Omaha Athletics

This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team caps its final regular-season road swing of the year this Saturday, Feb. 17, visiting South Dakota. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and Midco. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1620 The Zone, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
 
Quick Hits
• Four Mavericks are averaging double-figure scoring: Zach Jackson (18.1 ppg), Daniel Norl (13.0 ppg), Mitch Hahn (11.1 ppg) and JT Gibson (10.9 ppg).
• Jackson has tallied in double figures in 21 straight games and in that span, has averaged 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting .557 from the field, .457 from 3-point range and .838 from the free throw line.
• Jackson averaged 17.4 points per game in non-conference games and is up to 19.0 ppg in league play. He also has 1.6 assists per game in league games, compared to 0.6 apg in non-conference.
• Norl is a perfect 18-of-18 at the line since Jan. 25. His has scored in double figures in 11 of his last 12 games.
• Ayo Akinwole's 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio is third among Summit League players.
• Five Mavericks have had at least one 20-point scoring performance this season.
• Omaha's Feb. 10 attendance of 4,106 vs. Fort Wayne marked the largest men's basketball crowd in Baxter Arena history.
• 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 11 times overall this year.
• Omaha returned seven letterwinners from its 2016-17 squad, including a Summit League All-Newcomer pick in Hahn.
 
Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
South Dakota is 23-6 (10-2 Summit League) following an 85-67 road win over Oral Roberts on Wednesday, which swept the season series against the Golden Eagles and marked the Coyotes' fifth straight victory. Tyler Hagedorn tallied a game-high 20 points with 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Matt Mooney (19) and Triston Simpson (14) also scored in double figures.
 
Head coach Craig Smith is in his fourth season with South Dakota, carrying a record of 76-52 and a career mark of 148-81 over seven years.
 
Saturday's game marks the 103rd meeting all-time between Omaha and USD, with the Coyotes leading the series, 55-47, though the Mavericks have a 6-5 advantage in the Division I era.
 
The two teams last met on Jan. 20 at Baxter Arena, where USD prevailed 85-71.
 
Last Time Out: Mavericks Fall 94-78 at Denver
Omaha opened its final regular-season road swing Wednesday evening, falling 94-78 to Denver at Magness Arena. The Mavericks were led by senior Daniel Norl's third 20-point scoring performance of the season. He finished with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, three assists and a block.
 
Sophomore JT Gibson added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, hitting a perfect 3-of-3 from long range alongside three assists, a rebound and a steal. Junior Zach Jackson rounded it out with 11 points on a 4-of-7 night.
 
Junior Mitch Hahn also tallied seven points and a game-high nine rebounds, and freshman Matt Pile added nine points.
 
Denver shot .593 (35-of-59) to Omaha's .518 (29-of-56) and made 10 threes for the night. The Pioneers had a 32-21 advantage on the glass.
 
Action Jackson
Junior Zach Jackson is in his third year as a starter, averaging team bests of 18.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in double figures in all but one game, including 10 20-point scoring performances.
 
Jackson ranks in the top five in the Summit League in five categories: third for free throws made (102), fourth for points per game (18.1) and fifth for points (470), field goals made (165) and field goal percentage (.534).
 
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.
 
Jackson Tabbed Summit League Player of the Week
Zach Jackson was tabbed Summit League Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his performances Feb. 5-11 the league office announced Monday. It marks the first weekly award of his career, and he is the first Maverick honored this season.
 
Jackson averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 0.5 steals per game over two contests last week, shooting .520 from the field, .462 from long range and .818 at the free throw line. The Wichita, Kan., native scored a game-high 25 points with four 3-pointers in a 71-68 win over Western Illinois (Feb. 8). He followed with 16 points and team highs of seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks in a 90-85 win over Fort Wayne (Feb. 10). The performances extended his double-figure scoring streak to 20 games.
 
Gibson at Full Strength
Sophomore JT Gibson is fourth on the team for scoring with 10.9 points per game and has 11 double-figure scoring efforts this season. Omaha's triples leader, he owns 16 performances with two or more treys, including a perfect 3-of-3 showing Wednesday at Denver.
 
With 100 career assists to his credit, he is tied with Daniel Norl as Omaha's active career leader in the category.
 
Here's to You, Mr. Robinson
Sophomore KJ Robinson has assumed a starting role in 2017-18, averaging 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He scored in double figures in three straight games against North Dakota State (Jan. 25), South Dakota State (Jan. 30) and Western Illinois (Feb. 8).
 
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.
 
Norl's Senior Campaign
Senior Daniel Norl has been strong in his senior season, ranking second on the team for scoring with 13.0 points per game alongside 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest. 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 posted his second 20-point effort with a game-high 23 points, three boards, a career-high-tying seven assists and a career-best three steals at Oral Roberts (Dec. 30).
 
With 100 career assists to his credit, he is tied with JT Gibson as Omaha's active career leader in the category.
 
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 18.5 minutes per game since then. In that stretch, Pile has boosted his averages to 6.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He transitioned into the starting five Jan. 30 at South Dakota State.
 
Pile notched his first career double-double vs. Doane (Jan. 2) with career highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds and 9-of-11 shooting. He put together a six-block performance vs. Denver (Jan. 18), which marked the most of any Maverick since Adam Wetzel's six in 2002.
 
Pile ranks third in the Summit League for blocks (30) this season.
 
Feelin' Hahn, Hahn, Hahn
Junior Mitch Hahn is back in the lineup after more than seven weeks out due to injury. Since Jan. 25, the 2016-17 Summit League All-Newcomer Team selection has averaged 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, and last weekend's effort against Fort Wayne (Feb. 10) included a season-high 21 points with six rebounds and three helpers.
 
To start the season, Hahn scored in double figures in three straight games with 12 points at Montana State (Nov. 10), 13 at Oklahoma (Nov. 12) and a season-high 16 at New Mexico (Nov. 14). After missing three games from Nov. 17-25, he returned to the lineup vs. Drake (Nov. 29), posting four points, five rebounds and two assists. He followed up with a double-double on 15 points and 10 rebounds at Washington (Dec. 3) and another with 13 points and 13 rebounds at UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 5). After suffering an injury late in the game Dec. 5 at UCSB, he was out of commission until returning Jan. 25 at North Dakota State.
 
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. The Billings, Mont., native is Omaha's active career leader for games played (108) and blocks (30).
 
Meyer was on fire last week vs. Western Illinois (Feb. 8) and Fort Wayne (Feb. 10), averaging 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in reserve while shooting .667 (8-of-12). Against the Leathernecks, he posted eight points, then followed with season highs of nine points and seven boards against the Mastodons.
 
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.
              
Off the court, Meyer is a fully-rated instrument and private aircraft pilot.
 
Up Next
Omaha hosts its final homestand next week, welcoming Oral Roberts on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena. The game will be televised live on YurView Cox Channel 1013, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.