The Basics
The Omaha men's basketball team prepares for a crucial weekend trip to close the regular season, visiting Denver on Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. CT both nights at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colo.
Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1290 KOIL on Friday and 1180 The Zone on Saturday, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha and Denver both enter the weekend carrying 1-11 Summit League records with a No. 8 seed for the Summit League Tournament on the line. A sweep guarantees a spot in Sioux Falls for the winner of the series. In the case of a weekend split, the tiebreaker would come down to the team with the higher NET ranking.
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Ayo Akinwole carries a six -game double-figure scoring streak into the weekend.
• Omaha has utilized six different starting lineups this season.
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Matt Pile's 899 career rebounds are the sixth-most of any active player in NCAA Division I, and his 24 career double-doubles are the 15th-most.
• Pile has started 92 consecutive games, the longest streak of any active Maverick.
• While Omaha played its non-conference schedule from Nov. 25 to Dec. 29, its home facility, Baxter Arena, served as the host site for the NCHC Pod, with 38 hockey games held Dec. 1-21.
• Omaha plays 18 of its 24 games away from Baxter Arena this season.
• Pile became the 42nd 1,000-point scorer in Maverick history on Dec. 17 at Wyoming.
• The 2020-21 season is the 108th overall in program history and the 10th of the Mavericks' Division I era. All-time, the program is 1,200-1,221.
• Omaha was picked fourth in the Summit League's preseason poll. Pile was a first-team Preseason All-Summit selection, and
Marlon Ruffin was a second-team pick.
• Pile and
Ayo Akinwole are serving as team captains for the second straight season.
Scouting the Denver Pioneers
Denver, which has suffered four straight losses, is 2-17 (1-1 Summit League) after being swept at Kansas City last weekend. In the weekend finale, Sam Hines Jr. poured in a career-high 19 points, and Jase Townsend added 18.
DU was picked eighth in the league's preseason poll, and Townsend was a second-team Preseason All-Summit selection.
Head coach Rodney Billups has a career record of 48-92 over five seasons at Denver.
All-Time Against Denver
Friday marks the 18th meeting between Omaha and Denver. The Pioneers lead the all-time series, 9-8, and have a 4-3 advantage in Denver since 2012-13.
The Mavericks won the most recent meeting against DU, 85-62 on Feb. 16, 2020 at Baxter Arena.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Drop Home Finale to UND, 81-69
Omaha saw a second half lead slip away Saturday night, falling 81-69 to North Dakota in the Mavericks' home finale at Baxter Arena.
Matt Pile and
Ayo Akinwole, who were honored with Senior Night festivities before the game, each finished with an identical 16 points and five rebounds to pace the Mavericks in both categories. Akinwole was a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
Jadin Booth had 12 points off the bench, and
La'Mel Robinson added another 10 points with five boards and four assists.
North Dakota shot 50.8% (30-of-59) to Omaha's 44.4% (28-of-63) and finished with nine 3-pointers for the night. The Fighting Hawks had a 42-24 advantage on the glass, including 13-6 on the offensive end, and had a 17-3 edge in second-chance scoring. Omaha limited itself to eight turnovers for the second straight night.
Last Friday Night
The Mavericks are coming off a weekend split with North Dakota, which was their final home series of the year. Last Friday's 72-62 triumph, bolstered by double-double efforts from the Mavericks' senior duo of
Matt Pile and
Ayo Akinwole, marked Omaha's first league win of the season.
It was also Omaha's 13th straight win in the series with North Dakota since 2007, though the Fighting Hawks snapped the streak the following night. In their Division I era, the Mavericks are 9-1 against UND, including 5-1 in Omaha.
This and That
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Ayo Akinwole has averaged 18.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 3.2 apg over the last six games against Western Illinois, Kansas City and North Dakota, hitting 89% (24-of-27) at the line. Akinwole had double-figure performances in all six, finishing as Omaha's leading scorer in four of them.
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Matt Pile has averaged a double-double over the last six games at 11.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg and 2.7 bpg.
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La'Mel Robinson has scored in double figures in eight league games.
• Akinwole carries an 11-of-11 streak at the free throw line into this weekend.
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Kyle Luedtke has played 20+ minutes off the bench in four straight games. He has gone three consecutive games without a turnover.
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Marlon Ruffin opened Omaha's Summit League slate with by scoring in double figures in seven out of eight games. He has averaged 16.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg in league contests.
• Ruffin (15.5 ppg), Akinwole (12.9 ppg), Pile (11.3 ppg) and Robinson (11.2 ppg) have all averaged double figures in league play.
• Eleven different Mavericks have scored in double figures this season.
Up Next
The Summit League Championship is set for March 6-9 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. A full tournament bracket will be released at the conclusion of all regular-season games this weekend.
