The Basics
For the first time in program history, the #1 Omaha Mavericks are going to the NCAA Division I tournament, but not before taking care of some unfinished business as they look to set another program first when they face #2 St. Thomas in the Summit League Championship Final on Sunday at 8 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. The game also will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Quick Hits
• The Mavericks punched their ticket to the Final and to the NCAA tournament last night after soundly beating #5 South Dakota 100-75. Since St. Thomas is not eligible for postseason play as the team is still in its final year of transitioning to Division I, Omaha, regardless of what happens in the final, will earn the bid due to winning the Summit League Regular Season Title.
• At one point, Omaha's lead grew to as high as 38 points over the Coyotes. Also, by the time USD had finally reached 20 points, the Mavericks were already at 50.
• This marked the first time the Mavericks scored 100 in a game since November 27, 2023, vs. York when they scored 104. Lincoln Palbicki did the honors with the 100th point with 30 seconds remaining.
• Omaha's 21 wins are now tied with the 2018-19 team for the most wins in the program's most wins in the Division I era with 21. This is also the seventh highest win total in the program's history.
• Tony Osburn had arguably the best game of his career on Saturday, scoring a season-high 30 points while shooting 8-for-9 from three. Not only is this one behind the program record for threes in a game which he set last year, but is also tied for the Summit League Tournament record for single-game threes. With 70 three-pointers on the season, he is now eighth in the program's single-season leaderboard.
• Marquel Sutton (19 points) and JJ White (14) were both in double figures as well. Sutton climbed to 11th on the all-time scoring list with 1355 points and ninth on the all-time field goals list with 517. He is also just 35 points away from tying the program's record for points in a single season of 664. White became the 45th Maverick in history and the 11th to only play in the Division I era to join the 1000-Point Club.
• On Tuesday, the league announced the All-Summit awards, with Omaha taking home the top two honors with Sutton being named Player of the Year and Head Coach Chris Crutchfield taking home Coach of the Year. Sutton is the first Maverick to ever win the award and was the favorite after leading the Summit in points (341), field goals (232), and free throws (88) while also placing top three in ppg (21.3), rebounds (123), rpg (7.7), FG% (.513). He was the only player in the league to rank in the top five in scoring, rebounding, and FG%, as well as the only one who ranks in the top five in just scoring and rebounding. As for Crutchfield, leading Omaha to its most successful season as a Division I program made him the obvious choice.
• Sutton and White both took home First Team honors as well, becoming the only teammates in the league to both make the list. White led the league with 84 assists and 5.3 assists per game and was the only player in the league with over 60 assists and 4.0 apg. He also finished top 10 in points (281), ppg (17.6), FG% (.532), 3-PT FG% (.478), and FT% (.812). This was the first time either one earned All-Summit honors.
• Glover rounded out the All-Summit honorees with a spot on the All-Defensive Team after leading Omaha's defense. He picked up his first conference honor after holding several of the league's top scorers to below their usual scoring and shooting averages, while also leading the team and placing 12th in the league with 15 steals and nine blocks.
• Omaha earned votes in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll for the fourth time this week, earning 20 votes to lead all Summit League teams.
• 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 55-62 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.

Scouting the St. Thomas Tommies
#2 St. Thomas played their way into the title game after taking down #7 Denver 80-62 in the Quarterfinal and #6 North Dakota 85-69 in the Semifinal. 

Miles Barnstable and Drake Dobbs each took home a pair of All-Summit honors this year, with the former making First Team All-Summit and the All-Newcomer Team, while the latter made Second Team All-Summit and the All-Defensive Team. In the regular season, Barnstable 11th in scoring (16.1 ppg), seventh in free throw percentage (.819), fifth in 3-pointer per game (2.3), 17th in minutes per game (29.8), 12th in steals per game (0.9) and 19th in blocks per game (0.4). As for Dobbs, he finished 11th among all of DI and led the Summit League with a 3.20 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also ranked second in assists per game (3.8), 22nd in scoring (12.1 ppg), fourth in free throw percentage (.877), 20th in 3-pointers per game (1.4).

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 291-106 record as the program's head coach.

All-Time Against St. Thomas
For the second year in a row, the Mavericks beat St. Thomas at home to begin the season series before falling to the Tommies on the road in the second game as Omaha is now at 2-6 in the all-time series. Five Mavericks scored in double figures in Omaha's 89-78 victory in game one, led by Sutton with 24 points to go with his nine rebounds. Meanwhile Kendall Blue paced the Tommies with 18 points and nine boards. In game two's 95-84 loss, Sutton again scored 20 while three other Mavericks were in double figures, and Drake Dobbs led UST with 23.