The Basics
The Omaha men's basketball team makes its sixth trip in as many years eligible to the Summit League Championship this weekend. The eighth-seeded Mavericks open quarterfinal action on Saturday, March 6 against No. 1 seed South Dakota State, and tipoff is set for 5:45 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The game will be broadcast live on Midco, the Midco Sports Plus app and ESPN+ with Tom Nieman and Greg Stemen on the call, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 The Zone. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha locked in a spot in the tournament with a sweep at Denver last weekend. It marked the first time Omaha has won back-to-back games this season.
• The Mavericks have won three of their last four games.
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Matt Pile and
Marlon Ruffin earned All-Summit Honorable Mention recognition on Thursday. The award was the second for Pile and the first for Ruffin.
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Ayo Akinwole carries an eight-game double-figure scoring streak into the weekend.
• Omaha has utilized six different starting lineups this season.
• Pile's 913 career rebounds are the sixth-most of any active player in NCAA Division I, and his 25 career double-doubles are the 16th-most.
• Pile has started 96 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 19 of its 25 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 1,202-1,221.
• Omaha was picked fourth in the Summit League's preseason poll. Pile was a first-team Preseason All-Summit selection, and Ruffin was a second-team pick.
• Pile and Akinwole are serving as team captains for the second straight season.
Scouting the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
South Dakota State is 15-6 (9-3 Summit League), securing the tournament's top seed after winning the regular-season league championship last weekend. The Jackrabbits, who have won four of their last five, swept a weekend series from Kansas City at home, 67-49 on Friday and 89-77 on Saturday. SDSU shot a school-record 73.5% in the finale, and Douglas Wilson led five double-figure scorers with a 20-point effort. Baylor Scheierman, Luke Appel and Matt Dentlinger each added 16 points, and Alex Arians had 11.
SDSU was the league's favorite in the preseason poll before winning its fourth straight regular-season title. Scheierman was named first-team All-Summit, and Wilson was a second-team pick.
Head coach Eric Henderson is in his second season in Brookings with a career record of 37-16.
All-Time Against South Dakota State
Saturday marks the 80th meeting between Omaha and South Dakota State, and the Jackrabbits lead the all-time series 47-32, including 12-5 in the Mavericks' Division I era. Omaha and SDSU have played just once previously at the Summit League Tournament -- in the championship game on March 7, 2017, when the Jacks won 79-77.
Omaha has won two of the last three meetings with SDSU after the two schools split last year's series.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Top DU 80-76 to Clinch League Tournament Spot
Omaha swept its weekend series with an 80-76 win at Denver last Saturday at Hamilton Gymnasium, locking in the No. 8 seed for next week's Summit League Tournament.
A balanced scoring attack saw all nine Mavericks contribute and five finish in double figures.
Ayo Akinwole led the way with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, three rebounds and a team-best six assists.
Nick Ferrarini hit three 3-pointers en route to 13 points, and
Matt Pile,
La'Mel Robinson and
Kyle Luedtke each added 12 points. Luedtke's total was a career high, and Robinson also pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds.
Omaha shot 39.7% (23-of-58) for the game to Denver's 43.9% (25-of-57). The Mavericks hit six triples, all from the bench between Ferrarini and Luedtke.
Free throw shooting came up big for Omaha, which was 82.4% (28-of-34) from the stripe. Omaha and Denver each had 37 rebounds for the night.
Maverick Trio Honored With Summit League Postseason Awards
Two Mavericks were honored with postseason accolades as the 2021 All-Summit awards were announced by the Summit League office on Thursday.
Matt Pile and
Marlon Ruffin were recognized as All-Summit Honorable Mention.
Pile is now a two-time honorable mention pick. Against league competition, he averaged 11.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game and shot a conference-best 60.8%. Pile is the Summit League's blocks leader and ranks in the top five for rebounding, total offensive rebounds and total defensive rebounds.
Ruffin averaged 15.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest in league play. He had 11 double-figure scoring performances, including all but one league game in which he played, before being sidelined due to injury.
Since Omaha joined the Summit League in 2012-13, a total of 14 Mavericks have combined for 18 All-Summit awards.
Ayo!
Ayo Akinwole has put the team on his back of late, averaging 19.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 3.3 apg over the last eight games against Western Illinois, Kansas City, North Dakota and Denver. The senior captain has hit 60% (53-of-89) from the field, 55% (18-of-33) from three and 92% (35-of-38) at the line in that span.
Akinwole had double-figure performances in all eight games, finishing as Omaha's leading scorer in six of them. His senior season has seen him pass both the 200 career assists and 100 career steals milestones.
This and That
• While the Mavericks have won three of their last four games, free throw shooting has been key to their success. They've hit at an 81.8% clip -- up from 64.4% in the first 10 games of league play. Omaha has been 82% or better at the line in three straight contests.
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Matt Pile has averaged nearly a double-double over the last eight games at 11.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 2.4 bpg.
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La'Mel Robinson has scored in double figures in 10 league games.
• Akinwole carries a 22-of-22 streak at the free throw line into this weekend.
• Akinwole had a career-best scoring effort at Denver last Friday with 32 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
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Kyle Luedtke has played 20+ minutes off the bench in six straight games. He has committed just two turnovers in that span.
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Nick Ferrarini averaged 9.5 ppg off the bench at Denver last weekend.
• Twelve different Mavericks have scored in double figures this season.
Up Next
With a win Saturday, Omaha advances to the Summit League Championship semifinals on Monday, March 8 to face the winner of No. 4 Oral Roberts/No. 5 North Dakota at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
