This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team opens Summit League play this Saturday, Dec. 30, traveling to Oral Roberts. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1620 The Zone. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha won three of its last four games before breaking for the holidays.
• The Mavericks are undefeated at home this season, toting a perfect 4-0 record in games at Baxter Arena.
• Omaha is 1-4 in Summit League openers since joining the conference in 2012-13.
• Five Mavericks are averaging double-figure scoring:
Zach Jackson (17.5 ppg),
Mitch Hahn (12.2 ppg),
Daniel Norl (11.7 ppg),
JT Gibson (11.1 ppg) and
KJ Robinson (10.3 ppg).
• Over the last nine games, Jackson has averaged 19.1 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting .596 from the field, .517 from 3-point range and .830 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 nine consecutive contests.
• Four Mavericks have had at least one 20-point scoring performance this season.
• Head coach
Derrin Hansen earned his 200th career victory Dec. 17 vs. Cornell College.
• 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 and seven times overall this year.
• 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 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts is 4-11 (0-0 Summit League) entering league play after a 77-63 loss at Minnesota (Dec. 21). Chris Miller led the Golden Eagles with a game-high 18 points, while Emmanuel Nzekwesi had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Head coach Paul Mills is in his first season at ORU, carrying a career record of 4-11.
Saturday's game marks the ninth meeting all-time between Omaha and Oral Roberts, with the Golden Eagles leading the series, 5-3. The two teams last met Feb. 16, 2017 at Baxter Arena, where the Mavericks won 83-76.
Last Time Out: Omaha Remains Undefeated at Home, Drops Montana State 84-71
Omaha remained a perfect 4-0 at home, defeating Montana State 84-71 at Baxter Arena on Dec. 21. Junior
Zach Jackson registered his fifth 20-point scoring performance and third straight double-double with a game-high 25 points, shooting 9-of-12 from the field with three 3-pointers. He also pulled down 10 rebounds and grabbed four steals, the latter of which tied a career high.
Sophomore
JT Gibson added 18 points, three rebounds and four assists, and senior
Lamar Wofford-Humphrey pitched in a season-high 15 points with four boards and a helper. Freshman
Matt Pile rounded out the double-figure scoring performances with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting alongside five caroms, a block and a steal.
Senior
Daniel Norl also had seven points, four rebounds and a game-high and career-best seven assists, and freshman
Ayo Akinwole, who made his first career start, added six points, a season-best five boards and three assists.
Omaha shot .585 (31-of-53) while holding MSU to .366 (26-of-71) for the night. The Bobcats had a slight 40-37 advantage on the glass, but Omaha held a 46-30 edge in the paint.
Action Jackson
Junior
Zach Jackson is in his third year as a starter, averaging a team-leading 17.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game with a .539 shooting percentage. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in double figures in all but one game, including five 20-point scoring performances: 24 at Oklahoma (Nov. 12), 22 vs. Jackson State (Nov. 25), a career-high 28 at Washington (Dec. 3), 22 vs. Arkansas State (Dec. 13) and 25 vs. Montana State (Dec. 21).
Jackson ranks in the top 10 in the Summit League in 11 categories: third for scoring (17.5), points (263) and free throws made (63), fourth for field goal percentage (.539) and field goals made (89), fifth for total rebounds (101), sixth for offensive rebounds (29), defensive rebounds (72) and free throw percentage (.788), seventh for 3-point percentage (.440) and eighth for steals (16).
Against high major opponents this season, Jackson averaged 18.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks in six games. Combined against Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisville, TCU, Washington and Kansas, he has shot .507 from the field and .763 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 11.1 points per game. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has eight double-figure scoring efforts, most recently with 18 points vs. Montana State.
Gibson ranks sixth in the Summit League for steals (17) and 10th for 3-pointers made (28). He has hit at least one 3-pointer in 11 straight games since Nov. 20 and owns nine 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 man 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 sixth in the Summit League for assists (52) and eighth for steals (16).
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 11.7 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 seven double-figure scoring games to his credit, including his most recent with a career-high 15 points. He has the team lead and ranks fourth in the Summit League for offensive rebounds (34), as well as ninth in the league for field goal percentage (.491).
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 15.7 minutes per game over the last 11. In that stretch, Pile has boosted his averages to 7.3 points and 3.9 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.
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 (99) and blocks (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 caps non-conference play on Tuesday, Jan. 2, hosting Doane College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
