Leading Off
The No. 2-seeded Omaha men's basketball team takes on No. 4 seed North Dakota State this Tuesday, March 12 in the Summit League Championship Final, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament with the league's automatic bid. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.com with Clay Matvick and Sean Harrington on the call, 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.
Quick Hits
• Omaha enters Monday at 21-10 (13-3), having set Division I program records for total wins in a season and league wins in a season. The Mavericks carry a three-game win streak.
•
Zach Jackson and
Mitch Hahn were both honored with first-team All-Summit accolades Thursday. Since Omaha joined the Summit League in 2012-13, 11 Mavericks have combined for 14 All-Summit awards.
• Head coach
Derrin Hansen was named the 2019 Summit League Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.
• Omaha is 10-2 at home, 8-8 on the road and 3-0 on a neutral court this year.
• Omaha has lost just three times since Dec. 8, winning 18 of its last 21 games and nine of its last 10.
• Jackson is just the second player in program history to reach 1,500 points and 500 rebounds, joining Dennis Forrest (1,660 points and 500 rebounds from 1973-77).
• The Mavericks have outrebounded 12 of their last 16 opponents.
• Omaha is the only team in the league to have all five starters averaging double figures: Jackson (18.2 ppg), Hahn (13.5 ppg),
JT Gibson (13.2 ppg),
Matt Pile (11.1 ppg) and
KJ Robinson (11.1 ppg).
• The Mavericks rank sixth nationally for fewest total turnovers and fewest turnovers per game. They had single-digit turnovers in nine straight games from Feb. 3 to March 9 before committing 17 Monday night. It was the most Maverick miscues since 18 at Arizona State (Nov. 28).
• 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.
• Jackson and Hahn are both team captains for the second straight year.
Scouting the North Dakota State Bison
No. 4 seed North Dakota State is 17-15 (9-7 Summit League) after a 76-73 semifinal win over No. 8 Western Illinois Monday night. Sam Griesel scored a season-high 20 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead NDSU in both categories. Vinnie Shahid added 14 points, and Deng Geu had 11. The Bison hit 14-of-26 from deep and led by as many as 15.
NDSU, which finished 15-17 (5-9 Summit League) a year ago, was voted fifth in the conference's preseason poll. Shahid earned All-Summit Honorable Mention recognition. Head coach David Richman holds a career record of 94-66 in five seasons at North Dakota State.
All-Time Against North Dakota State
Tuesday marks the 76th meeting between Omaha and North Dakota State, with the Bison leading the all-time series, 44-31, including 10-5 in the Mavericks' Division I era. Omaha swept the season series from NDSU this year, winning 90-77 at home on Jan. 2, then 58-50 on the road on Feb. 23.
Omaha and NDSU have never met in Sioux Falls. The two teams last met in a postseason setting in the semifinals of the 2004 NCC Tournament, with the Mavericks winning 81-74 at Sapp Fieldhouse on March 5, 2004.
2019 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship Field Set
The field is set for the 2019 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship, with eight teams competing March 9-12 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The tournament champion advances to the NCAA Tournament as the league's automatic bid. Tickets for the event may be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com or in person at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Box Office.
2019 SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Saturday, March 9 • Quarterfinals
Game 1 (6 p.m.) - No. 8 Western Illinois 79, No. 1 South Dakota State 76
Game 2 (8:30 p.m.) - No. 2 Omaha 81, No. 7 North Dakota 76
Sunday, March 10 • Quarterfinals
Game 3 (6 p.m.) - No. 4 North Dakota State 86, No. 5 Oral Roberts 73
Game 4 (8:30 p.m.) - No. 3 Purdue Fort Wayne 96, No. 6 South Dakota 70
Monday, March 5 • Semifinals
Game 5 (6 p.m.) - No. 4 North Dakota State 76, No. 8 Western Illinois 73
Game 6 (8:30 p.m.) - No. 2 Omaha 61, No. 3 Purdue Fort Wayne 60
Tuesday, March 6 • Championship
Game 7 (8 p.m.) - Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
Tourney Time
Saturday marks Omaha's fourth appearance in as many years eligible for the Summit League Tournament, and the Mavericks are 4-3 all-time at the event.
Omaha made its tournament debut as the No. 3 seed in 2016, when they were bounced 78-70 in the quarterfinals by No. 6 seed Denver. In 2017, Omaha again entered the tournament seeded third and defeated Fort Wayne in the quarterfinals, 84-80, and IUPUI in the semifinals, 90-62. They came within a shot of the NCAA Tournament, falling 79-77 to South Dakota State in the championship game.
In 2018, the Mavericks were the No. 7 seed and fell 87-73 to South Dakota in the quarterfinal round.
Last Time Out: Omaha Edges Purdue Fort Wayne 61-60 to Advance to Summit League Final
Second-seeded Omaha advanced to the Summit League Championship Final with a 61-60 win over the No. 3-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne Monday night at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
Mitch Hahn hit the go-ahead three with 3:13 left and finished with a game-high 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting while grabbing seven boards.
Zach Jackson had 12 points and six rebounds, and
JT Gibson rounded out the Mavericks' double-digit scoring efforts with 10 points and four steals.
Matt Pile narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Omaha was .426 from the floor on 23-of-54 shooting, including .409 (9-for-22) from beyond the arc, and 6-for-10 from the charity stripe. Purdue Fort Wayne went 24-of-58 from the field (.414), 8-of-27 from three (.296) and 4-of-6 (.667) from the free throw line.
The Mastodons outrebounded Omaha 35-32 and won the battle inside the paint, 33-22. Purdue Fort Wayne also had nine blocks compared to the Mavericks' one, and committed one less turnover than Omaha (17-16). Omaha, however, led for 32:12.
Summit League Strong
Omaha's second-place regular-season finish in the league standings came by way of a Division I program-record 13 wins. The Mavericks swept season series against six league foes: Denver, North Dakota State, North Dakota, Purdue Fort Wayne, South Dakota and Western Illinois. They split the series with South Dakota State and surrendered one series for the year to Oral Roberts.
Scoring Notables
•
Wanjang Tut is shooting .636 (7-of-11) in Summit League Championship play, and
Zach Jackson has hit at a .542 (13-of-24) clip while averaging 16.5 points per game.
•
Matt Pile is nearly averaging a double-double in tournament play at 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
• Omaha has shot .500 or better in seven of its last 14 games and gone 12-2.
•
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 563 as a senior.
• Jackson has eight 20-point scoring performances in the last 13 games: 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), 21 vs. Western Illinois (Feb. 20) and 21 vs. North Dakota (March 9).
• Over the last five games,
Mitch Hahn (11),
JT Gibson (nine),
Zach Jackson (seven) and
KJ Robinson (five) have combined for 32 of Omaha's 35 threes.
• Pile has shot .538 (28-of-52) in the last five games, and Hahn rings in at .524 (33-of-63).
• Five Mavericks have made at least four triples in a single game this season: Gibson (nine times), Hahn (five times), Jackson (four times), 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 13 times, including 11 of the last 18 games. They are undefeated when shooting at least .500.
Handle With Care
Omaha ranks sixth nationally for fewest total turnovers and fewest turnovers per game. They have had single-digit turnovers in 18 of the last 23 games, including a streak of nine straight from Feb. 3 to March 9. According to KenPom.com, Omaha boasts the nation's lowest turnover percentage (13.5).
KJ Robinson has limited himself to 30 turnovers in 28 games this season, and in league play,
JT Gibson and
Ayo Akinwole had 11 apiece in 16 contests. More recently, Akinwole has committed just four turnovers in the last 233 minutes on the floor, while Gibson has five in the last 309 minutes.
Threes, Please
Omaha ranks 13th nationally with a .391 shooting percentage from distance and 73rd as a team with 274 threes made. 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 79.4), field goal percentage (third at .477), field goals made per game (third at 29.9), 3-point percentage (second at .391), offensive rebounds per game (third at 8.5), steals per game (third at 5.7) and fewest turnovers per game (first at 9.6).
Call Him Kid Clutch
Mitch Hahn was responsible for three key buckets in the closing seconds during Summit League play this season. The senior hit a trey at North Dakota (Jan. 10) with eight seconds left that put the Mavericks ahead in a 92-91 win. At South Dakota (Feb. 7), Hahn's triple with six seconds remaining in regulation sent the game to overtime at 87-87 before Omaha recorded a 107-102 victory. And vs. South Dakota State (Feb. 14), his fadeaway baseline jumper with 0.2 seconds left lifted the Mavericks to the victory at home.
Hahn also hit the go-ahead three Monday night to put Omaha up 61-60 over Purdue Fort Wayne, a score which held over the final 3:13.
Action Jackson
Two-time All-Summit guard
Zach Jackson has a team-best 18.2 points with 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.8 steals per game in his senior campaign. He ranks 94th nationally for scoring and 90th for total points (563), is the fourth-best scorer in the Summit League and also ranks third among league players for field goals made (199) and fifth for free throws made (108). Jackson's 1,555 points are 86th among the NCAA's Division I active career scoring leaders.
Jackson had 10 straight games in double figures from Nov. 6 to Dec. 8, and he had another nine-game streak from Dec. 19 to Jan. 24. He carries a streak of 10 straight double-digit performances into Tuesday's game.
JT's Junior Year
JT Gibson has scored in double figures in all but six 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 10 occasions, highlighted by a career-high 22 points vs. Denver (Dec. 28) and again at Denver (March 2).
Gibson has nine games with four or more 3-pointers, led by a five-triple efforts at Oregon (Dec. 8), vs. Denver (Dec. 28) and at Denver (March 2). He ranks seventh in the Summit League for threes made (75) and fourth for steals (39).
Gibson has scored in 63 straight contests and is Omaha's active career leader for threes made.
JT for Three
JT Gibson was the only Omaha player to hit a three in each of the first 27 games this season, though his streak came to an end Feb. 28 at Oral Roberts. It was the longest stretch of his career, surpassing his previous best of 19 straight games with a three from Nov. 20, 2017 to Jan. 25, 2018. Dating back to last season, Gibson had had a make from distance in 29 straight games.
With a team-high 75 treys, he ranks seventh 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 seventh (167).
Milestones Met
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 fifth all-time for scoring with 1,555 points. He needs one point to match Michael Jenkins for fourth (1,556 from 2005-09).
Jackson also has 535 rebounds over his career, which ranks 14th all-time. He is the 12th player in school history with at least 1,000 points and 500 boards, and Feb. 28 at Oral Roberts, he became just the second player 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 eighth with 531 made. He moved into 20th for career steals on Feb. 3 and has since moved up to 17th with 107.
Feelin' Hahn, Hahn, Hahn
Mitch Hahn has been a major factor in Omaha's success, as the senior has averaged 16.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game with .528 shooting over the last 21 games. 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. Hahn scored in double figures in a team-long 16 games from Dec. 15 to Feb. 20 before his streak was halted Feb. 23 at North Dakota State.
Over the final two regular-season games last week, Hahn averaged 26.5 points while shooting .667 (22-of-33) from the floor and .545 (6-of-11) from three to earn his second Summit League Player of the Week nod.
The Fremont, Neb., native also owns seven games with at least three 3-pointers, hitting a season-best four at Idaho (Dec. 15), vs. North Dakota State (Jan. 2), vs. South Dakota State (Feb. 14) and at Oral Roberts (Feb. 28). He has four double-doubles on the year.
The Pile Driver
Matt Pile is shooting at a .591 clip in his sophomore campaign, ranking second among Summit League players. He is the league leader for offensive rebounds (95) and also ranks fourth for total rebounds (238) and fifth for rebounds per game (7.7). Pile is 39th nationally for offensive rebounds per game (3.1).
The Goddard, Kan., native has scored in double digits 21 times this year, and his streak of nine straight came to an end Monday night. In the last 10 games, Pile has averaged 12.9 points and 8.2 rebounds and shot .574 from the field.
Pile's is Omaha's active career leader in for blocks (57). 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 has carried a 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season to rank ninth nationally, including a 3.8 A/TO ratio in Summit League games. Over the last 10 games, he boasts a 3.5 ratio.
Robinson ranks eighth in the league for assists (92) and 11th for steals (29) and has dished out five or more helpers on six occasions. He is Omaha's active career leader for assists (183).
Additionally, Robinson has scored in double figures 16 times this season, including nine with 15+ points. He shot .467 (71-of-152) in league play, up from .430 (37-of-86) in non-conference.
Ayo!
Ayo Akinwole made his first start of the season Nov. 24 vs. Montana State, and the Papillion-LaVista product came to play. Akinwole had a perfect shooting day, finishing 8-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-4 from deep, en route to a career-high 20 points. He also had four rebounds, a season-high six assists and a career-high-tying three steals.
Akinwole's sophomore campaign has him at 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals per game over 19.5 minutes per contest.
Pile Named Academic All-American
Matt Pile was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America Men's Basketball Third Team on Monday, it was announced by CoSIDA. It marks the first career inclusion on an Academic All-America team for Pile, who earned first-team Academic All-District recognition last month to advance to the national ballot. He is Omaha's third Academic All-American in men's basketball program history and the first in 38 years.
Pile carries a 3.90 grade-point average with a major in medicinal chemistry. He is a member of the UNO Dean's List and the Summit League Academic Honor Roll.
Compared to the Opposition
Over its 31 contests this season, Omaha has:
•More or equal field goals made compared to its opponent 21 times
•More or equal 3-point field goals made compared to its opponent 16 times
•More or equal free throws made compared to its opponent 14 times
•More or equal rebounds compared to its opponent 17 times
•More or equal assists compared to its opponent 14 times
•More or equal steals compared to its opponent 22 times
•Fewer or equal turnovers compared to its opponent 24 times
•More or equal blocks compared to its opponent 11 times
Up Next
With a win Tuesday night, Omaha advances to the NCAA Championship with the Summit League's automatic bid and awaits the NCAA Selection Sunday bracket announcement on Sunday, March 17, live on CBS from 5-6 p.m. CT.
