Leading Off
The Omaha men's basketball team continues its five-game road swing this Wednesday, Nov. 28 with a trip to Arizona State. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks with Daron Sutton and Eddie House on the call and may also be accessed online via Pac-12 Now and the Pac-12 Network app. 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
• Three Mavericks are averaging nine or more points per game to start the season:
Zach Jackson (20.6),
JT Gibson (13.6) and
KJ Robinson (9.8).
• Gibson is the Summit League leader for 3-pointers made (19) and is second for steals (13).
• Omaha had two players with 20 or more points on the same night in back-to-back games last week: Gibson (21) and Jackson (20) at Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 20) and Jackson (33) and
Ayo Akinwole (20) vs. Montana State (Nov. 24).
• The Mavericks picked eighth in the 2018-19 Summit League's Preseason Poll, and Jackson was a first-team Preseason All-Summit selection.
• Jackson collected second-team All-Summit accolades as a junior. Since Omaha joined the Summit League in 2012-13, 10 Mavericks have combined for 12 All-Summit awards.
• Jackson and Hahn will both serve as team captains for the second straight year.
Scouting the Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State is 5-0 (0-0 Pac-12) after two wins last week in Las Vegas, 72-67 over Mississippi State and 87-82 over Utah State. In the latter game, four Sun Devils scored in double figures: Luguentz Dort (33), Taeshon Cherry (15), Remy Martin (13) and Kimani Lawrence (10). Dort also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds in helping ASU to the MGM Resorts Heavyweight Bracket title and the tournament's MVP award. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday and ranks second in the conference with 23.0 points per game in his freshman season.
ASU, which finished 20-12 (8-10 Pac-12) a year ago, was picked sixth in the conference's preseason poll.
Head coach Bobby Hurley is in his fourth season at ASU and has a record of 55-47 and a career mark of 97-67 over six years.
All-Time Against Arizona State
Wednesday marks the first meeting between Omaha and Arizona State.
Tour de Pac-12
Wednesday's meeting at Arizona State marks the Mavericks' second of three meetings with a Pac-12 team this season, as they previously faced Colorado (Nov. 16) and visit Oregon next week (Dec. 8). All-time, Omaha is 0-4 against Pac-12 competition.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Fall at Iowa State, 82-55
Omaha opened a five-game road stretch Monday night at Iowa State, falling 82-55 at Hilton Coliseum.
JT Gibson hit four 3-pointers en route to a team-leading 16 points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Zach Jackson also produced in double figures with 13 points, and
Wanjang Tut pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
ISU shot .462 (30-of-65) from the field and held Omaha to .356 (21-of-59) while outrebounding the Mavericks 46-33. Omaha committed a season-high 20 turnovers, and ISU took advantage with 28 points off miscues.
Action Jackson
Zach Jackson ranked in the top five in the Summit League in 2017-18 for scoring, field goal percentage, field goals made and free throws made, averaging 17.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Over the first seven games this season, he has a team-best 20.6 points with 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He ranks as the third-best scorer in the Summit League and is also third for steals (12) and points (144).
The Wichita, Kan., native opened the 2018-19 campaign with back-to-back 20-point performances, and he led the Mavericks in scoring in three straight games to start the year.
JT's Junior Year
JT Gibson has been on a tear in the last three games, averaging 17.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. At Colorado (Nov. 16), he had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with six boards, three assists and two steals, then followed with a career-high-tying 21 points with two rebounds, three assists and three steals at Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 20).
Gibson has scored in double figures in five straight games, leading Omaha in three of those, and he has four straight games with at least three treys.
With 119 career assists to his credit, Gibson is Omaha's active career leader in the category.
Stepping Into the Spotlight
Against 18 high major opponents in the last four seasons,
Zach Jackson has averaged 11.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Over the last three years, his numbers have been 15.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 apg and 1.3 spg in 13 games. Below is a look at Jackson's five best scoring performances in high major games.
The Evolution of Zach Jackson
Zach Jackson has been a four-year starter, averaging 11.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for his career. The Wichita, Kan., native scored in double figures in all but three games in 2017-18, including 12 performances with 20+ points and four double-doubles. From his freshman campaign to his junior year, Jackson evolved into an all-league player and last year became the sixth Maverick in the Division I era to score 500+ points in a single season.
Milestones in the Making for Jackson
Zach Jackson entered his final season on the brink of with two major milestones. Nov. 9 at Minnesota, he became the 39th 1,000-point scorer in program history and is now 19th all-time for scoring with 1,136 points. On Monday at Iowa State, he passed former Maverick and current assistant coach
Tyler Bullock (2009-11) to move into the top 20.
Jackson also has 423 rebounds over his career, needing 77 to become the 12th player in school history with at least 1,000 points and 500 boards.
The Pile Driver
Nov. 9 vs. Northern Arizona, sophomore
Matt Pile grabbed his second career double-double with 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. The Goddard, Kan., native has scored in double digits three times this year, including a season-high 14 points with nine boards at Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 20).
Pile had an impactful freshman season in 2017-18, averaging 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game and joined the Maverick starting five for the final eight games of the season. Pile ranked third in the Summit League for blocks (32) last year and is Omaha's active career leader in the category with 37.
Ayo!
Ayo Akinwole made his first start of the season Saturday vs. Montana State, and the Papillion-LaVista product came to play. Akinwole had a perfect shooting day, finishing 8-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-4 from deep, en route to a career-high 20 points. He also had four rebounds, a season-high six assists and a career-high-tying three steals.
Akinwole's 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked third among Summit League players last season, and six games into 2018-19, he is fourth on the list at 3.0. He appeared in all 31 games as a freshman, including four starts, and averaged 3.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists over 15.5 minutes per game.
Welcome, Wanjang
Wanjang Tut has enjoyed a solid debut for the Mavericks, averaging 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in reserve over the first seven contests. The Omaha native opened the year with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists at Minnesota (Nov. 6), and he was the first off the bench vs. Buena Vista (Nov. 9) for 12 points and eight boards. Saturday against Montana State, Tut came up for 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Compared to the Opposition
Over its six contests this season, Omaha has:
•More or equal field goals made compared to its opponent five times
•More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent four times
•More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent two times
•More or equal rebounds compared to its opponent three times
•More or equal assists compared to its opponent three times
•More or equal steals compared to its opponent five times
•Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent six times
•More or equal blocks compared to its opponent three times
Up Next
Omaha travels to Seattle on Thursday, Dec. 6. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. CT at the Redhawk Center in Seattle, Wash., 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.
