The Basics
The Mavericks finish off their stretch of seven straight road games this weekend when they head to Akron, Ohio for three games in three days in the Akron Basketball Classic. The tournament begins on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. (CT) game vs. Alabama State, followed by one against host Akron on Saturday at 3 p.m. and concludes on Sunday in an 11 a.m. contest with Lamar.

Gary Sharp will have the call on 1180 KZOT and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.

Quick Hits
• Omaha comes into this week averaging 74.0 ppg, is allowing 74.4 ppg, and is shooting .457 from the field. The latter two stats are the best of any team in the Akron Classic.
• This weekend's tournament will mark the first ever meeting between the Mavericks and any of these three teams.
• Omaha completed the middle portion of its lengthy road stint last week with a pair of close losses to UNLV and Southern Utah. 
• Against the Runnin' Rebels, the Mavericks led for almost the entire first before falling behind at the half. With five minutes left in the second Omaha cut their lead down to one, but could not complete the comeback. 
• UNLV is the only team to reach 80 points against the Mavericks, just barely doing so in the final minute.
• Likewise, against the Thunderbirds, the Mavericks almost completely wiped away a 20-point deficit in the final 10 minutes thanks in large part to a 14-0 scoring run. Just like at UNLV, though, Omaha got within two with just 30 seconds left but could not go all the way.
• Ja'Sean Glover had one of his best weeks ever as a Maverick, scoring in double figures in both games (29 total) and going 10-for-18 (.556) from the field. His 17 points and five 3-PT FGs against UNLV both represented single-game highs for him. He topped his 2023-24 points total (54) last week, despite only playing five games so far vs. 19 last year.
• Marquel Sutton had another strong week, scoring 28 points and extending his double-digit scoring streak to four games.He is off to the best start of his career, posting 14.0 ppg through five games vs.11.2 in 2022-23 and 8.4 in 2023-24 over the same span. Sutton has also pulled down 11 boards to increase his total rebounds to 32.
• Lance Waddles had his second career 20-point game and first as a Maverick at SUU after shooting 8-for-15 (.533). He is averaging just under 10 points per game this year at 9.4.
• Omaha has 68 assists through five games. This is the team's highest assist total through five games since recording 69 back in 2019-20.
• Sutton earned his first career Summit League Preseason honor after being named Second Team All-Preseason in October. In 2023-24, he was second on the team with 12.3 PPG (406 total) and led all Mavericks with 6.3 RPG (208 total boards).
• Lance Waddles (NDSU), Joshua Streit (NDSU), and Isaac Ondekane (Lindenwood) headline the Mavericks' top transfers this year with the trio coming to Omaha with a combined six seasons of Division I basketball under their belts. Also new this year are top JUCO transfers Kamryn Thomas (2024 NJCAA Third Team All-American), Khamani Cooper (465 points as a freshman in 2024), and Valentino Simon (965 career points from 2022-24). 
• Omaha has three captains this year: Marquel Sutton, Tony Osburn, and Lance Waddles.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 36-52 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.

Scouting the Alabama State Hornets
The Hornets come into the weekend at 1-2 on the season after losses to UNLV (93-79) and LSU (74-61) and a 115-64 win over Viriginia-Lynchburg on Monday. As a team Alabama State is averaging 85.0 ppg, 77.0 opponent ppg, and owns a .444 FG%. 

Three Hornets are averaging double figures on the season, led by second-year guard Amarr Knox who has 15.0 ppg and 45 total points. Against UNLV and LSU he scored 19 and 20 points, respectively, shooting a combined 15-for-34 (.441). Meanwhile, senior guard CJ Hines is at 12.0 ppg (36 total) thanks to a perfect 1.000 FT% and a 21-point performance on Monday.

TJ Madlock, a senior guard and son of head coach Tony Madlock, was selected Preseason First Team All-SWAC and is so far posting 14.7 ppg (44 total). He dropped 21 points on LSU. His .484 FG% is second on the team (minimum 1-0 attempts) behind D'Ante Bass (.538), while his 15 rebounds (5.0 rpg) are also second behind Mario Andrews (22 total, 7.3 rpg).

Head Coach Tony Madlock is in his third season with the Hornets following a year at South Carolina State and a brief stint as the interim head coach at Ole Miss in 2017-18. In his one season at South Carolina State he was a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award given to college basketball's top first-year coach.

Scouting the Akron Zips
The Zips enter their tournament at 1-2, defeating Ohio Wesleyan 88-57 while falling to Arkansas State 80-50 in overtime and 87-68 to (RV) Saint Mary's last week. Overall, Akron is scoring 77.0 ppg, allowing 74.7 ppg, and shooting .418 on field goals.

Guards Nate Johnson and Sharron Young are tied for the team lead in points with 30 points each (10.0 ppg). Sharron also paces Akron with six three-pointers and a .600 3-PT FG%. while Johnson is first in steals with nine and second to only Isaiah Gray in assists with 11.

Speaking of Gray, he leads Akron with a .643 FG% and .800 3-PT FG% while also sitting in second in rebounding with 6.3 rpg (19 total) behind James Okonkwo (8.7 rpg, 26 total).

John Groce is in his eighth season in Akron and 17th overall as a collegiate head coach. During this time the Zips own the best winning percentage in MAC competition (.743) as they have claimed two MAC Tournament titles and NCAA appearances, including last year. Before Akron he was head coach at Illinois and Ohio for nine years, making three NCAA Tournaments and two NITs.

Scouting the Lamar Cardinals
The Cardinals also come into the week at 1-2 after beating Paul Quinn College 113-42 on opening day before falling to No. 23 Texas A&M 97-71 and Sam Houston 85-72. Lamar is the top scoring team in this tournament with 85.3 ppg, while also allowing 74.7 ppg and shooting .443 from the field.

The top scorer coming into this tournament is junior forward Andrew Holifield who owns 16.0 ppg and 48 total points, all while sporting a .633 FG% (19-for-30) and a .538 3-PT FG% (7-for-13). He is also pulling down a team-high 7.0 rpg (21 total) and has three blocks.

Not far behind Holifield are guards Alexis Marmolejos and Ja'Sean Jackson at 15.0 ppg (45) and 14.0 ppg (42), respectively. The duo are the team's top free throw shooters with both shooting above 80%. Jackson is also second behind Holifield in FG% at .625 and leads the team with 12 assists and eight steals.

Alvin Brooks had his first stint as a head coach from 1993-98 with Houston before spending the next 20 years as an assistant with various other D1 programs. In 2021 he took over as head coach at Lamar where he had played and later served as an assistant during the 80s. In his career as a player and coach, Brooks has guided his teams to 23 postseason tournaments.