Omaha Athletics

This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team makes a return trip to Drake this Saturday, Dec. 9, with tipoff set for 5 p.m. at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, 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
• After last Sunday's game in Seattle, Omaha has played in all four time zones in the contiguous United States.
• Four Mavericks are averaging double-figure scoring 10 games in: Zach Jackson (17.5 ppg), Daniel Norl (12.2 ppg), Mitch Hahn (12.2 ppg) and KJ Robinson (11.0 ppg).
• Jackson ranks in the top five in the Summit League in multiple categories: third for points (175), fourth for points per game (17.5) and free throws made (40) and fifth for field goals made (59).
• Over the last four games, Jackson has averaged 21.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting .617 from the field, .625 from 3-point range and .842 from the free throw line. He has led the Mavericks in scoring in every game of that span.
• During Omaha's two-game West Coast swing this week, Lamar Wofford-Humphrey averaged 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
• 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.
• 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 4-4 (0-0 MVC) after a 93-65 loss at South Dakota on Wednesday. The Bulldogs were led by 12 points from Reed Timmer. Head coach Niko Medved is in his first season at DU with a record of 4-4 and a career mark of 66-74 over five years.
 
Saturday's game marks the 10th meeting all-time between Omaha and Drake, and the Bulldogs lead the series, 8-1. The Mavericks secured their first win over DU on Nov. 29 at Baxter Arena, 75-73.
 
Last Time Out: UC Santa Barbara Tops Mavericks, 77-70
Omaha completed its West Coast swing Tuesday night, falling 77-70 to UC Santa Barbara at The Thunderdome. Junior Zach Jackson led the Mavericks in scoring for the fourth straight game, posting 17 points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block. Junior Mitch Hahn collected his second consecutive double-double effort and his third of the season with 13 points and 13 boards.
 
Sophomore JT Gibson added 14 points, three rebounds and five assists off the bench, while sophomore KJ Robinson pitched in 12 points with six assists and two steals.
 
The Gauchos shot .475 (29-of-61) to Omaha's .439 (29-of-66) and outrebounded the Mavericks, 41-35.
 
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 17.5 points per game with 5.1 rebounds per contest and a .522 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 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.
 
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 (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 third in the Summit League for assists (42) and 3-point percentage (.478).
 
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 12.2 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 9.2 points per game. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has four 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 four double-figure scoring games to his credit. He has the team lead and ranks fifth in the Summit League for offensive rebounds (24).
 
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 six. In that stretch, Pile has boosted his averages to 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He tallied season bests of nine points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal with a block vs. Drake (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 hosts Arkansas State on Wednesday, Dec. 13, with tipoff set for 7 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.