Leading Off
The Omaha men's basketball team returns to Baxter Arena for its first home game in three and a half weeks this Wednesday, Dec. 19, welcoming UC Santa Barbara at 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 led for 35:15 last Saturday at Idaho, its second outing when leading 35 minutes or more.
• Three Mavericks are averaging 10 or more points per game to start the year:
Zach Jackson (18.2 ppg),
JT Gibson (13.9 ppg) and
KJ Robinson (10.3 ppg).
• Five Mavericks have made at least four triples in a single game this season: Gibson (five times), Jackson (twice) and Robinson,
Ayo Akinwole and
Mitch Hahn (once each).
• Omaha has had five double-figure scorers three times this season, most recently at Idaho (Dec. 15).
• Redshirt freshman
Zach Thornhill, who battled injuries for the last year and a half, made his collegiate debut last Saturday, contributing two points and two rebounds in eight minutes off the bench.
• The Mavericks, who rank 65th nationally for fewest turnovers per game, have set a season low for turnovers in three straight games: nine at Seattle (Dec. 6), eight at Oregon (Dec. 8) and seven at Idaho Dec. 15).
• Omaha has had two players with 20 or more points on the same night twice this season: Gibson (21) and Jackson (20) at Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 20) and Jackson (33) and Akinwole (20) vs. Montana State (Nov. 24).
• The Mavericks were 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 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
UC Santa Barbara is 8-2 (0-0 Big West) after a 99-89 overtime win at Rice last Saturday, its second straight victory. Three Gauchos had 20-point scoring efforts: Max Heidegger (22), JaQuori McLaughlin (22) and Devearl Ramsey (21), while McLaughlin and Ar'mond Davis each pulled down a team-best six rebounds.
UCSB, which finished 23-9 (11-5 Big West) a year ago, was voted fourth in the Big West's preseason media poll. Heidegger was a Preseason All-Big West selection after earning first-team all-conference, second-team NABC All-District and Mid-Major All-America recognition in his sophomore season.
Head coach Joe Pasternack has a record of 31-11 in two seasons at UCSB and a career mark if 85-71 over six years.
All-Time Against UC Santa Barbara
Wednesday marks the fourth meeting between Omaha and UC Santa Barbara, with the Gauchos leading the all-time series, 2-1. It is the second time the two teams have played at Baxter Arena, where UCSB won the first matchup in the series -- and the first basketball game staged at Baxter -- by a score of 60-59 on Nov. 13, 2015.
Omaha and UCSB last faced each other Dec. 5, 2017 in Santa Barbara, Calif., where the Gauchos won 77-70.
Zach Jackson had 17 points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block in the contest, and
Mitch Hahn had a double-double on 13 points and 13 boards.
Battling the Big West
Wednesday's meeting with UC Santa Barbara marks the seventh meeting of Omaha's Division I era and the first this season against Big West competition. Omaha is 3-3 against members of the conference since 2011-12.
Last Time Out: Hahn, Pile Power Omaha Past Idaho, 89-80
Omaha led nearly the entire way Saturday afternoon, picking up an 89-80 road win over Idaho at the Cowan Spectrum. Five Mavericks scored in double figures on the day, led by a season-high 21 points from
Mitch Hahn, whose performance included a 7-of-13 effort from the field with four 3-pointers, six rebounds and an assist.
Matt Pile recorded his third double-double of the year with 13 points and a season-high-tying 11 boards along with a game-best four assists.
JT Gibson (15),
Ayo Akinwole (13) and
KJ Robinson (12) also tallied in double digits. Robinson drained three 3-pointers and added four helpers to match Pile.
Omaha shot .477 (31-of-65) from the floor with 10 3-pointers, while Idaho finished at .464 (26-of-56) with 10 triples of their own. The Vandals had a slight edge on the glass, 36-34, but Omaha forced 18 turnovers on the day while committing a season-low seven of their own. The Mavericks scored 22 points off miscues.
Action Jackson
Over the first 11 games this season,
Zach Jackson has a team-best 18.2 points with 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He ranks as the fourth-best scorer in the Summit League and is also third for free throws made (46).
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 enters Wednesday's game on a streak of nine straight games with double-figure scoring, averaging 15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per contest in that span. 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). At Oregon (Dec. 8), Gibson posted 18 points on five 3-pointers and added three rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Gibson is Omaha's active career leader for threes made (123) and assists (127).
JT for Three
JT Gibson is the only Omaha player to hit a three in all 11 games this season. Last year, he knocked one down in a career-long 19 straight games from Nov. 20, 2017 to Jan. 25, 2018.
The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native broke into Omaha's top 15 for career triples Dec. 6 at Seattle, and he now ranks 14th (123).
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 17th all-time for scoring with 1,192 points. Nov. 26 at Iowa State, he passed former Maverick and current assistant coach
Tyler Bullock (2009-11) to move into the top 20.
Jackson also has 433 rebounds over his career, needing 67 to become the 12th player in school history with at least 1,000 points and 500 boards.
Feelin' Hahn, Hahn, Hahn
Mitch Hahn scored in double figures in three straight games to open the season, totaling 14 points at Minnesota (Nov. 6), 11 vs. Buena Vista (Nov. 9) and 10 vs. Northern Arizona (Nov. 14). He also owns three games with a trio of 3-pointers, hitting three apiece against Minnesota (Nov. 6) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 14) and a season-best four at Idaho (Dec. 15), where he scored a season-high 21 points.
Hahn returned to the Maverick lineup last January after more than seven weeks out due to a shoulder injury. From Jan. 25 to March 3, the Fremont, Neb., native averaged 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
The Pile Driver
Dec. 15 at Idaho, sophomore
Matt Pile grabbed his fourth career double-double -- and his third of the season -- with 13 points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. The Goddard, Kan., native has scored in double digits six times this year, including a season-high 15 points with five boards, an assist, a steal and two blocks at Arizona State (Nov. 28).
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. Pile ranked third in the Summit League for blocks (32) last year and is Omaha's active career leader in the category with 40.
Compared to the Opposition
Over its 11 contests this season, Omaha has:
•More or equal field goals made compared to its opponent six times
•More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent seven times
•More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent three times
•More or equal rebounds compared to its opponent three times
•More or equal assists compared to its opponent four times
•More or equal steals compared to its opponent eight times
•Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent nine times
•More or equal blocks compared to its opponent five times
Up Next
Omaha closes the non-conference portion of its schedule on Friday, Dec. 21 with a trip to Rice. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1620 The Zone. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
