This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team visits North Dakota State this Saturday, Dec. 31. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Scheels Center in Fargo, N.D., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on The Mighty 1290 KOIL-AM. Fans can stream audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “News Talk 1290 KOIL," and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.

Quick Hits
•Four of Omaha's starters average double-figure scoring: junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman (13.9 ppg), senior guard Marcus Tyus (12.9 ppg), sophomore guard Zach Jackson (12.8 ppg) and senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins (11.0 ppg).
•Omaha went 7-6 in non-conference play, marking its 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.
•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 14 games this year.
•Over their careers, Thurman and Hollins have both averaged at least 12 points per game, notching at 12.2 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.
•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 14 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 North Dakota State Bison
North Dakota State is 9-5 (1-0 Summit League) on the year following an 80-69 win Dec. 28 at South Dakota State, which snapped the nation's second-longest home winning streak at 34 games. Paul Miller led the Bison with 21 points and added 10 rebounds and six assists, while Dexter Werner had another 14 boards. Miller (13.5 ppg) and Werner (10.2 ppg) both average double-figure scoring, and Werner also has a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game. NDSU was picked third in the Summit League's preseason poll, one spot ahead of Omaha.

Head coach David Richman is in his third season at North Dakota State and carries a career record of 52-28.

Saturday's game marks the 70th meeting all-time between Omaha and North Dakota State, with NDSU leading the series 41-28. The Mavericks won the last matchup, 76-69, on Feb. 13, 2016 at Baxter Arena, as well as the last tilt in Fargo, 91-82, on Jan. 7, 2016 at Scheels Arena.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Drop League Opener at South Dakota, 86-69
Omaha opened its Summit League schedule Thursday night, falling 86-69 to South Dakota at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Sophomore guard Zach Jackson paced the Mavericks with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Sophomore forward Mitch Hahn also scored in double figures with 12 points, adding four rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist.

Senior guard Marcus Tyus and sophomore center Zach Pirog each grabbed a team-high six rebounds, with Tyus adding nine points and Pirog chipping in another seven. Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman also had nine points for the night.

Omaha shot .383 (23-of-60) from the floor and .250 (5-of-20) from long range, while South Dakota finished at .485 (32-of-66) from the field and .556 (10-of-18) from distance. The Coyotes held a 43-35 edge on the glass.

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 Dec. 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton. It marked the first time this season UNO has 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 nine of its first 14 games on the road this season, with trips to UC Santa Barbara, USC, Kansas State, Eastern Michigan, Cal State Fullerton, Iowa, Iowa State, UMKC, Pitt and South Dakota. The Mavericks will have traveled 16,977 miles by tipoff in Fargo Saturday afternoon, and they begin Summit League play with four of five games on the road.

Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman has led the charge for Omaha in road battles, averaging 13.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. On the road, Omaha is a .753 free throw shooting team, up from .724 at home. The Mavericks also average 38.7 rebounds per game in away games compared to 33.2 at Baxter Arena.

Second-Half Success
Omaha has averaged 42.9 second-half points this season, up from 37.2 first-half points per game. The Mavericks have seen second-half success from 3-point range, shooting .406 (63-of-155) in the second stanza compared to .283 (47-of-166) in the first.

Senior guard Marcus Tyus has been particularly effective in the second half, shooting .492 (31-of-63) from the field compared to .343 (24-of-70) in the first. Tyus is bolstered by .478 (11-of-23) 3-point shooting in his second-half performances, an improvement from .297 (11-of-37) in the opening half.

Solid at the Stripe
Omaha has been strong at the free throw line this season, hitting at a .742 clip. The Mavericks have shot over .700 10 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 967 career points, spurred most recently by a nine-point performance Dec. 29 at South Dakota. 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 with 486, having passed Tom Thompson (1984-88), who had 483.

Action Jackson
Sophomore guard Zach Jackson is second on the team for rebounding with 5.2 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 9.4 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 19.

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 26.4 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 3-3 after a loss and averages 86.0 points in those showings.

Compared to the Opposition
Over the first 14 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 10 times
    •More rebounds compared to its opponent five times
    •More or equal assists compared to its opponent four 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 13th nationally for free throws made (268), 18th for free throw attempts (361), 46th for scoring offense (81.5) and 50th for free throw percentage (.742s).

Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is second among Division I players for total steals (42), fifth for total assists (90), sixth for steals per game (3.0) and 13th for assists per game (6.4).

League Leaders
As a team, Omaha is the Summit League's leader in free throws made per game (19.1) and free throws attempted per game (25.8). Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the way in steals (42) and assists (90) 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 169 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. His 286 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.

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 139-177 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha hosts Fort Wayne on Wednesday, Jan. 4 for the Mavericks' first league contest at home. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and Gary Sharp and John Karhoff will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.