Leading Off
The Omaha men's basketball team takes to the road for its second of three straight away games to close the regular season, visiting Oral Roberts this Thursday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 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 sits in second place in the Summit League standings, only a half-game behind South Dakota State. A win Thursday would put Omaha in a tie with SDSU, which plays its final game Saturday against Western Illinois at home. The Mavericks play Saturday at Denver to conclude the regular season.
• Heading into the final week of regular-season play with a 12-2 league mark, the Mavericks have assured themselves of a top-two seed for next week's Summit League Tournament.
• Omaha's 12 league wins are a Division I program record. The only other Maverick squad with double-digit league wins was the 2015-16 team (10).
• A win Thursday at Oral Roberts would be Omaha's seventh straight, which would set its longest Division I win streak.
• Omaha received votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for the second straight week. The last time the Mavericks received votes was six straight weeks from Jan. 11-Feb. 15, 2016.
• Omaha has won 15 of its last 17 games. It won five straight decisions on the road from Dec. 15 - Jan. 24 and carries a six-game streak into Thursday night's tilt at Oral Roberts.
•
Zach Jackson is five points away from becoming just the second player in program history to reach 1,500 points and 500 rebounds. The other is Dennis Forrest (1973-77), who had 1,660 points and 557 boards.
• The Mavericks have outrebounded 10 of their last 12 opponents.
• Omaha is the only team in the league to have all five starters averaging double figures: Jackson (18.6 ppg),
JT Gibson (13.4 ppg),
Mitch Hahn (12.5 ppg),
KJ Robinson (12.0 ppg) and
Matt Pile (10.9 ppg).
• The Mavericks rank fifth nationally for fewest total turnovers and sixth for fewest turnovers per game. They have had single-digit turnovers in 15 of the last 19 games, including six straight since Feb. 3.
• Robinson has limited himself to 24 turnovers in 24 games. In league play, Gibson has 10 miscues and
Ayo Akinwole has 11 in 14 contests.
• Omaha hit two century marks Feb. 14: 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 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts is 10-20 (6-9 Summit League) after a 75-66 loss at Western Illinois last Saturday. Kaelen Malone scored 17 points, all in the second half, and dished out five assists to lead ORU. Kevin Obanor added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Emmanuel Nzekwesi had 15 points and 13 boards. Carlos Jurgens also reached double figures with 10 points.
ORU, which finished 11-21 (5-9 Summit League) a year ago, was voted sixth in the conference's preseason poll. Nzekwesi was a second-team Preseason All-Summit selection after earning all-league honorable mention last year.
Head coach Paul Mills holds a career record of 21-41 in two seasons at Oral Roberts.
All-Time Against Oral Roberts
Thursday marks the 12th meeting between Omaha and Oral Roberts, with the Golden Eagles leading the all-time series 8-3, including 5-4 in the Mavericks' Division I era. ORU has won three straight in the series and two straight at the Mabee Center. The Golden Eagles are 3-2 against the Mavericks since 2014-15 when games are set in Tulsa.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Rally Past North Dakota State, 58-50
Omaha overcame a double-digit deficit for the fifth time this season Saturday afternoon, defeating North Dakota State 58-50 at the Scheels Center.
Matt Pile registered his team-leading eighth double-double of the season on 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, shooting 6-of-12 from the floor. He added two steals and a block.
Zach Jackson led all scorers with 16 points and added three rebounds, an assist and two steals.
KJ Robinson joined him with 15 points, five boards, a game-high six assists and a steal.
Mitch Hahn also pulled down nine rebounds and chipped in five points and two assists.
Omaha, which shot just .281 (9-of-32) in the first half, finished the game at .382 (21-of-55) from the floor to NDSU's .346 (18-of-52). The Mavericks had a 38-32 rebounding edge, including nine boards on the offensive end. Omaha had a 24-18 advantage in the paint and outscored NDSU 13-5 on second-chance points.
Scoring Notables
• Omaha has shot .500 or better in six of its last 10 games and gone 9-1.
•
Zach Jackson is the first player since current Maverick assistant coach
Tyler Bullock (2009-11) and the only player in the Division I era to have back-to-back 500-point seasons. Jackson scored 547 points as a junior and has 503 as a senior.• Over the last 10 games, Jackson has averaged 20.3 points per game and has at least 20 points in seven of them: 22 at Western Illinois (Jan. 17), 21 vs. South Dakota (Jan. 20), 25 at Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 24), 22 vs. North Dakota (Feb. 3), 27 at South Dakota (Feb. 7), 27 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 16) and 21 vs. Western Illinois (Feb. 20).
• Over the last five games,
JT Gibson (11),
Zach Jackson (11),
Mitch Hahn (11) and
KJ Robinson (10) have combined for 43 of Omaha's 46 threes.
• Hahn (.579, 11-of-19) has shot over 50 percent from deep in the last five games.
• Five Mavericks have made at least four triples in a single game this season: Gibson (eight times), Hahn and Jackson (four times each), Robinson (twice) and
Ayo Akinwole (once).
• Omaha has had at least five double-figure scorers nine times, most recently vs. Western Illinois (Feb. 20). All five starters have scored in double figures simultaneously on five occasions this year.
• The Mavericks counted six double-figure scorers on the same night once this season -- at South Dakota (Feb. 7). Six Mavericks have finished in double figures seven times in the Division I era and 12 times in the
Derrin Hansen era.
• The Mavericks have shot .500 or better as a team 12 times, including 10 of the last 15 games. They are undefeated when shooting at least .500.
Threes, Please
Omaha ranks 10th nationally with a .394 shooting percentage from distance and 68th as a team with 246 3-pointers made.
JT Gibson has been a major factor from long range, and the junior is 64th in the country for 3-point percentage (.398). The Mavericks have 12 games with double-digit triples this season.
League Leaders
Omaha ranks in the top third of the Summit League for scoring (third at 79.7), field goal percentage (third at .479), field goals made per game (third at 29.9), 3-point percentage (second at .394) and fewest turnovers per game (first at 9.8).
Action Jackson
Over 27 games in his senior campaign,
Zach Jackson has a team-best 18.6 points with 4.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.9 steals per game. He ranks 77th nationally for scoring and 86th for total points (503), is the fourth-best scorer in the Summit League and also ranks fourth among league players for free throws made (100) and field goals made (176). Jackson's 1,495 points are 85th among the NCAA's Division I active career leaders for scoring.
JT's Junior Year
JT Gibson has scored in double figures in all but four games this season and had an 11-game streak from Dec. 21 to Feb. 7. He has scored 15 or more points in a night on nine 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 eight games with four or more 3-pointers, led by a five-triple efforts at Oregon (Dec. 8) and vs. Denver (Dec. 28). He ranks sixth in the Summit League for 3-pointers made (68) and fifth for steals (32).
Gibson has scored in 59 straight contests and is Omaha's active career leader for threes made.
JT for Three
JT Gibson is the only Omaha player to hit a three in all 27 games this season. The streak is the longest of his career, surpassing his previous best of 19 straight games from Nov. 20, 2017 to Jan. 25, 2018. Dating back to last season, Gibson has a make from distance in 29 straight games, which is the 14th-longest streak among Division I players.
With a team-high 68 treys, he ranks sixth 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 10th (160).
Milestones in the Making for Jackson
Zach Jackson came into his final season on the brink of major milestones in scoring and rebounding. Nov. 9 at Minnesota, he became the 39th 1,000-point scorer in program history and sits in sixth all-time for scoring with 1,479 points. He needs eight points to pass CJ Carter (2011-15), whose 1,502 points occupy the fifth spot.
Jackson also has 508 rebounds over his career, which ranks 19th all-time.
Jackson is the 12th player in school history with at least 1,000 points and 500 boards, and he is five points away from becoming just the second player in program history to reach 1,500 points and 500 rebounds.
Additionally, Jackson joined the top 20 in school history for career field goals on Jan. 2 and is now ninth with 508 made. He moved into 20th for career steals on Feb. 3 and has since moved up to 17th with 105.
The Pile Driver
Matt Pile is shooting at a .599 clip in his sophomore campaign, ranking third among Summit League players. He is the league leader for offensive rebounds (80) and also ranks fourth for total rebounds (206) and fifth for rebounds per game (7.6). In league-only games, he is first for offensive boards (54).
The Goddard, Kan., native has scored in double digits 18 times this year, including six straight since Feb. 3. He delivered back-to-back double-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 18 games, Pile has seven double-doubles and has averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest.
Just a year and a half into his career, Pile's is Omaha's active career leader in for blocks (54). He joined the top 15 in school history with a season-best four-block performance Jan. 20 vs. South Dakota.
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 12.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in the 19-game stretch. Robinson put up a season-best 23-point performance Jan. 26 at South Dakota State, canning four triples and adding five rebounds and four steals.
Robinson's 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks sixth nationally. He is Omaha's active career leader for assists (178).
The Evolution of Zach Jackson
Zach Jackson has been a four-year starter, averaging 12.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for his career. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in 74 straight contests dating back to Jan. 7, 2017 and has 76 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.
Down But Not Out
Omaha overcame a 12-point deficit to win Saturday at North Dakota State, marking the fifth time this season the Mavericks have worked past a double-digit deficit. The previous four were a 16-point comeback vs. South Dakota State (Feb. 14), a 17-point rally at Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 24), a 14-point comeback at North Dakota (Jan. 10) and a 15-point one at Bethune Cookman (Nov. 20).
Over
Derrin Hansen's 14-year career, the Mavericks have prevailed over a double-digit deficit 31 times, including 19 in the Division I era. Below is a look at the largest comebacks Hansen's Omaha teams have achieved:
Compared to the Opposition
Over its 27 contests this season, Omaha has:
•More or equal field goals made compared to its opponent 18 times
•More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent 14 times
•More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent 12 times
•More or equal rebounds compared to its opponent 14 times
•More or equal assists compared to its opponent 12 times
•More or equal steals compared to its opponent 20 times
•Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent 21 times
•More or equal blocks compared to its opponent 11 times
Up Next
Omaha closes the regular season on Saturday, March 2, visiting Denver. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo., and the game will be broadcast on Altitude. 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.
