This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team visits historic Allen Fieldhouse this Monday, Dec. 18, facing No. 12 Kansas. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan., and the game will be televised on ESPN2 and available on the WatchESPN app, with Jason Benetti on play-by-play and Dan Dakich providing analysis. Gary Sharp 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
• Kansas is the highest-ranked opponent Omaha has ever played in its Division I era. The Mavericks previously faced Louisville (then No. 18 nationally) on Nov. 17 and Iowa State (then 19th) in 2016-17.
• Omaha has a short turnaround following its game vs. Cornell College, with just 29 hours between tipoff against the Rams on Sunday and tipoff at KU on Monday. The last time the Mavericks played on back-to-back days in the regular season was Nov. 12-13, 2016 at UC Santa Barbara and USC.
• Omaha's 99-58 win over Cornell on Sunday was the 200th career victory for head coach
Derrin Hansen, who also celebrated his 50th birthday on Friday.
• Omaha has outrebounded its opponent in three straight games: 36-26 at Drake (Dec. 9), 39-29 vs. Arkansas State (Dec. 13) and 45-23 vs. Cornell (Dec. 17), the last of which was a season-best rebounding margin.
• Five Mavericks are averaging double-figure scoring 13 games in:
Zach Jackson (17.5 ppg),
Mitch Hahn (12.2 ppg),
Daniel Norl (11.9 ppg),
JT Gibson (10.8 ppg) and
KJ Robinson (10.5 ppg).
• Gibson has moved into the starting five over the last three games and has had four straight double-figure scoring efforts. He poured in a then-career-high 17 points vs. Arkansas State (Dec. 13) and topped that with 21 vs. Cornell (Dec. 17).
• Over the last seven games, Jackson has averaged 19.6 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting .600 from the field, .545 from 3-point range and .853 from the free throw line.
• Jackson led the Mavericks in scoring in six straight games from Nov. 25 to Dec. 13 and has tallied in double figures in seven consecutive contests.
• Four Mavericks have had at least one 20-point scoring performance this season.
• By Dec. 3, Omaha had played in all four time zones in the contiguous United States.
• 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.
Scouting the Kansas Jayhawks
No. 12 Kansas is 8-2 (0-0 Big 12) after a 73-72 triumph at Nebraska on Saturday. Down two with less than 30 seconds left, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk's go-ahead 3-pointer lifted the Jayhawks to the win. Udoka Azubuike led all scorers with 26 points, and Devonte' Graham added another 18.
Head coach Bill Self is in his 15th season at KU with a record of 424-90 and a career mark of 631-195 over 25 years.
Monday's game marks the first meeting all-time between Omaha and Kansas.
Last Time Out: Omaha Powers Past Cornell College for Hansen's 200th Win
Omaha remained undefeated at home and handed head coach
Derrin Hansen his 200th career victory Sunday afternoon, topping Cornell College 99-58 at Baxter Arena. Sophomore
JT Gibson scored a career-high and game-best 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting with five 3-pointers, adding three rebounds, two assists and a career-best four steals.
The Mavericks got two double-double performances on the day, with junior
Zach Jackson's on 18 points and a career-high 14 rebounds and senior
Lamar Wofford-Humphrey's on 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jackson shot 6-of-10 from the floor, while Wofford-Humphrey was 5-of-6.
Freshman
Matt Pile also finished in double figures with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting alongside a career-high-tying six boards, two assists, two steals and a block. Sophomore
KJ Robinson rounded it out with 12 points and career highs of five caroms and four steals, as well as five assists.
Omaha shot a season-high .615 (40-of-65) to Cornell's .390 (23-of-59), including .500 (10-of-20) to .308 (8-of-26) from long range. The Mavericks also enjoyed a season-best 45-23 rebounding advantage and had season highs in points, rebounds, field goals made, assists, steals and blocks.
Tour de Big 12
Kansas is the final stop on Omaha's three-game tour of the Big 12 this season, and Monday's game in Lawrence marks the seventh time Omaha will face a team from the conference in the Division I era. The Mavericks have previously squared off with Oklahoma (Nov. 12) and TCU (Nov. 20), K-State (2014-15, 2016-17), Iowa State (2012-13, 2016-17) and Texas Tech (2012-13).
In games against Big 12 foes this year, junior
Zach Jackson has stepped up in a major way, averaging 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting .577. Sophomore
JT Gibson has also averaged in double figures against Big 12 teams with 12.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, while sophomore
KJ Robinson has 5.5 assists per game.
Final Four Foes
Omaha faces three teams with NCAA Final Four appearances on their resumes in the last decade. Oklahoma last made the Final Four in 2016, while Kansas went in 2012 and 2008, and Louisville earned a trip in 2012 and 2013.
Six of the Mavericks' 2017-18 opponents have earned at least one NCAA Tournament berth over the last four years: Kansas (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), Louisville (2014, 2015, 2017), Oklahoma (2014, 2015, 2016), North Dakota State (2014, 2015), South Dakota State (2016, 2017) and New Mexico (2014).
Action Jackson
Junior
Zach Jackson is in his third year as a starter, averaging a team-leading 17.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with a .529 shooting percentage. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in double figures in all but one game, including four 20-point scoring performances: 24 at Oklahoma (Nov. 12), 22 vs. Jackson State (Nov. 25), a career-high 28 at Washington (Dec. 3) and 22 vs. Arkansas State (Dec. 13).
Jackson ranks in the top 10 in the Summit League in nine categories: third for points (228) and free throws made (53), fourth for points per game (17.5) and field goals made (78), sixth for total rebounds (81), seventh for rebounds per game (6.2) and field goal percentage (.534), eighth for 3-point percentage (.442) and ninth for free throw percentage (.791).
Against high major opponents this season, Jackson has averaged 20.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks in five games. Combined against Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisville, TCU and Washington, he has shot .531 from the field and .742 at the stripe.
Gibson at Full Strength
Sophomore
JT Gibson, who assumed a starting spot Dec. 9, is fourth on the team for scoring with 10.8 points per game. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has seven double-figure scoring efforts, most recently with a career-high 21 points with three rebounds, two assists and a career-best four steals vs. Cornell College (Dec. 17).
Gibson ranks sixth in the Summit League for steals (16) and ninth for 3-pointers made (25). He has hit at least one 3-pointer in nine straight games since Nov. 20 and owns eight performances with two or more treys this season. His five triples vs. Cornell College (Dec. 17) were a career high.
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.
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 fourth in the Summit League for assists (50) and seventh for steals (15).
Norl Off to a Strong Start
Senior
Daniel Norl has had a strong start to his senior season, ranking third on the team for scoring with 11.9 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.
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 six double-figure scoring games to his credit. He has the team lead and ranks third in the Summit League for offensive rebounds (33).
The Pile Driver
Freshman
Matt Pile averaged 6.3 minutes per game over the first three contests this season but has seen his court time increase to 16.4 minutes per game over the last nine. In that stretch, Pile has boosted his averages to 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He had two strong efforts 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.
Against Arkansas State (Dec. 13), Pile had the go-ahead putback with 27 seconds left, which powered Omaha past the Red Wolves, 77-74. He followed with a season-best showing with 16 points and six boards vs. Cornell College (Dec. 17), shooting 7-of-8.
Double the Trouble, Double the Fun
Junior
Zach Jackson (18 points/14 rebounds) and senior
Lamar Wofford-Humphrey (10 points/10 rebounds) both had double-doubles Sunday vs. Cornell College. It marked the first time this season Omaha has had two double-doubles in a single game.
The last time two Mavericks reached double-double territory on the same night was March 6, 2017 vs. IUPUI in the Summit League Tournament Semifinals, when
Mitch Hahn had 21 points and 10 boards and
Tre'Shawn Thurman had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
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 plays its final game before the holiday break on Thursday, Dec. 21, welcoming Montana State for the second of two meetings with the Bobcats. 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.
