The Basics
The Mavericks will open the final month of the regular season at home this Thursday at 7 p.m. when they face second-place St. Thomas for the first time this year.

Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOIL and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.

Quick Hits

• The Mavericks split their road series last week to move to 11-12 on the season and 4-4 in league play after coming short of the comeback in a 74-67 loss at Oral Roberts followed by a massive 91-72 win over Denver.
• Omaha became just the second team all year to beat Denver at home, going up 43-33 at the half before riding an incredible second period to victory. After growing their lead to over 20 points just a couple minutes into the second, the Mavericks eventually took a 31-point lead with 10 minutes to play.
• The Mavericks had one of their largest shooting advantages in recent years, topping the Pioneers 56.9% to 35.3% on field goals, as well as outrebounding them 40 to 29. They also held the nation's leading scorer Tommy Bruner to only 21 points after he scored 49 two days prior.
• Frankie Fidler scored over 50 points last week, including a 31-point performance at Denver. Not only did he climb to 15th on Omaha's all-time scoring list with 1283 points, but broke into the NCAA's top 50 in ppg (19.1) and is now 11th in total points (440). His elite free throw shooting numbers play a large role in this, as he is 36th in FT% (.879) and fourth in FTM (152). 
• Marquel Sutton is only one point away from reaching 300 for the first time in his career after adding 22 on Saturday, giving him four games this season with at least 20 points scored. Shooting 9-for-14 at Denver, he got his FG% over .500 on the season (.502) and is now third in the entire conference.
• Nick Davis had his finest defensive outing yet against the Pioneers, making a season-high five blocks. With 18 points last week he joined Fidler and Sutton as the only three Mavericks to top 200 points on the season with 209.
• Tony Osburn also had a solid performance at Denver, draining six field goals, all from behind the arc.
• Jaeden Marshall, playing his first game since January 11 vs. North Dakota, scored the first points from Omaha's bench on Saturday with a three-pointer at 8:35 in the second half.
• Grant Stubblefield, Marcel Bryant, Nick Davis, and Biko Johnson are Omaha's top newcomers coming into this season. 
• Stubblefield was named 6A Player of the Year and First Team All-State while at Blue Valley Northwest and Bryant was named the Austin Area Player of the Year at Cedar Ridge. Johnson is coming off his second season at Western Nebraska CC where he was named All-Conference and All-Nebraska, while Davis is fresh off winning GAC Defensive Player of the Year and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the Division II NCAA Tournament with Southern Nazarene. 
• Fidler was Omaha's lone All-Summit honoree last season, earning an Honorable Mention. He led Omaha in scoring (14.7 ppg), rebounding (5.8 rpg), steals (1.2 spg), and free throw percentage (.887), with his FT% in particular ranking in the NCAA's top-25 for most of the season.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 30-44 career record. It marks his third season as a head coach and second with the Mavericks.

Scouting the St. Thomas Tommies
The Tommies have earned Mid Major Top 25 votes in multiple weeks this season and are currently in second place in the Summit League at 14-8 overall and 4-3 in league play. They went 1-1 last week with a 79-66 win over NDSU and a 74-64 loss to North Dakota.

Graduate students Parker Bjorklund and Raheem Anthony are St. Thomas' have been St. Thomas' top players all season, with the duo pacing the team in scoring (306 points and 13.9 ppg for Bjorklund and 254 points and 12.1 ppg for Anthony) and rebounding (102 boards each). Both are among the team's most accurate shooters, with Bjorklund owning a .481 FG% and Anthony a .494 FG%.

Head Coach Johnny Tauer led the Tommies over their final decade of Division III competition, winning the 2016 National Championship and making seven total Tournament appearances. A 2001 St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame inductee following his playing career, Tauer has since amassed a 261-92 record as the program's head coach.

All-Time Against St. Thomas
Omaha has yet to defeat St. Thomas as they enter the week 0-4 against the Tommies. Last year the Mavericks were bested 80-68 in the first meeting and 89-83 in the second. Frankie Fidler dropped 33 points in the first game and 52 points total between both contests. JJ White was second on the team with 27 points in the season series.