This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team welcomes Arkansas State to Baxter Arena this Wednesday, Dec. 13, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Gary Sharp and John Karhoff will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha outrebounded Drake 36-26 last Saturday, its largest rebounding margin of the year.
•
JT Gibson earned his first start of the season last Saturday at DU.
• Four Mavericks are averaging double-figure scoring 11 games in:
Zach Jackson (17.1 ppg),
Daniel Norl (12.3 ppg),
Mitch Hahn (12.2 ppg) and
KJ Robinson (11.0 ppg).
• Jackson averaged a double-double over two games last week with 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.5 blocks per game.
• Jackson ranks in the top five in the Summit League in multiple categories: third for points (188) and free throws made (43), fourth for points per game (17.1) and fifth for field goals made (64).
• Over the last five games, Jackson has averaged 19.4 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting .576 from the field, .556 from 3-point range and .826 from the free throw line. He has led the Mavericks in scoring in every game of that span.
• By Dec. 3, Omaha had played in all four time zones in the contiguous United States this season.
• The Mavericks shot .500 or better as a team in four straight games from Nov. 20-29.
• 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 two wins to reach 200 career victories.
Scouting the Arkansas State Red Wolves
Arkansas State is 3-6 (0-0 Sun Belt) after a 90-76 win over Henderson State on Saturday. Grantham Gillard led all scorers with a career-high 23 points as the Red Wolves snapped a four-game losing streak. Head coach Mike Balado is in his first season at A-State with a record of 3-6.
Wednesday's game marks the first meeting all-time between Omaha and Arkansas State.
Last Time Out: Omaha Falls 93-74 in Rematch at Drake
A second-half surge by Drake quieted Omaha Saturday night, as the Mavericks fell 93-74 at the Knapp Center. Junior
Zach Jackson led the Mavericks in scoring for the fifth straight game and achieved his first career double-double on team highs of 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Four other Mavericks joined him in double-figure scoring: senior
Daniel Norl (13), sophomores
KJ Robinson (11) and
JT Gibson (10) and senior
Lamar Wofford-Humphrey (10). Wofford-Humphrey pulled down six rebounds, and freshman
Matt Pile matched him with six more boards and nine points.
Omaha outshot Drake .526 (30-of-57) to .500 (33-of-66) and outrebounded the Bulldogs, 36-26. DU hit 15 threes in the game, dished out 19 assists and committed just five turnovers as a team.
Action Jackson
Junior
Zach Jackson is in his third year as a starter, averaging a team-leading 17.1 points per game with 5.8 rebounds per contest and a .450 shooting percentage. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in double figures in all but one game to start the year, including three 20-point scoring performances: 24 at Oklahoma (Nov. 12), 22 vs. Jackson State (Nov. 25) and a career-high 28 at Washington (Dec. 3).
Jackson has averaged 20.0, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks in five games against high major opponents this season. Combined against Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisville, TCU and Washington, he has shot .531 from the field and .742 at the stripe.
Here's to You, Mr. Robinson
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 (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 (Nov. 20) while adding 11 points, four rebounds and a steal. Against Tennessee Tech (Nov. 24), 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).
Robinson had four straight double-figure scoring performances from Nov. 17-25. He ranks fifth in the Summit League for assists (43).
Norl Off to a Strong Start
Senior
Daniel Norl has had a strong start to his senior season, ranking second on the team for scoring with 12.3 points per game. The Clarksville, Tenn., native earned his first career start at Montana State (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.
Gibson Back at Full Strength
Sophomore
JT Gibson is Omaha's top scorer off the bench this season with 9.3 points per game. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has five double-figure scoring efforts, including a career-high 16 points with four rebounds, four assists and three steals at Oklahoma (Nov. 12).
Gibson had a second go at his freshman campaign in 2016-17. In 2015-16, he appeared in eight games off the bench before suffering a season-ending elbow injury that led to a medical redshirt.
Wofford-Humphrey Making a Difference
Senior
Lamar Wofford-Humphrey had a standout effort at No. 18 Louisville (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 five double-figure scoring games to his credit. He has the team lead and ranks fourth in the Summit League for offensive rebounds (28).
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 15.2 minutes per game over the last eight. In that stretch, Pile has boosted his averages to 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He twice had season-best scoring and rebounding performances against Drake, first tallying nine points, six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block on Nov. 29, then putting up nine points, six points an assist and a block on Dec. 9.
More on Meyer
Senior
Daniel Meyer made his second collegiate appearance in his home state Nov. 10 with Omaha's season opener at Montana State. Meyer and the Mavericks previously visited MSU on Dec. 6, 2015, when they won 100-97 on a buzzer beater in Bozeman.
Meyer has been mainstay for Omaha over the last few seasons. He appeared in every game in 2015-16 and 2016-17, making 11 starts as a junior and finishing the year with 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He had one of his best performances in league play, pulling down a season-high nine rebounds with two blocks vs. Oral Roberts.
Meyer is Omaha's active career leader for games played (95) and blocks (27).
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 hosts Cornell College on Sunday, Dec. 17, with tipoff set for 1 p.m. at Baxter Arena. Gary Sharp and John Karhoff will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
