The Basics
The Mavericks close out the first week of the season with their first Power 5 game of the season when they make the trip up to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota this Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

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 faced their first of seven teams that made either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last year on Thursday when they bested reigning ASUN champion Stetson on the road 79-76.
• Marquel Sutton was the hero on Thursday, playing one of the best games of his career as he scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his 40th career double-digit scoring game, sixth career double-digit rebounding game, and sixth career double-double. He ended the game with a key dunk with just over a minute to go to put Omaha back up by five, followed by two more rebounds in the final minute to keep the Hatters from scoring.
• Also making an immediate impact for the Mavericks has been Lance Waddles, who finished second behind Sutton with 15 points and eight rebounds.
• Kamryn Thomas made two of the most crucial plays of the game early in the first and late in the second as he blocked a pair of Stetson shots to ultimately preserve Omaha's three-point lead.
• Efficient scoring has been the name of the game for Omaha early on this season as five Mavericks currently boast field goal percentages north of 50%: Joshua Streit (.857), Ja'Sean Glover (.700), Thomas (.625), Tony Osburn (.538), and JJ White (.538). Likewise, the last four in that group are all shooting at least .500 from behind the arc as the Mavericks currently has a .420 3-PT FG%.
• Omaha's depth continues to be a difference maker as the bench contributed 22 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists on Thursday.
• 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 36-50 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.

Scouting the Minnesota Gophers
The Gophers are fresh off their first winning season since 2018-19 after going 19-15 and earning their first NIT bid since 2014. Despite this, in the Big Ten preseason poll, Minnesota was picked last in 18th place. The Gophers opened their season on Wednesday with an 80-57 win over fellow Summit League team Oral Roberts.

Senior forward Dawson Garcia, the Big Ten's top returning scorer (546 points, 17.6 ppg), is back for another year with the Gophers. After undergoing foot surgery over the summer, Garcia opened the season with 30 points and eight rebounds vs. ORU, shooting 11-for-14 (.786).

Also putting up strong numbers for the Gophers on Thursday were senior forward Parker Fox, who shot a perfect 6-for-6 and scored 13 points, and senior guard Mike Mitchell Jr., who dished out nine assists. Overall, Minnesota shot .577 vs. ORU, including .611 on three-pointers.

Head Coach Ben Johnson is now in his fourth season leading the Gophers after getting his first ever head coaching gig ahead of the 2021-22 season. Last year marked his first winning season with the program as Johnson led the program to an NIT appearance and a first-round victory over Butler (73-72). A former player and team captain at Minnesota in the early 2000s, Johnson was also an assistant coach on the team from 2013-18.

All-Time Against Minnesota
Omaha is 0-3 all-time against Minnesota, playing all three games on the road. Their last meeting on Opening Day 2018 was a 104-76 loss, while their prior meeting was the closest one yet as the Mavericks fell by just three in 2015's 93-90 contest.