Leading Off
The Omaha men's basketball team takes to the road for its first away trip of the Summit League slate this Thursday, Jan. 10, visiting league newcomer North Dakota. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The game will be broadcast live on YurView Cox Channel 1013, Midco, ESPN+, FOX College Sports and FOX Sports GO. 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.
Quick Hits
• Omaha has opened the Summit League slate at 2-1, its second-best start since joining the conference -- behind only a 3-0 start in 2015-16.
• Through the first three games of league play, Omaha ranks in the top third of the league for scoring (third at 88.3), field goals made per game (second at 33.0), field goal percentage (third at .521), 3-point percentage (first at .440), assists per game (first at 20.0) and fewest turnovers per game (first at 9.0).
• The Mavericks' assist-to-turnover ratio has jumped from 0.9 in the first nine games to 2.2 over the last six.
• Five Mavericks are averaging 10 or more points per game:
Zach Jackson (17.8 ppg),
JT Gibson (14.3 ppg),
KJ Robinson (10.6 ppg),
Mitch Hahn (10.6 ppg) and
Matt Pile (10.4 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 this season. Jackson is fifth (17.8 ppg), and Gibson is ninth (14.3 ppg).
• The Mavericks, who rank 19th nationally and first in the Summit League for fewest turnovers per game, have had single-digit turnovers in seven of the last eight games.
• Omaha is seven 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 North Dakota Fighting Hawks
North Dakota is 7-9 (1-2 Summit League) after its first league win last Saturday, 80-59 at Denver. Five players scored in double figures: Aanen Moody (21), Conner Avants (14), Kienan Walters (12), Billy Brown (12) and Cortez Seales (12). Walter also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
UND, which finished 12-20 (6-11 Big Sky) a year ago, was voted seventh in the Summit League's preseason poll.
Head coach Brian Jones holds a career record of 195-208 in 14 seasons at North Dakota.
All-Time Against North Dakota
Thursday marks the 81st meeting between Omaha and North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks leading the all-time series, 45-35, but Omaha has won seven straight meetings dating back to 2007.
Omaha has a 3-0 advantage in its Division I era, starting with an 83-75 win on Feb. 23, 2013 at Ralston Arena for the ESPN Bracket Busters event. The Mavericks picked up a 91-75 win at Ralston on March 19, 2014 in the first round of the CIT, then an 80-78 triumph in Grand Forks on March 3, 2015.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Down NDSU 90-77 to Cap Home Stand
Omaha earned its second conference victory and its second win of a three-game home stand last Wednesday, defeating North Dakota State 90-77 at Baxter Arena.
Matt Pile had a monster night with career highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds, hitting 7-of-11 from the floor.
Mitch Hahn led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting with four 3-pointers, four boards and three assists.
All five Maverick starters scored in double figures, with
Zach Jackson adding 16 points,
KJ Robinson with 14 more and
JT Gibson at 11. Gibson also dished out a game-high five assists.
Omaha shot .557 (34-of-61) as a team, including .458 (11-of-24) from distance, while NDSU came in at .474 (27-of-57) from the field and .500 (13-of-26) from the field. The Mavericks outrebounded NDSU 33-28 and returned to single-digit turnover form with just seven miscues on the night.
Scoring Notables
• Over the last four games,
Matt Pile has shot .649 (24-of-37),
JT Gibson .532 (25-of-47) and
Mitch Hahn .551 (27-of-49).
• Five Mavericks have made at least four triples in a single game this season: 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 six 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 27th nationally as a team with 149 3-pointers made and 25th nationally with a .389 shooting percentage from distance.
JT Gibson has been a major factor from long range, as the junior is 43rd in the country for threes made (45) and 55th for 3-point percentage (.421).
Omaha hit 11 threes Jan. 2 vs. North Dakota State, marking the Mavericks' eighth game with double-digit triples.
Action Jackson
Over 16 games this season,
Zach Jackson has a team-best 17.8 points with 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.9 steals per game. He ranks 59th nationally for total points (285), is the fifth-best scorer in the Summit League and also ranks fourth among league players for free throws made (58). 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 five-game double-figure streak into Thursday's game at North 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 four-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 second in the Summit League for 3-pointers made (45) and fourth for steals (23).
Gibson, who has scored in 48 straight games, is Omaha's active career leader for threes made and assists (148).
JT for Three
JT Gibson is the only Omaha player to hit a three in all 16 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 45 treys, he ranks second among Summit League players and 43rd nationally. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native broke into Omaha's top 15 for career triples Dec. 6 at Seattle and now ranks 12th (137).
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 14th all-time for scoring with 1,277 points.
Jackson also has 455 rebounds over his career, needing 45 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 19th with 431 made.
Feelin' Hahn, Hahn, Hahn
Mitch Hahn has been a major factor in Omaha's success of late, as the senior has averaged 16.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game with .565 shooting over the last six 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 put up his first double-double of the year at Rice (Dec. 21) on 18 points and 11 boards.
The Pile Driver
Matt Pile is shooting at a .633 clip in his sophomore campaign, ranking second among Summit League players. He also ranks fourth for offensive rebounds (37) and fifth for rebounds per game (7.0).
The Goddard, Kan., native has scored in double digits 10 times this year and delivered a career performance vs. North Dakota State (Jan. 2) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. It was his fifth double-double of the season and the sixth of his career. Over the last eight games, Pile has four double-doubles and has averaged 11.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest. He set a career high for assists in back-to-back games with four at Idaho (Dec. 15) and five vs. UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 19).
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 (six).
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 a season-high 17 points and has since averaged 11.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in that eight-game stretch. With a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio this year, he ranks 39th 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).
Compared to the Opposition
Over its 16 contests this season, Omaha has:
•More or equal field goals made compared to its opponent 10 times
•More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent 10 times
•More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent five times
•More or equal rebounds compared to its opponent five 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
Up Next
Omaha visits Western Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 17, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. in Macomb, Ill. 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.
