This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team welcomes Western Illinois this Saturday, Jan. 14. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and Gary Sharp and John Karhoff will have the radio call on 1620 The Zone. Fans can stream 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.

Food Fight Night
Saturday night's game vs. Western Illinois has been designated for the Summit League Food Fight Challenge. Fans may bring a non-perishable food item to the game to receive a free ticket. Cash donations are also accepted, with a $5 donation equaling 13 pounds of food. The Omaha Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will collect all food and cash donations at the Baxter Arena Box Office.

All nine Summit League institutions are competing to earn the annual Food Fight trophy. At the end of the Food Fight schedule, the league school that collects the most food (measured in pounds) and cash donations will be declared the winner.

Quick Hits
•Five Omaha players average double-figure scoring: senior guard Marcus Tyus (15.0 ppg), junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman (13.5 ppg), sophomore guard Zach Jackson (12.1 ppg), senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins (10.7 ppg) and sophomore forward Mitch Hahn (10.1 ppg).
•Tyus eclipsed 1,000 career points Jan. 4 vs. Fort Wayne, becoming the 37th Maverick to reach the milestone. Thurman is next in line, entering Saturday's game with 965 career points.
•Tyus is averaging 19.8 points per game over five games in league play, which ranks sixth in the conference. In non-conference, he had averaged 13.2 points per game.
•Hollins sits at 18th on the Summit League's all-time career steals list with 184.
•Omaha went 7-6 in non-conference play, marking its fourth straight season finishing .500 or better against non-conference opponents.
•Head coach Derrin Hansen has used three different lineups throughout the first 18 games this year.
•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.
•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 18 games this year.
•Thurman registered his team-leading fifth double-double of the year Jan. 4 vs. Fort Wayne. In games with a Thurman double-double over the last three seasons, Omaha is 6-5.

Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
Western Illinois enters the weekend with a record of 6-10 (3-2 Summit League) after an 84-70 loss at Denver on Wednesday. Five Leathernecks scored in double figures, led by Garret Covington's 17 points. WIU, picked ninth in the league's preseason poll, started league play going 3-1.

Covington leads WIU with 20.6 points per game, which ranks second in the league. Mike Miklusak also averages in double figures with 15.4 points per game and a league-leading 8.8 rebounds per contest. Head coach Billy Wright is in his third season at WIU and carries a career record of 24-47.   

Saturday's game marks the 17th meeting all-time between Omaha and Western Illinois, with the Leathernecks leading the series 10-6. The two teams most recently met on Feb. 3, 2016 in Macomb, Ill., where WIU earned an 83-76 win. They split last year's season series, as UNO won the meeting prior to that, 82-80, at Baxter Arena on Jan. 1, 2016.

Last Time Out: Omaha Outlasts IUPUI, 79-71
Omaha battled past IUPUI Wednesday evening, defeating the Jaguars 79-71 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Sophomore guard Zach Jackson scored a team-leading 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting with a trio of 3-pointers, adding four rebounds and two steals. Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman just missed a double-double, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds and a block.

Junior forward Mitch Hahn chipped in 15 points with three more 3-pointers, four rebounds and three blocks. Senior guard Marcus Tyus rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 points alongside seven caroms, a career-high five steals, three assists and a block.

Sophomore center Zach Pirog also had a career-high four blocks for the night.

As a team, Omaha shot .469 (30-of-64) from the floor, .333 (7-of-21) from 3-point range and .667 (12-of-18) at the free throw line. IUPUI finished at .408 (29-of-71) from the field, .263 (5-of-19) from distance and .571 (8-of-14) at the stripe. IUPUI outboarded the Mavericks 44-40, but Omaha forced 17 Jaguar turnovers and had the edge in assists (13-12), steals (10-7) and blocks (10-4).

Tyus Named Summit League Player of the Week
Senior guard Marcus Tyus was tabbed Summit League Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week for his performances Jan. 3-8, the league office announced Monday. It marked the first weekly award of his career, and he shared the honor with Garret Covington of Western Illinois.

Tyus averaged 29.5 points and 2.5 steals over two games last week, shooting 69.2 percent from the field, 66.7 percent from long range and 91.7 percent at the free throw line. The Ramsey, Minn., native scored 25 points and had a career-high four steals Wednesday against Fort Wayne, which helped him eclipse the 1,000 career points milestone to become the 37th 1,000-point scorer in school history. On Saturday at South Dakota State, Tyus added a game-high 34 points and shot 8-of-13 beyond the arc to tie Omaha's single-game record for threes.

Tyus Joins 1,000 Point Club
He entered the 2016-17 season having not played a game since Feb. 7, 2015, but senior guard Marcus Tyus is now the most recent Omaha player to join the prestigious 1,000-Point Club. Over four active seasons (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2016-17), he has amassed 1,057 career points to rank 29th in school history. Tyus was the 37th UNO player to reach the 1,000 points milestone.

Omaha's active career leader for 3-pointers, Tyus moved up to 12th on the career triples chart at SDSU. His career total of 130 passed Denny Johnston (2004-08), who had 125. Next up is Troy Kloewer (1993-97), who had 131.

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 third in school history Jan. 11 at IUPUI, passing Mike Simons (1996-200), who had 183. Hollins now has a career total of 184 swipes, needing just seven to tie Calvin Kapels (2002-06) for the school record of 191.

Hollins' 196 assists last season were the second-highest single-season mark in school history. He broke into the all-time top 20 for assists Nov. 19 vs. Rice and is now ninth with 312, having passed Devin Patterson (2013-16), who had 311. Hollins now needs 16 more to tie for eighth on the list, which would match That Mott (1988-92), who had 328.

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.

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 sixth on the list with 81, having passed Matt Hagerbaumer (2010-14), who had 79. His next hurdle is Levy Jones (2003-05), who had 83.

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 16th on the list with 523 boards, having passed Bill Haas (1964-67), who had 518. Thurman's next target is John Karhoff (2010-14), who grabbed 524.

Thurman is also on the brink of becoming the second Maverick this season to join the 1,000 Point Club. With 965 points to his credit entering this weekend, he needs 35 more to become the 38th 1,000-point scorer in school history.

Stacking Up Nationally
As a team, Omaha ranks ninth nationally for free throws made (336), 14th for free throw attempts (449), 38th for scoring offense (81.6), 39th for total steals (137) and 42nd for free throw percentage (.748) and.

Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is the nation's leader for total steals (57), fourth for steals per game (3.2), fifth for total assists (116) and ninth for assists per game (6.4).

League Leaders
As a team, Omaha is the Summit League's leader in free throws made per game (18.7) and free throw attempts per game (24.9).

Individually, senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins leads the way in steals (57) and assists (116) for the second straight season. Tre'Shawn Thurman is also first for defensive rebounds (112).

Road Warriors
Omaha has played 13 of its first 18 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, South Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota State and IUPUI. The Mavericks have traveled 20,378 miles so far, and they faced four of five games on the road to start Summit League play.

Senior guard Marcus Tyus has led the charge for Omaha in road battles with an average of 13.8 points per game, while junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman pulls down 8.5 rebounds and 13.2 points per game in those contests. On the road, Omaha is a .754 free throw shooting team, up from .737 at home. The Mavericks also average 38.8 rebounds per game in away games compared to 32.4 at Baxter Arena.

Action Jackson
Sophomore guard Zach Jackson is second on the team for rebounding with 5.0 boards per game and third for scoring with 12.1 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 four games this season.

Feelin' Hahn, Hahn, Hahn
Sophomore forward Mitch Hahn is averaging 10.1 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 28.

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 26.3 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 26.5 bench points per game.

Hitting the Century Mark
Omaha hit the century mark for the second time this season in its 101-93 win at South Dakota State on Jan. 7. Over the 12-year Derrin Hansen era, the Mavericks are 20-2 when scoring 100 points or more in a game.
with multiple local charities, organizations and schools.

Compared to the Opposition
Over its 18 contests this season, Omaha has:
    •More or equal field goals made compared to its opponent six times
    •More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent eight times
    •More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent 13 times
    •More or equal rebounds compared to its opponent seven times
    •More or equal assists compared to its opponent seven times
    •More or equal steals compared to its opponent nine times
    •Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent seven times
    •More or equal blocks compared to its opponent eight 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 141-179 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha hosts Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 18. 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.