Stay Up Late And Open The Season With The Mavs Sun
Nov 11, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Complete Game Notes
Tickets | Audio | Live Stats | Video (not available)
The Mavericks will begin the 2009-10 season one minute after the NCAA will allow them to start. Sunday at 12:01 a.m. they will take on Doane at Sapp Fieldhouse, one minute into the day that most schools are allowed to begin competition. Fans are encouraged to stay up late Saturday and attend pre-game festivities.
Five returning letterwinners, including two returning starters will return for the Mavericks after they went 17-11 last year and finished tied for fifth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association with an 11-9 record. The Mavericks were the No. 5 seed in the MIAA postseason tournament and they fell to Fort Hays State in the opening round. The Mavs had their second straight winning season and seventh in the last 10 years.
The Tigers and Mavs will match up in what will be Doane's fourth game of the year. The Tigers are 1-1 after three games and they will play at Tabor Wednesday and host Nebraska Christian College Friday. Last year they went 10-21 overall and were 13th in the Great Plains Athletic Conference with a 3-15 record.
The Mavericks only action this year was a 93-77 loss at Creighton in an exhibition last Sunday.
Following The Mavericks
Fans can follow all the action Sunday on KVNO 90.7 FM or they can listen to the broadcast online at www.omavs.com/kvno.
Fans can follow a live video webcast of the game at www.omavs.com/LiveVideo for a fee or they can watch free live stats at www.omavs.com/LiveStats.
Most games throughout the year will be available through KVNO 90.7 FM or KVNO 90.7-2 HD. Live video and live stats will be available for all home games and many away games. Fans can find links to all live video, audio and stats through www.omavs.com/mbb on the schedule page.
The Coaches
UNO head coach Derrin Hansen begins his fifth year at Nebraska-Omaha and overall as a head coach. He is 69-50 with a .580 winning percentage. His winning percentage ranks fourth all-time among UNO coaches with at least four years at the school. Hansen served as the assistant coach at UNO from 1998-2005 before taking over for the 2005-06 season.
Hansen is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan. He played for the Plainsmen and helped lead them to the Division III semifinal in 1987-88. He coached high school for two seasons after graduating and then spent two years at Nebraska-Kearney from 1993-95 as a graduate assistant and two years at Mid-Plains CC from 1995-98.
Doane coach Ian Brown is 94-115 (.450) in his eighth season with the Tigers. He's a 1992 graduate of Doane and prior to coaching at his alma mater he had NCAA Division II assistant jobs at Indianapolis and Lincoln Memorial. While a player at Doane, he helped the Tigers win a pair of NAIA district tournament games.
The Series
- The Mavericks lead the all-time series, 39-10.
- UNO has won five straight in the series and 15 of the last 17.
- The Tigers' last win against UNO was a 75-68 victory in 1995-96 at Sapp Fieldhouse.
- The two teams first met in 1951-52 and played at least once a year through the 1970-71 season.
- The two teams met in overtime just once in a 66-62 victory for UNO in 1966-67.
Mavericks in Season Openers
- The Mavericks are 39-17-1 in seasons openers going back to the 1951-52 season.
- They have won their last seven openers and haven't lost since an 86-84 defeat against Grand Valley State in 2001-02.
- Head coach Derrin Hansen is 4-0 in season openers at UNO.
- The Mavs are 2-0 against Doane when playing in season openers. They also met last year and in 1991-92.
Martin Hot In Exhibition Against Jays
Junior guard Jeff Martin scored a game-high 22 points in the Mavericks' exhibition against Creighton last Sunday. He was 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point range. His hot shooting was no surprise after he scored big in limited action last year and during his sophomore season at Nebraska-Kearney.
The Mavericks were able to shoot 60 percent from the field in the first half and 75 percent from 3-point range thanks in part to a strong performance from Martin. He was 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half. He gave the Mavs a five-point lead at 26-21 when he hit his third 3-pointer at 9:00 and then he gave them a six-point lead when he made another just 19 seconds later.
Martin played in UNO's first five games last year before a broken ankle forced him to miss the rest of the season and get a medical redshirt. He averaged 9.6 points a game and shot 53 percent in those five games. He played his first two seasons at UNK and averaged 13.5 points a game his sophomore year as a full-time starter with the Lopers.
Bridger's Stats Well-Rounded After CU Game
Head coach Derrin Hansen pointed out before the season started that Andrew Bridger will have to do more than just score baskets when he's running UNO's offense. The senior point guard had a balanced game against Creighton with 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal. He got to the free throw line eight times and made all eight shots.
Bridger is UNO's leading returning scorer from last year. He averaged 11.5 points a game and shot 82 percent from the free throw line. Both of those totals were second best on the team last year. He led the team with 125 assists and he enters the year seventh with 313 career assists. He needs 15 to move to sixth and another season with at least 100 will move him into the top five.
Pair Of Transfers Score In Double Figures Against CU
Junior guard Tyler Bullock scored 12 points against Creighton Sunday and junior forward Eugene Bain had 10. They both started. Bullock was 4-of-7 from the field while Bain was 4-of-9 with a team-high six rebounds.
Bullock is one of three Mavericks who was at Nebraska-Kearney before coming to UNO. He did not play for the Lopers but prior to that, he was a started at Denver. He started all 29 games for the Division I Pioneers in 2006-07 and averaged 11.0 points a game. Bain played at North Platte Community College for two seasons and averaged 16.9 points a game and 11.2 rebounds last year. His rebound average was No. 10 in the nation and he earned NJCAA second team All-America.
Free Throws Keep Mavs In The Game
The Mavericks led the MIAA in free throw percentage last year and their performance from the line against Creighton showed that those shots are just important this year to coach Derrin Hansen. Last year his team shot .723 from the free throw line to edge Northwest Missouri.
Sunday against the Bluejays the Mavs made 16 straight free throws to start the game, including all 14 of their first half shots. They struggled after that but ended up making 69 percent (22 of 32) of their shots.
Andrew Bridger was 8-for-8 from the line Sunday. Last year he made 82 percent of his free throws, second best on the team, and he's the top returning shooter from the line.
Coming Up
The Mavericks will play a road game Wednesday at Rockhurst at 7 p.m. The Mavericks and Hawks last met on November 18, 2006, in a 76-63 UNO win. UNO has won the last four meetings between the two and leads the all-time series, 12-11.
2009-10 Season Outlook
Losing a majority of the points from last year doesn't always have to be a bad thing. For head coach Derrin Hansen, it means more opportunities for the talented returners and his large crop of new players to score baskets and grab rebounds.
Hansen will return two starters and five total letterwinners in 2009-10. He will also be able to plug in the lineup four redshirts who had all last year to develop, three community college transfers and four freshmen out of high school.
Hansen believes that if his team can stay healthy then he can use the depth to do more things on offense and defense that he wasn't able to do last year. The Mavericks went 17-11 last year and finished tied for fifth in the MIAA at 11-9.
The Guards
Hansen's leading returning scorer will be relied on to do more than just put points on the board. Senior guard Andrew Bridger will once again be looked at to run the point and be the quarterback of the offense. With three years of experience as a starter, he has learned not only where he should be on the court, but also where his entire team should be.
Bridger averaged 11.5 points a game last year and he was third in the MIAA with 4.46 assists a game. He scored in double figures 15 times with a season-high 22 points on December 3 at Washburn.
Also returning as a guard will be Jeff Martin. The junior played in just five games last year before a broken ankle kept him out the rest of the year. Hansen said he is fully recovered and ready to pick up where he left off. Last year he averaged 9.6 points a game after getting 18 and 15 in the first two games of the year.
Aaron Terry returns for his junior year after playing in 26 of 28 games last year. He averaged 3.8 points a game and Hansen hopes that by having him concentrate on the wing position, he can increase his productivity.
Three new players will compete for time at guard position.
Junior Jamel LeBranch transferred to UNO from Central Community College. He averaged 12.5 points, 6.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds a game and Hansen hopes he can play some productive minutes as point guard. He earned first team all-Region 9 honors and first team all-conference honors both years.
Torrian Harris is also a junior transfer. He was second team All-America and the conference most valuable player at Lansing Community College. In two years of junior college basketball he scored 985 points to average 21 a game. Hansen saw good things from him in preseason practices and he believes he should be able to give UNO a lot of minutes at a wing spot.
Junior guard Tyler Bullock will look for his first action as a Maverick. He sat out last year after transferring from Nebraska-Kearney and Denver. Hansen is looking for good things from him after he started all 29 games for the Division I Pioneers in 2006-07 and averaged 11.0 points a game.
The Forwards
Two seniors will return to the forward position at UNO and four newcomers will join them looking for playing time.
Dion Curry played in all 28 games last year and made 24 starts. He averaged 9.4 points a game and 5.4 rebounds. Hansen remarked that he had a good junior year and he hopes he can improve his numbers on offense and defense to have a strong finish to his career.
Matt Newman played in 19 games and started four last year. He scored 5.2 points a game with 3.1 rebounds, all while gaining a lot of experience at his position. Hansen thinks he's ready to have a breakout senior year.
John Ring will return for his sophomore year after playing in 12 games last year with 1.8 points a game.
The rest of the minutes at forward will either be filled by freshmen, redshirts or transfers.
Junior Eugene Bain, a transfer from North Platte Community College, will be looked upon to step on the court and continue to put up the big numbers he had in junior college. He averaged 16.9 points a game with 11.2 rebounds to help him earn NJCAA second team All-America.
Freshman Josh Lynch came to UNO last year from Elkhorn High School. He took a very productive redshirt last year after averaging 15.2 points and 12.1 rebounds a game his senior year.
Junior Matthew Starks also sat out last year and took a medical redshirt with a knee injury. He transferred from UNK and played in 13 games in two years there.
Alex Welhouse sat out last year and will be a redshirt freshman this season. He averaged 21.7 points and 5.0 rebounds a game at Kaukauna High School in Kaukauna, Wis. He set schools records with 37 points in a game and a 90 percent single-season free throw percentage.
Tickets | Audio | Live Stats | Video (not available)
The Mavericks will begin the 2009-10 season one minute after the NCAA will allow them to start. Sunday at 12:01 a.m. they will take on Doane at Sapp Fieldhouse, one minute into the day that most schools are allowed to begin competition. Fans are encouraged to stay up late Saturday and attend pre-game festivities.
Five returning letterwinners, including two returning starters will return for the Mavericks after they went 17-11 last year and finished tied for fifth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association with an 11-9 record. The Mavericks were the No. 5 seed in the MIAA postseason tournament and they fell to Fort Hays State in the opening round. The Mavs had their second straight winning season and seventh in the last 10 years.
The Tigers and Mavs will match up in what will be Doane's fourth game of the year. The Tigers are 1-1 after three games and they will play at Tabor Wednesday and host Nebraska Christian College Friday. Last year they went 10-21 overall and were 13th in the Great Plains Athletic Conference with a 3-15 record.
The Mavericks only action this year was a 93-77 loss at Creighton in an exhibition last Sunday.
Following The Mavericks
Fans can follow all the action Sunday on KVNO 90.7 FM or they can listen to the broadcast online at www.omavs.com/kvno.
Fans can follow a live video webcast of the game at www.omavs.com/LiveVideo for a fee or they can watch free live stats at www.omavs.com/LiveStats.
Most games throughout the year will be available through KVNO 90.7 FM or KVNO 90.7-2 HD. Live video and live stats will be available for all home games and many away games. Fans can find links to all live video, audio and stats through www.omavs.com/mbb on the schedule page.
The Coaches
UNO head coach Derrin Hansen begins his fifth year at Nebraska-Omaha and overall as a head coach. He is 69-50 with a .580 winning percentage. His winning percentage ranks fourth all-time among UNO coaches with at least four years at the school. Hansen served as the assistant coach at UNO from 1998-2005 before taking over for the 2005-06 season.
Hansen is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan. He played for the Plainsmen and helped lead them to the Division III semifinal in 1987-88. He coached high school for two seasons after graduating and then spent two years at Nebraska-Kearney from 1993-95 as a graduate assistant and two years at Mid-Plains CC from 1995-98.
Doane coach Ian Brown is 94-115 (.450) in his eighth season with the Tigers. He's a 1992 graduate of Doane and prior to coaching at his alma mater he had NCAA Division II assistant jobs at Indianapolis and Lincoln Memorial. While a player at Doane, he helped the Tigers win a pair of NAIA district tournament games.
The Series
- The Mavericks lead the all-time series, 39-10.
- UNO has won five straight in the series and 15 of the last 17.
- The Tigers' last win against UNO was a 75-68 victory in 1995-96 at Sapp Fieldhouse.
- The two teams first met in 1951-52 and played at least once a year through the 1970-71 season.
- The two teams met in overtime just once in a 66-62 victory for UNO in 1966-67.
Mavericks in Season Openers
- The Mavericks are 39-17-1 in seasons openers going back to the 1951-52 season.
- They have won their last seven openers and haven't lost since an 86-84 defeat against Grand Valley State in 2001-02.
- Head coach Derrin Hansen is 4-0 in season openers at UNO.
- The Mavs are 2-0 against Doane when playing in season openers. They also met last year and in 1991-92.
Martin Hot In Exhibition Against Jays
Junior guard Jeff Martin scored a game-high 22 points in the Mavericks' exhibition against Creighton last Sunday. He was 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point range. His hot shooting was no surprise after he scored big in limited action last year and during his sophomore season at Nebraska-Kearney.
The Mavericks were able to shoot 60 percent from the field in the first half and 75 percent from 3-point range thanks in part to a strong performance from Martin. He was 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half. He gave the Mavs a five-point lead at 26-21 when he hit his third 3-pointer at 9:00 and then he gave them a six-point lead when he made another just 19 seconds later.
Martin played in UNO's first five games last year before a broken ankle forced him to miss the rest of the season and get a medical redshirt. He averaged 9.6 points a game and shot 53 percent in those five games. He played his first two seasons at UNK and averaged 13.5 points a game his sophomore year as a full-time starter with the Lopers.
Bridger's Stats Well-Rounded After CU Game
Head coach Derrin Hansen pointed out before the season started that Andrew Bridger will have to do more than just score baskets when he's running UNO's offense. The senior point guard had a balanced game against Creighton with 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal. He got to the free throw line eight times and made all eight shots.
Bridger is UNO's leading returning scorer from last year. He averaged 11.5 points a game and shot 82 percent from the free throw line. Both of those totals were second best on the team last year. He led the team with 125 assists and he enters the year seventh with 313 career assists. He needs 15 to move to sixth and another season with at least 100 will move him into the top five.
Pair Of Transfers Score In Double Figures Against CU
Junior guard Tyler Bullock scored 12 points against Creighton Sunday and junior forward Eugene Bain had 10. They both started. Bullock was 4-of-7 from the field while Bain was 4-of-9 with a team-high six rebounds.
Bullock is one of three Mavericks who was at Nebraska-Kearney before coming to UNO. He did not play for the Lopers but prior to that, he was a started at Denver. He started all 29 games for the Division I Pioneers in 2006-07 and averaged 11.0 points a game. Bain played at North Platte Community College for two seasons and averaged 16.9 points a game and 11.2 rebounds last year. His rebound average was No. 10 in the nation and he earned NJCAA second team All-America.
Free Throws Keep Mavs In The Game
The Mavericks led the MIAA in free throw percentage last year and their performance from the line against Creighton showed that those shots are just important this year to coach Derrin Hansen. Last year his team shot .723 from the free throw line to edge Northwest Missouri.
Sunday against the Bluejays the Mavs made 16 straight free throws to start the game, including all 14 of their first half shots. They struggled after that but ended up making 69 percent (22 of 32) of their shots.
Andrew Bridger was 8-for-8 from the line Sunday. Last year he made 82 percent of his free throws, second best on the team, and he's the top returning shooter from the line.
Coming Up
The Mavericks will play a road game Wednesday at Rockhurst at 7 p.m. The Mavericks and Hawks last met on November 18, 2006, in a 76-63 UNO win. UNO has won the last four meetings between the two and leads the all-time series, 12-11.
2009-10 Season Outlook
Losing a majority of the points from last year doesn't always have to be a bad thing. For head coach Derrin Hansen, it means more opportunities for the talented returners and his large crop of new players to score baskets and grab rebounds.
Hansen will return two starters and five total letterwinners in 2009-10. He will also be able to plug in the lineup four redshirts who had all last year to develop, three community college transfers and four freshmen out of high school.
Hansen believes that if his team can stay healthy then he can use the depth to do more things on offense and defense that he wasn't able to do last year. The Mavericks went 17-11 last year and finished tied for fifth in the MIAA at 11-9.
The Guards
Hansen's leading returning scorer will be relied on to do more than just put points on the board. Senior guard Andrew Bridger will once again be looked at to run the point and be the quarterback of the offense. With three years of experience as a starter, he has learned not only where he should be on the court, but also where his entire team should be.
Bridger averaged 11.5 points a game last year and he was third in the MIAA with 4.46 assists a game. He scored in double figures 15 times with a season-high 22 points on December 3 at Washburn.
Also returning as a guard will be Jeff Martin. The junior played in just five games last year before a broken ankle kept him out the rest of the year. Hansen said he is fully recovered and ready to pick up where he left off. Last year he averaged 9.6 points a game after getting 18 and 15 in the first two games of the year.
Aaron Terry returns for his junior year after playing in 26 of 28 games last year. He averaged 3.8 points a game and Hansen hopes that by having him concentrate on the wing position, he can increase his productivity.
Three new players will compete for time at guard position.
Junior Jamel LeBranch transferred to UNO from Central Community College. He averaged 12.5 points, 6.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds a game and Hansen hopes he can play some productive minutes as point guard. He earned first team all-Region 9 honors and first team all-conference honors both years.
Torrian Harris is also a junior transfer. He was second team All-America and the conference most valuable player at Lansing Community College. In two years of junior college basketball he scored 985 points to average 21 a game. Hansen saw good things from him in preseason practices and he believes he should be able to give UNO a lot of minutes at a wing spot.
Junior guard Tyler Bullock will look for his first action as a Maverick. He sat out last year after transferring from Nebraska-Kearney and Denver. Hansen is looking for good things from him after he started all 29 games for the Division I Pioneers in 2006-07 and averaged 11.0 points a game.
The Forwards
Two seniors will return to the forward position at UNO and four newcomers will join them looking for playing time.
Dion Curry played in all 28 games last year and made 24 starts. He averaged 9.4 points a game and 5.4 rebounds. Hansen remarked that he had a good junior year and he hopes he can improve his numbers on offense and defense to have a strong finish to his career.
Matt Newman played in 19 games and started four last year. He scored 5.2 points a game with 3.1 rebounds, all while gaining a lot of experience at his position. Hansen thinks he's ready to have a breakout senior year.
John Ring will return for his sophomore year after playing in 12 games last year with 1.8 points a game.
The rest of the minutes at forward will either be filled by freshmen, redshirts or transfers.
Junior Eugene Bain, a transfer from North Platte Community College, will be looked upon to step on the court and continue to put up the big numbers he had in junior college. He averaged 16.9 points a game with 11.2 rebounds to help him earn NJCAA second team All-America.
Freshman Josh Lynch came to UNO last year from Elkhorn High School. He took a very productive redshirt last year after averaging 15.2 points and 12.1 rebounds a game his senior year.
Junior Matthew Starks also sat out last year and took a medical redshirt with a knee injury. He transferred from UNK and played in 13 games in two years there.
Alex Welhouse sat out last year and will be a redshirt freshman this season. He averaged 21.7 points and 5.0 rebounds a game at Kaukauna High School in Kaukauna, Wis. He set schools records with 37 points in a game and a 90 percent single-season free throw percentage.
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