This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team makes its home debut this Wednesday, Nov. 29, welcoming Drake to Baxter Arena at 7 p.m. The game will be televised regionally by YurView, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha is 4-2 in home openers in the Division I era. Its last home-opening win was Nov. 16, 2014 vs. Central Arkansas.
• Four Mavericks are averaging double-figure scoring seven games in:
Zach Jackson (16.1 ppg),
Daniel Norl (13.9 ppg),
Mitch Hahn (13.7 ppg) and
KJ Robinson (11.6 ppg).
• Omaha came a shot shy of its first NCAA Tournament bid in the Division I era last season, falling 79-77 to South Dakota State in the Summit League Championship. The Mavericks were 18-14 (9-7 Summit League) en route to their second straight third-place finish in the regular-season standings.
• Omaha returns seven letterwinners from its 2016-17 squad, including a Summit League All-Newcomer pick in Hahn.
• Head coach
Derrin Hansen is in his 13th year at Omaha in 2017-18 and needs three wins to reach 200 career victories.
• Omaha went 7-6 in non-conference play in 2016-17, marking its fourth straight season finishing .500 or better against non-conference opponents.
Scouting the Drake Bulldogs
Drake is 4-1 (0-0 MVC) after a 79-67 win over Chicago State Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs were led by a career-high 32 points from Reed Timmer, who hit seven 3-pointers in the game.
DU was picked 10th in the MVC Preseason Poll, with Timmer named Preseason All-MVC after earning third-team All-MVC honors a year ago. Head coach Niko Medved is in his first season at Drake with a record of 4-1 and a career mark of 66-71 over five years.
Wednesday's game marks the ninth meeting all-time between Omaha and Drake, and the Bulldogs lead the series, 8-0. Their last meeting was Nov. 23, 2013 in Des Moines, where DU won 88-80.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Fall to Jackson State, 75-73 in OT
Omaha closed the Emerald Coast Classic Saturday morning, falling 75-73 in overtime to Jackson State. Junior
Zach Jackson tallied his second 20-point scoring performance of the year, finishing with 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting with four 3-pointers. He was 6-of-7 at the charity stripe and added two rebounds and two steals.
Sophomore
KJ Robinson chipped in 13 points with a trio of threes, as well as a team-high five assists, two rebounds, a block and a steal. Senior
Daniel Norl rounded it out with 12 points, a team-high five boards and three assists. Senior
Daniel Meyer matched Norl on the glass, pulling down five rebounds alongside eight points.
Omaha shot over 50 percent from the third straight game, finishing at .520 (26-of-50) from the floor, including .407 (11-of-27) from long range. JSU came in at .448 (30-of-67) from the field and .313 (5-of-16) behind the arc. The Tigers forced 18 Maverick miscues while committing 10 themselves.
Road Warriors
Omaha plays 18 of its 30 games on the road in 2017-18, including seven straight to open the season while its home facility, Baxter Arena, played host to the U.S. Olympic Curling Trials. The Mavericks began with three games in one continuous seven-day trip at Montana State (Nov. 10), Oklahoma (Nov. 12) and New Mexico (Nov. 14). Following a short return home, they set out again for Louisville (Nov. 17), and after another short trip back to Omaha, visited TCU (Nov. 20). A Thanksgiving trip to Niceville, Fla., capped it off with two games in the Emerald Coast Classic, Nov. 24-25.
Action Jackson
Junior
Zach Jackson is in his third year as a starter, averaging a team-leading 16.1 points per game with 5.0 rebounds per contest. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in double figures in all but one game to start the year, including two 20-point scoring performances with a career-best 24 at Oklahoma (Nov. 12) and 22 vs. Jackson State (Nov. 25).
Jackson had 10.8 points per game last season and scored in double figures in 21 games, including two 20-point performances. He was instrumental in Omaha's road upset of Iowa, posting a then-career-high 21 points and a career-high-tying eight rebounds. Jackson strung together six straight double-figure scoring games from Nov. 19 to Dec. 3, 2016, then had another six-game stretch from Feb. 11 to March 6, 2017.
Norl Off to a Strong Start
Senior
Daniel Norl has had a strong start to his senior season, pacing Omaha with 5.9 rebounds alongside 13.9 points per game over the first seven contests. The Clarksville, Tenn., native earned his first career start at Montana State on Nov. 10, exploding for career highs of 29 points, nine rebounds and two steals while shooting 13-of-18. He collected 11 points, six boards, two assists and two steals at Oklahoma (Nov. 12), then followed with 10 points and seven caroms at New Mexico (Nov. 14). On Nov. 17 at No. 18 Louisville, Norl led the Mavericks with 16 points and added eight rebounds.
Norl made his Maverick debut in 2016-17, appearing in 29 contests and averaging 5.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 15.6 minutes per game. He had eight double-figure scoring performances as a junior, including a season-high 14 points with four 3-pointers in Omaha's quarterfinal win over Fort Wayne in the Summit League Tournament. He accounted for 10 performances with at least two 3-pointers.
Robinson's Ready
Sophomore
KJ Robinson appeared in all but one game last season, averaging 2.5 points and 0.7 assists over 8.8 minutes per contest off the bench. He has now assumed a starting role in 2017-18 season.
A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Robinson had a standout performance vs. No. 18 Louisville on Nov. 17, with a then-career-high 14 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals. He followed by dishing out a career-best eight assists at TCU on Nov. 20 while adding 11 points, four rebounds and a steal. Friday vs. Tennessee Tech, Robinson went off for a career-high 25 points while hitting seven 3-pointers and adding five rebounds, five assists and a block. It was the most threes in a game by any Maverick since
Marcus Tyus had eight at South Dakota State (Jan, 7, 2017).
Entering the week, Robinson ranks third in the Summit League for assists and eighth for steals.
Wofford-Humphrey's Breakout Night
Senior Lamar Wofford-Humphrey had a standout effort at No. 18 Louisville on Nov. 17, tallying his first double-double as a Maverick with 14 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist.
The transfer from Eastern Michigan has three double-figure scoring games to his credit. He has the team lead and ranks fifth in the Summit League for offensive rebounds (15).
Piling On
Freshman Matt Pile averaged 6.3 minutes per game over the first three contests this season but has seen his court time increase to 16.3 minutes per game over the last four. In that stretch, Pile has boosted his averages to 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He tallied a season-best eight points in back-to-back games at TCU (Nov. 20) and vs. Tennessee Tech (Nov. 24).
Home Sweet Homaha
Omaha had a record of 8-4 at home last season, and the Mavericks averaged 90.9 points per game with a 12.6 margin of victory at Baxter Arena.
The Mavericks play 12 games at home in 2017-18, welcoming Drake for their home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
2017-18 Slate = Tough Test for Mavericks
Omaha's 2017-18 schedule includes 30 games, and the team will play in 16 states against schools from 11 other Division I conferences. The schedule has three opponents from the Big 12 and one each from the ACC, Pac-12, Mountain West, MVC, Big West, Sun Belt, Big Sky, OVC and SWAC. Three opponents – Kansas, Louisville and defending Summit League champion South Dakota State – played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, with the Jayhawks reaching the Elite Eight.
Up Next
Omaha begins a three-game road stretch, visiting Washington on Sunday, Dec. 3 with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CT in Seattle, Wash. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
