Omaha Opens 2017-18 Campaign at Montana State

Friday, November 10

Great Falls, Mont.

7 p.m.

Omaha

Montana State

Senior Daniel Meyer returns to his home state as Omaha opens the 2017-18 season at Montana State on Friday.

Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann

Omaha Opens 2017-18 Campaign at Montana State

Nov 9, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

This Week
The Omaha men's basketball team opens the 2017-18 campaign this Friday, Nov. 10 at Montana State, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. CT at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Mont. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.

Quick Hits
•Omaha came a shot shy of its first NCAA Tournament bid in the Division I era last season, falling 79-77 to South Dakota State in the Summit League Championship. The Mavericks were 18-14 (9-7 Summit League) en route to their second straight third-place finish in the regular-season standings.
•The Mavericks return a pair of double-figure scorers in juniors Mitch Hahn (11.7 ppg) and Zach Jackson (10.8).
•Omaha returns seven letterwinners from its 2016-17 squad, including a Summit League All-Newcomer pick in Hahn.
•The Mavericks' returning corps has a combined 68 career starts among seven players.
•Head coach Derrin Hansen enters his 13th year at Omaha in 2017-18 and needs just three wins to reach 200 career victories.
•Omaha ranked 13th nationally with 83.9 points per game last season.
•Omaha had at least one scorer tally 20+ points in 16 of the last 17 games last year.
•Omaha went 7-6 in non-conference play in 2016-17, marking its fourth straight season finishing .500 or better against non-conference opponents.

Scouting the Montana State Bobcats
Montana State went 16-16 (11-7) last season to tie for fifth in the Big Sky. The Bobcats lost in the first round of the 2017 Big Sky Tournament, knocked out 109-105 in triple overtime to Southern Utah. Tyler Hall, the Big Sky's Preseason Most Valuable Player, and teammate Harald Frey are the NCAA's top returning 3-point duo after combining for 190 triples last year.

Head coach Brian Fish enters his fourth season at MSU, carrying a career record of 34-56.

Friday's game marks the second meeting all-time between Omaha and Montana State, with the Mavericks leading the all-time series 1-0. Their last meeting was Dec. 6, 2015 in Bozeman, Mont., where Omaha won 100-97 on Devin Patterson's game-winning three at the buzzer.

Success in Season Openers
Omaha is 10-2 in season openers in the Derrin Hansen era, which dates back to 2005-06. The Mavericks have won four of their last five openers, most recently registering a 74-60 win at UC Santa Barbara in 2016-17.

Last Time Out: Omaha, Creighton Meet for Charity Exhibition
Omaha met Creighton Oct. 26 for a charity exhibition game to support hurricane relief, with the Mavericks falling 96-67 at CenturyLink Center Omaha. A crowd of 8,280 attended the event, with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.

Sophomore KJ Robinson led the Mavericks with 15 points, shooting a perfect 6-of-6 at the line with three steals, an assist and a rebound. Junior Mitch Hahn registered a double-double with 13 points, a team-leading 12 rebounds and two steals.

Junior Zach Jackson added nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal, and senior Daniel Norl had eight points, three boards, two steals and a helper. Freshman Matt Pile rounded it out with six points, four offensive rebounds and a game-high two blocks.

Meyer's Return to Montana
Billings, Mont., native and Maverick senior Daniel Meyer makes his second collegiate appearance in his home state this Friday with Omaha's season opener at Montana State. Meyer and the Mavericks previously visited MSU on Dec. 6, 2015, when they won 100-97 on a buzzer beater in Bozeman.

Meyer has been mainstay for Omaha over the last few seasons, appearing in every game in 2015-16 and 2016-17. As a junior, he made 11 starts and finished the year with 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He had one of his best performances in Summit League play, pulling down a season-high nine rebounds with two blocks vs. Oral Roberts.

Meyer is Omaha's active career leader for offensive rebounds (80), blocks (26) and games played (85).

Road Warriors
Omaha plays 18 of its 30 games on the road in 2017-18, including seven straight to open the season while its home facility, Baxter Arena, plays host to the U.S. Olympic Curling Trials. The Mavericks begin with three games in one continuous seven-day trip at Montana State (Nov. 10), Oklahoma (Nov. 12) and New Mexico (Nov. 14). Following a short return home, they set out again for Louisville (Nov. 17), and after another short trip back to Omaha, visit TCU (Nov. 20). A Thanksgiving trip to Niceville, Fla., caps it off with two games in the Emerald Coast Classic, Nov. 24-25.

Final Four Foes
Omaha faces three teams with NCAA Final Four appearances on their resumes in the last decade. Oklahoma last made the Final Four in 2016, while Kansas went in 2012 and 2008, and Louisville earned a trip in 2012.

Six of the Mavericks' 2017-18 opponents have earned at least one NCAA Tournament berth over the last four years: Kansas (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), Louisville (2014, 2015, 2017), Oklahoma (2014, 2015, 2016), North Dakota State (2014, 2015), South Dakota State (2016, 2017) and New Mexico (2014).

Feelin' Hahn, Hahn, Hahn
Junior Mitch Hahn averaged 11.6 points per game in his debut season in 2016-17, appearing in 31 games before earning his first start in the Summit League Championship Game. For the year, Hahn had 20 double-figure scoring games, including two with 20 or more points, and canned at least five 3-pointers three times. The Fremont, Neb., native ranked sixth in the league for free throw percentage (.838) and 10th for 3-point percentage (.420) and blocks (22), and he capped the year with Summit League All-Newcomer Team recognition.

Hahn scored in double figures in seven straight games from Jan. 7 to Feb. 1 and had 12 games of 15+ points last year. In games when he scores in double figures, Omaha is 12-8.

Action Jackson
A two-year starter, junior Zach Jackson was third on the team for rebounding with 4.4 boards per game and fifth for scoring with 10.8 points per game last season. The Wichita, Kan., native scored in double figures in 21 games, including two 20-point performances. Jackson was instrumental in Omaha's road upset of Iowa, posting a career-high 21 points with a career-high-tying eight rebounds, a season-best three assists and a steal. He shot 6-of-9 in the performance with three 3-pointers and a 6-for-6 effort at the line.

Jackson strung together six straight double-figure scoring games from Nov. 19 to Dec. 3, 2016, then had another six-game stretch from Feb. 11 to March 6, 2017.

Jackson is Omaha's active career leader for scoring (445), field goals made (140), free throws made (114), total rebounds (201), defensive boards (134), assists (57), steals (47), games started (55) and minutes played (1,340).

What Makes Up the Mavericks
•UNO returns 43 percent of its offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 1,153 of the Mavericks' 2,685 points. The returners are also credited for 40 percent (464) of last season's 1,149 rebounds.
•Juniors Mitch Hahn and Zach Jackson are UNO's leading returning scorers after averaging 11.7 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.
•Seniors Renard Suggs and Lamar Wofford-Humphrey both tote previous Division I experience. Suggs last played in 2015-16 at Washington State, then sat out the 2016-17 season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. Wofford-Humphrey is a graduate transfer after spending the last two years at Eastern Michigan.
•Jackson played the most minutes in 2016-17 of any returner on this year's roster, averaging 27.6 minutes per game.
•UNO's 2017-18 roster has five seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen.
•The Mavericks hail from eight different states. Six are from Nebraska, three are from Kansas and two are Minnesota natives, while Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Montana and Tennessee are all represented once on the roster.

PROmaha
Eight former Mavericks have gone on to play professionally in the last three years: Mike Rostampour (Slovakia/Canada), CJ Carter (Macedonia), Devin Patterson (Lithuania) and Tim Smallwood (Italy), Randy Reed II (Tunisia), Tra-Deon Hollins (Poland/NBA G League), Marcus Tyus (Slovakia) and Alex Welhouse (Spain).

Carter and Rostampour, both 2014-15 graduates, won league championships with their respective clubs in 2015-16. Carter's MZT Skopje Aerodrom team captured the Prva Liga title, while Rostampour's BC Prievidza squad won the Slovak Extraliga crown. Rostampour also played for the Cape Breton Highlanders in the National Basketball League of Canada in 2017.

Three members of the 2015-16 class signed professional contracts following graduation. Patterson joined BC Šiauliai, which plays in the Lithuanian Basketball League and Baltic Basketball League, while Reed signed with Jeunesse Sportive d'El Mensah in Tunisia's Ligue 1. Smallwood played with Manerbio GoodBook in Italy's Serie C Gold league.

Hollins joined AZS Koszalin in Poland's Polska Liga Koszykówki in July, then returned to the United States and was the first-round draft pick of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA G League on Oct. 21. Tyus signed with MBK Baník Handlová in the Slovak Extraliga in July, and Welhouse, who completed his Maverick career in 2012-13, was added to the roster for Club Baloncesto Villarrobledo in Spain's Liga EBA in September.

What Omaha Lost
Omaha lost five letterwinners from last year's squad: guards Tra-Deon Hollins, Marcus Tyus and Kyler Erickson, forward Tre'Shawn Thurman and center Zach Pirog.

Hollins was a two-time first-team All-Summit selection and a two-time Summit League Defensive Player of the Year. He graduated as Omaha's all-time leader for both career and single-season steals, compiling 235 swipes in just two seasons.

Tyus was Omaha's 37th 1,000-point scorer in school history, and he capped his career with 1,334 points to his credit. A second-team All-Summit selection as a senior, Tyus was the Mavericks' leading scorer last season and ranked second in the league with 17.1 points per game, as well as second in league-only scoring with 21.2 points per game.

Thurman earned All-Summit Honorable Mention recognition last year and also eclipsed the 1,000-point scoring threshold. He was the 11th player in school history with at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.

Fresh Faces
Omaha's roster features eight newcomers this season, including six freshmen beginning their collegiate careers: a trio of guards in Ayo Akinwole (Papillion, Neb.), Hayden Miller (Nebraska City, Neb.) and Zach Thornnhill (Lenexa, Kan.) and a trio of forwards in Matt Pile (Goddard, Kan.), Evan Tricker (Naples, Fla.) and Wanjang Tut (Omaha, Neb.).

Akinwole was a two-time All-Nebraska selection at Papillion-La Vista High School and honorary captain of the Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Journal Star all-state teams. He averaged 17.2 points and 5.2 assists per game as a senior. Miller was a two-time Class D1 first-team all-state honoree at Lourdes Central Catholic High School and captain of the D1 all-state squad two straight years while helping his team to back-to-back state championships as a junior and senior. Thornhill was a two-time all-state pick at St. James Academy, where he helped his team advance to a sub-state final. He averaged 20.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Pile was a two-time first-team all-state selection at Eisenhower High School and was named Mr. Kansas Basketball by the KBCA as a senior. He averaged 18.6 points, 14.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.9 blocks per game.

Tricker joins the Mavericks after a year at DME Academy, where he averaged 14.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. As a prep player at First Baptist Academy, he averaged 10.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, and he also played for Montverde Academy in the summer of his sophomore year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Tut comes to Omaha after a year at The Skill Factory Prep. He was previously a four-year letterwinner at Omaha Burke High School, where he was an honorable mention all-state pick and averaged 12.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.4 assists per game. Tut also played for the South Sudan National Team.

Robinson's Ready
Sophomore KJ Robinson appeared in all but one game last season, averaging 2.5 points and 0.7 assists over 8.8 minutes per contest off the bench. He shot .419 (13-of-31) from long range and .917 (11-of-12) at the stripe.

A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Robinson had his first career double-figure scoring game with a season-high 13 points vs. Buena Vista, shooting 4-of-6 with three 3-pointers, two rebounds, a season-high three assists and a steal. He matched his three-assist effort at Eastern Michigan, then added a season-high three rebounds with six points and a pair of helpers at Cal State Fullerton. Robinson also standout efforts at Pitt (eight points) and South Dakota State (nine points, three assists, one steal).

Norl Prepped for Senior Season
Senior Daniel Norl stands ready to take on his senior season in 2017-18. He made his Maverick debut in 2016-17, appearing in 29 contests and averaging 5.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 15.6 minutes per game.

Norl had eight double-figure scoring performances as a junior, including a season-high 14 points with four 3-pointers in Omaha's quarterfinal win over Fort Wayne in the Summit League Tournament. He accounted for 10 performances with at least two 3-pointers.

Gibson Back at Full Strength
Sophomore JT Gibson had a second go at his freshman campaign in 2016-17 after earning a medical redshirt the year prior. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native had appeared in eight games off the bench in 2015-16 before suffering a season-ending elbow injury, averaging 5.3 points and 1.9 rebounds over 14.3 minutes played per contest.

Last season, Gibson made his first career start for the Mavericks at Pitt, where he scored 13 points. Two weeks later, he followed up with a career-high 14 points at South Dakota State, hitting four 3-pointers.

Championship Pedigree
Six players on Omaha's roster made appearances in state basketball championship games with their high school programs. Junior Zach Jackson won a Kansas state title with Wichita East in 2014-15, and sophomore KJ Robinson captured one in Missouri with Blue Springs South in 2015-16. Freshman Hayden Miller won back-to-back state championships at Lourdes Central Catholic in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Senior Daniel Meyer's Central Catholic squad made it to the Montana championship game in 2012-13. Sophomore JT Gibson, from Champlin Park in Minnesota, appeared in a state championship contest in 2014-15, and freshman Ayo Akinwole's Papillion-La Vista team played in the Nebraska state championship game last season.

Mavericks Picked Sixth in Summit League Preseason Poll
Omaha was selected sixth in the 2017-18 Summit League Preseason Poll released Oct. 5. The poll was tallied in a vote of the league's head coaches, communications personnel and media.

South Dakota State was the favorite to win the Summit League, garnering 13 first-place votes for 339 points. South Dakota was second and received 12 first-place votes for 327 points, while North Dakota State earned 246 points for third. Fort Wayne came in fourth with 234 points, followed by Denver, which had 230 points for fifth. Omaha was sixth in the poll with 124 points, while Oral Roberts (104) and Western Illinois (60) rounded it out in seventh and eighth, respectively.

2017-18 Slate = Tough Test for Mavericks
Omaha's 2017-18 schedule includes 30 games, and the team will play in 16 states against schools from 11 other Division I conferences. The schedule has three opponents from the Big 12 and one each from the ACC, Pac-12, Mountain West, MVC, Big West, Sun Belt, Big Sky, OVC, SWAC and MEAC. Three opponents – Kansas, Louisville and defending Summit League champion South Dakota State – played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, with the Jayhawks reaching the Elite Eight.

Up Next
Following a short turnaround, Omaha visits Oklahoma on Sunday, Nov. 12, with tipoff set for 2 p.m. at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Oklahoma, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.