-tying 13 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior guard Marcus Tyus rounded it out with 10 points, helped by a pair of 3-pointers.

Omaha forced 14 Pitt turnovers with 10 steals, scoring 23 points off miscues.

Road Warriors
Omaha has played eight of its first 13 games on the road this season, with trips to UC Santa Barbara, USC, Kansas State, Eastern Michigan, Cal State Fullerton, Iowa, Iowa State, UMKC and Pitt. The Mavericks have traveled 16,543 miles in non-conference play.

Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman has led the charge for Omaha in road battles, averaging 14.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. On the road, Omaha is a .761 free throw shooting team, up from .724 at home. The Mavericks also average 39.1 rebounds per game in away games compared to 33.2 at Baxter Arena.

Second-Half Success
Omaha has averaged 42.7 second-half points this season, up from 38.3 first-half points per game. The Mavericks have seen second-half success from 3-point range, shooting .408 (58-of-142) in the second stanza compared to .296 (47-of-159) in the first.

Senior guard Marcus Tyus has been particularly effective in the second half, shooting .536 (30-of-56) from the field compared to .369 (24-of-65) in the first. Tyus is bolstered by .550 (11-of-20) 3-point shooting in his second-half performances, an improvement from .314 (11-of-35) in the opening half.

Solid at the Stripe
Omaha has been strong at the free throw line this season, hitting at a .746 clip. The Mavericks have shot below .700 just four 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 958 career points, spurred most recently by a 10-point performance Dec. 21 at Pitt. 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 114 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 78, 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.

Thurman most recently inked his name in the Omaha record books for career rebounds, joining the top 20 in school history on Dec. 21 at Pitt. He currently sits at 20th on the list, tied with Tom Thompson (1984-88) with 483.

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 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 9.2 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 26.5 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.

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 3-2 after a loss and averages 89.4 points in those games.

Compared to the Opposition
Over the first 13 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 five times
    •Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent seven times
    •More or equal blocks compared to its opponent five times

Stacking Up Nationally
As a team, Omaha ranks 15th nationally for free throws made (250), 23rd for free throw attempts (335), 39th for scoring offense (82.5) and 42nd for free throw percentage (.746).

Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is third among Division I players for total steals (40), fifth for total assists (86), sixth for steals per game (3.1) and 10th for assists per game (6.6). Sophomore forward Mitch Hahn is 42nd for free throw percentage (.882), and junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman is 48th for defensive rebounds per game (6.5).

League Leaders
As a team, Omaha is the Summit League's leader in free throws made per game (19.2) and free throws attempted per game (25.8). Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the way in steals (40) and assists (86) 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 sixth in school history Dec. 21 at Pitt, passing Seth Nelson (1999-2003), and now has a career total of 167 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 282 helpers are just ahead of 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.

Gibson Back at Full Strength
Redshirt freshman guard JT Gibson is back for a second go at his freshman campaign after earning a medical redshirt in 2015-16. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native appeared in eight games off the bench last year before suffering a season-ending elbow injury in December. Gibson averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 rebounds over 14.3 minutes played per contest. He scored a career-high 13 points against Saint Mary's (Minn.), shooting 4-for-7 with three 3-pointers, and added another double-figure scoring effort with 11 points in front of a hometown crowd at Minnesota.

On Dec. 21 at Pitt, Gibson made his first career start for the Mavericks, matching his career high with 13 points.

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 139-176 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha makes the next stop on its league-opening road trip, visiting North Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 31. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Fargo, N.D., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on KOIL 1290 AM. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.