Leading Off
The Omaha men's basketball team seeks its fourth straight win this Sunday, Jan. 20, welcoming South Dakota to Baxter Arena at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on YurView Cox Channel 1013, Midco and ESPN+ with Donny Baarns on and former Maverick
Kyler Erickson on the call. Gary Sharp and John Karhoff will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• The Mavericks' 4-1 start to Summit League play matches its previous best set by the 2015-16 team.
• Omaha has won seven of its last eight games. Its three-game win streak is its second-longest of the season, behind a four-game stretch from Dec. 15-28.
• Omaha has won its last four decisions on the road. The last time the Mavericks won four straight away from home was Jan. 7-23, 2016.
• The Mavericks have outrebounded their opponent in three straight games with an average margin of 8.0. The last time Omaha outrebounded its opponent in three consecutive games was Dec. 9-17, 2017.
• Through the first five games of league play, Omaha ranks in the top third of the Summit League for scoring (second at 87.4), field goal percentage (second at .508), field goals made per game (second at 31.8), 3-point percentage (first at .443), free throw percentage (second at .764), free throws made per game (first at 13.6), offensive rebounds per game (third at 8.8), assists per game (second at 15.8) and fewest turnovers per game (first at 8.8).
• Five Mavericks are averaging double figures:
Zach Jackson (17.9 ppg),
JT Gibson (14.2 ppg),
Mitch Hahn (11.0 ppg),
KJ Robinson (10.6 ppg) and
Matt Pile (10.5 ppg).
• Omaha is one of three league teams -- with South Dakota State and Purdue Fort Wayne -- with at least two players in the conference's top 10 for scoring. Jackson is fifth (17.9 ppg), and Gibson is ninth (14.2 ppg).
• The Mavericks, who rank 13th nationally and first in the Summit League for fewest turnovers per game, have had single-digit turnovers in nine of the last 10 games.
• The Mavericks' assist-to-turnover ratio has jumped from 0.9 in the first nine games to 1.9 over the last nine.
• Gibson has not committed more than one turnover in a game since Dec. 15 at Idaho. In the seven games since then, he has a 5.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Omaha is five wins shy of two century marks: its 100th win since gaining membership in the Summit League in 2012-13 and
Derrin Hansen's 100th career conference win since taking the reins of the Maverick program in 2005-06.
• 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 are both team captains for the second straight year.
Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
South Dakota is 8-10 (2-3 Summit League) after a 77-74 loss at Oral Roberts Thursday night. Tyler Peterson (20 points/12 rebounds) and Cody Kelley (14 points/10 rebounds) each had a double-double, and Stanley Umude led the Coyotes with 21 points as USD's late comeback fell short in Tulsa.
USD, which finished 26-9 (11-3 Summit League) a year ago, was voted second in the Summit League's preseason poll. Trey Burch-Manning was named to the Preseason All-Summit First Team, and Tyler Hagedorn was a second-team selection.
Head coach Todd Lee is 8-10 in his first season at South Dakota and carries a career mark of 162-91 over nine years.
All-Time Against South Dakota
Sunday marks the 92nd meeting between Omaha and South Dakota, and the Coyotes lead the all-time series 47-44, including 7-6 in the Mavericks' Division I era. USD has a 4-3 advantage in Omaha since 2012-13.
Omaha and USD last met March 3, 2018 in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., where the Coyotes won 87-73.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Pick Up Third Straight Win, 80-71 at Western Illinois
Omaha led nearly the entire way Thursday night en route to its third straight win, 80-71 over Western Illinois at Western Hall.
Zach Jackson scored in double figures for the seventh straight game and had his seventh effort of 20+ points this season. The senior from Wichita, Kan., finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting with three 3-pointers alongside five rebounds and an assist.
KJ Robinson had a season-high 18 points with 5-of-7 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 showing at the free throw line. He added five more boards and an assist.
JT Gibson scored in double figures for the sixth straight game on 14 points with four boards, and
Mitch Hahn had his eighth consecutive double-digit effort on 11 points and pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.
Omaha shot .509 (29-of-57) to WIU's .468 (29-of-62) and canned 10 triples for the night. The Mavericks also finished .750 (12-of-16) at the stripe and outrebounded the Leathernecks 37-29.
Scoring Notables
• Over the last five games,
Matt Pile has shot .579 (33-of-57), and
Mitch Hahn .528 (38-of-72).
• Five Mavericks have made at least four triples in a single game this season:
JT Gibson (seven times),
Zach Jackson, Hahn and
KJ Robinson (twice each) and
Ayo Akinwole (once).
• Omaha has had five double-figure scorers six times, most recently vs. North Dakota State (Jan. 2). All five starters have scored in double figures on two occasions.
• The Mavericks have shot .500 or better as a team seven times.
• Omaha has twice had two players with 20 or more points on the same night: Gibson (21) and Jackson (20) at Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 20) and Jackson (33) and Akinwole (20) vs. Montana State (Nov. 24).
Threes, Please
Omaha ranks 14th nationally with a .395 shooting percentage from distance and 42nd nationally as a team with 167 3-pointers made.
JT Gibson has been a major factor from long range, and the junior is 63rd in the country for 3-point percentage (.408).
The Mavericks have nine games with double-digit triples this season.
Action Jackson
Over 18 games in his senior campaign,
Zach Jackson has a team-best 17.9 points with 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.8 steals per game. He is the fifth-best scorer in the Summit League and also ranks fourth among league players for free throws made (68). Jackson's 10 straight games in double figures from Nov. 6 to Dec. 8 is the longest of any Omaha player this season, and he carries a seven-game double-figure streak into Sunday's game vs. South Dakota.
JT's Junior Year
JT Gibson has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, including a nine-game streak from Nov. 14 - Dec. 15 and his current six-game stretch. He has scored 15 or more points in a night on seven occasions, highlighted by a career-high 22 points with three rebounds, three assists and a steal vs. Denver (Dec. 28), followed by 21 points, three boards, a career-high eight assists and three steals vs. Oral Roberts (Dec. 30).
Gibson has seven games with four or more 3-pointers, led by a five-triple efforts at Oregon (Dec. 8) and vs. Denver (Dec. 28). He ranks fifth in the Summit League for 3-pointers made (49) and steals (24), and in league-only games. In league play, he carries a league-best 6.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and has averaged 16.2 points per game.
Gibson, who has scored in 50 straight contests, is Omaha's active career leader for threes made and assists (150).
JT for Three
JT Gibson is the only Omaha player to hit a three in all 18 games this season. Last year, he knocked one down in a career-long 19 straight games from Nov. 20, 2017 to Jan. 25, 2018.
With a team-high 49 treys, he ranks fifth among Summit League players. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native broke into Omaha's top 15 for career triples Dec. 6 at Seattle and now ranks 12th (141).
Milestones in the Making for Jackson
Zach Jackson came into 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 12th all-time for scoring with 1,314 points. He needs just 20 points to pass former teammate
Marcus Tyus (2012-17), whose 1,334 points occupy the 11th spot on the list.
Jackson also has 466 rebounds over his career, needing 34 to become the 12th player in school history with at least 1,000 points and 500 boards.
On Jan. 2, Jackson joined the top 20 in school history for career field goals and is now 14th with 442 made.
Feelin' Hahn, Hahn, Hahn
Mitch Hahn has been a major factor in Omaha's success of late, as the senior has averaged 15.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game with .543 shooting over the last eight games, scoring in double figures in each one. The numbers are up from his previous 10 games, during which he had 7.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game and shot .308 from the floor and .229 from three.
The Fremont, Neb., native also owns three games with at least three 3-pointers, hitting three apiece against Minnesota (Nov. 6) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 14) and a season-best four at Idaho (Dec. 15) and vs. North Dakota State (Jan. 2). He has two double-doubles on the year: the first at Rice (Dec. 21) with 18 points/11 rebounds and the second at North Dakota (Jan. 10) with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Pile Driver
Matt Pile is shooting at a .605 clip in his sophomore campaign, ranking fourth among Summit League players. He also ranks fourth for offensive rebounds (45) and fifth for rebounds per game (7.2), and in league-only games, he is second for offensive boards (19).
The Goddard, Kan., native has scored in double digits 11 times this year. He delivered back-to-back doubles vs. North Dakota State (Jan. 2) with 19 points/12 rebounds and at North Dakota (Jan. 10) with a career-best 20 points/10 rebounds. Over the last 10 games, Pile has five double-doubles and has averaged 11.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest.
Just a year and a half into his career, Pile's is Omaha's active career leader in for blocks (45) and is tied with
Mitch Hahn for the lead in double-doubles (seven).
Here's to You, Mr. Robinson
KJ Robinson returned to the Mavericks' starting five Dec. 6 at Seattle, playing his first game since Nov. 20. He hit five 3-pointers en route to 17 points that night and has since averaged 11.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in the 10-game stretch. Robinson put up a season-best 18-point performance Thursday night at Western Illinois.
With a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio this year, he ranks 40th nationally.
A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Robinson had a career performance vs. Tennessee Tech last season, going 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).
The Evolution of Zach Jackson
Zach Jackson has been a four-year starter, averaging 11.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for his career. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in 65 straight contests dating back to Jan. 7, 2017 and has 67 consecutive starts since Dec. 29, 2016.
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.
Compared to the Opposition
Over its 18 contests this season, Omaha has:
•More or equal field goals made compared to its opponent 11 times
•More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent 11 times
•More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent seven times
•More or equal rebounds compared to its opponent seven times
•More or equal assists compared to its opponent nine times
•More or equal steals compared to its opponent 12 times
•Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent 13 times
•More or equal blocks compared to its opponent eight times
Home Sweet Homaha
Omaha played 12 games at home in 2017-18, and eight of its nine wins came at Baxter Arena. It won five straight in their own facility to start before South Dakota State snapped the streak on Jan. 6.
This season, the Mavericks are 5-2 at home. They average 85.6 points per game and have an average margin of victory of 18.2 points at Baxter.
Up Next
Omaha travels to Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, Jan. 24, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CT at Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
