Saturday, January 13
Fort Wayne, Ind.
6 p.m.
Omaha
at
Fort Wayne
Senior Daniel Norl and the Mavericks visit Fort Wayne Saturday night.
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Omaha Meets Fort Wayne Saturday
Jan 12, 2018 | Men's Basketball
This Weekend
The Omaha men's basketball team caps its road swing this Saturday, Jan. 13 with a visit to Fort Wayne. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1620 The Zone. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha has won three of its last five games.
• Four Mavericks are averaging double-figure scoring: Zach Jackson (17.9 ppg), Daniel Norl (12.9 ppg), Mitch Hahn (12.2 ppg) and JT Gibson (11.5 ppg).
• Over the last 13 games, Jackson has averaged 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting .571 from the field, .476 from 3-point range and .852 from the free throw line.
• Jackson led the Mavericks in scoring in six straight games from Nov. 25 to Dec. 13 and has tallied in double figures in 13 consecutive contests.
• Over the last four games, Norl has averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per contest while shooting .511. He has collected 14 assists with just two turnovers.
• KJ Robinson returned to the starting lineup Thursday at Western Illinois, his first start since Dec. 18.
• Omaha ranks 31st nationally for 3-pointers made (169) and 47th for assists (283).
• Four Mavericks have had at least one 20-point scoring performance this season.
• Head coach Derrin Hansen earned his 200th career victory Dec. 17 vs. Cornell College.
• By Dec. 3, Omaha had played in all four time zones in the contiguous United States.
• The Mavericks shot .500 or better as a team in four straight games from Nov. 20-29 and eight times overall this year.
• 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.
• Omaha returned seven letterwinners from its 2016-17 squad, including a Summit League All-Newcomer pick in Hahn.
Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne is 12-8 (1-2 Summit League) after a 68-58 loss to South Dakota Thursday night. Bryson Scott finished with 26 points in his 12th 20-point scoring effort of the season. Kason Harrell (10) and Xzavier Taylor (10) joined him in double figures.
Head coach Jon Coffman is in his fourth season with the Mastodons, carrying a career record of 72-46.
Saturday's game marks the 14th meeting all-time between Omaha and Fort Wayne, with the Mastodons leading the series, 10-3. The two teams last met on March 5, 2017 in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., where the Mavericks won 84-80. Their last regular-season tussle was Feb. 11, 2017 in Fort Wayne, with the Mastodons prevailing 108-101.
Last Time Out: Wofford-Humphrey's Career Night Lifts Omaha to First League Win, 87-66
Omaha claimed its first road win and first Summit League win of the season Thursday night, triumphing over Western Illinois 87-66 at Western Hall. Senior Lamar Wofford-Humphrey tallied a career-high 18 points with seven rebounds, shooting 7-of-9 from the floor with three 3-pointers over 16 minutes. Junior Zach Jackson matched him with another 18 points, five boards, two assists and two steals.
Sophomore JT Gibson added 16 points, three rebounds, a game-best and career-high-tying six assists, two steals and a block. Senior Daniel Norl rounded it out with an identical 16 points alongside six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Omaha outshot Western Illinois .532 (33-of-62) to .414 (24-of-58), including .481 (13-of-27) to .238 (5-of-21) from long range. The Mavericks also outrebounded the Leathernecks 39-30.
Action Jackson
Junior Zach Jackson is in his third year as a starter, averaging a team bests of 17.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game with a .536 shooting percentage. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in double figures in all but one game, including six 20-point scoring performances: 24 at Oklahoma (Nov. 12), 22 vs. Jackson State (Nov. 25), 28 at Washington (Dec. 3), 22 vs. Arkansas State (Dec. 13), 25 vs. Montana State (Dec. 21) and a career-high 29 vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 6).
Jackson ranks in the top 10 in the Summit League in multiple categories: third for points (341), field goals made (119) and free throws made (76), fourth for points per game (17.9), sixth for field goal percentage (.536), free throw percentage (.809) and total rebounds (127), seventh for 3-point percentage (.429) and steals (21) and eighth for rebounds per game (6.7) and offensive rebounds (37).
Against high major opponents this season, Jackson averaged 18.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks in six games. Combined against Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisville, TCU, Washington and Kansas, he has shot .507 from the field and .763 at the stripe.
Gibson at Full Strength
Sophomore JT Gibson, who assumed a starting spot Dec. 9, is fourth on the team for scoring with 11.5 points per game. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has nine double-figure scoring efforts this season. Omaha's triples leader, he has hit at least one 3-pointer in 15 straight games since Nov. 20 and owns 12 performances with two or more treys this season. Additionally, he is a perfect 16-of-16 at the free throw line since beginning his streak Nov. 14 at New Mexico.
Gibson ranks eighth in the Summit League for 3-pointers made (39), assists (57) and steals (20). With 85 assists to his credit, he is Omaha's active career leader in the category.
Gibson had a second go at his man campaign in 2016-17. In 2015-16, he appeared in eight games off the bench before suffering a season-ending elbow injury that led to a medical redshirt.
Here's to You, Mr. Robinson
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 has now assumed a starting role in 2017-18 season.
A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Robinson had a standout performance vs. No. 18 Louisville (Nov. 17) with a then-career-high 14 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals. He followed by dishing out a career-best eight assists at TCU (Nov. 20) while adding 11 points, four rebounds and a steal. Against Tennessee Tech (Nov. 24), Robinson went off for a career-high 25 points while hitting seven 3-pointers and adding five rebounds, five assists and a block. It was the most threes in a game by any Maverick since Marcus Tyus had eight at South Dakota State (Jan, 7, 2017).
Robinson had four straight double-figure scoring performances from Nov. 17-25. He is ninth in the league for assists (56).
Norl Off to a Strong Start
Senior Daniel Norl has had a strong start to his senior season, ranking second on the team for scoring with 12.9 points per game. The Clarksville, Tenn., native earned his first career start at Montana State (Nov. 10), exploding for career highs of 29 points, nine rebounds and two steals while shooting 13-of-18. He posted his second 20-point effort with a game-high 23 points, three boards, a career-high-tying seven assists and a career-best three steals at Oral Roberts (Dec. 30).
Norl 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. He 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.
Wofford-Humphrey Making a Difference
Senior Lamar Wofford-Humphrey had a standout effort at No. 18 Louisville (Nov. 17), tallying his first double-double as a Maverick with 14 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist.
The transfer from Eastern Michigan has eight double-figure scoring games to his credit, including his most recent with a career-high 18 points at Western Illinois (Jan. 11) on 7-of-9 shooting with a trio of 3-pointers. He has the team lead and ranks third in the Summit League for offensive rebounds (43).
The Pile Driver
Freshman Matt Pile averaged 6.3 minutes per game over the first three contests this season but has seen his court time increase to 16.8 minutes per game over the last 16. In that stretch, Pile has boosted his averages to 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game off the bench.
Pile notched his first career double-double vs. Doane (Jan. 2) with career highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds and 9-of-11 shooting. He followed up with four blocks vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 6) -- the most of any Maverick this season -- and he ranks third in the Summit League for blocks (17).
Welcome Back, Renard
Senior Renard Suggs made his Maverick debut vs. Montana State (Dec. 21) and has quickly moved up to average double-digit minutes off the bench. The Washington State transfer scored in double figures in back-to-back games with 14 points at Oral Roberts (Dec. 30) and 13 vs. Doane (Jan. 2), and he has averaged 7.8 points over his first five games.
Suggs is the son of former Maverick standout Rickey Suggs. The elder Suggs played basketball at UNO from 1980-85, was part of three Omaha squads to play in the NCAA Tournament (1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84) and went on to a professional football career in the Canadian Football League.
More on Meyer
Senior Daniel Meyer made his second collegiate appearance in his home state Nov. 10 with Omaha's season opener at Montana State. The Billings, Mont., native is Omaha's active career leader for games played (102) and blocks (29).
Meyer has been mainstay for Omaha over the last few seasons. He appeared in every game in 2015-16 and 2016-17, making 11 starts as a junior and finishing the year with 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He had one of his best performances in league play, pulling down a season-high nine rebounds with two blocks vs. Oral Roberts.
Off the court, Meyer is a fully-rated instrument and private aircraft pilot.
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 and SWAC. 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
Omaha welcomes Denver on Thursday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and Gary Sharp and John Karhoff will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
The Omaha men's basketball team caps its road swing this Saturday, Jan. 13 with a visit to Fort Wayne. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1620 The Zone. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha has won three of its last five games.
• Four Mavericks are averaging double-figure scoring: Zach Jackson (17.9 ppg), Daniel Norl (12.9 ppg), Mitch Hahn (12.2 ppg) and JT Gibson (11.5 ppg).
• Over the last 13 games, Jackson has averaged 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting .571 from the field, .476 from 3-point range and .852 from the free throw line.
• Jackson led the Mavericks in scoring in six straight games from Nov. 25 to Dec. 13 and has tallied in double figures in 13 consecutive contests.
• Over the last four games, Norl has averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per contest while shooting .511. He has collected 14 assists with just two turnovers.
• KJ Robinson returned to the starting lineup Thursday at Western Illinois, his first start since Dec. 18.
• Omaha ranks 31st nationally for 3-pointers made (169) and 47th for assists (283).
• Four Mavericks have had at least one 20-point scoring performance this season.
• Head coach Derrin Hansen earned his 200th career victory Dec. 17 vs. Cornell College.
• By Dec. 3, Omaha had played in all four time zones in the contiguous United States.
• The Mavericks shot .500 or better as a team in four straight games from Nov. 20-29 and eight times overall this year.
• 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.
• Omaha returned seven letterwinners from its 2016-17 squad, including a Summit League All-Newcomer pick in Hahn.
Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne is 12-8 (1-2 Summit League) after a 68-58 loss to South Dakota Thursday night. Bryson Scott finished with 26 points in his 12th 20-point scoring effort of the season. Kason Harrell (10) and Xzavier Taylor (10) joined him in double figures.
Head coach Jon Coffman is in his fourth season with the Mastodons, carrying a career record of 72-46.
Saturday's game marks the 14th meeting all-time between Omaha and Fort Wayne, with the Mastodons leading the series, 10-3. The two teams last met on March 5, 2017 in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., where the Mavericks won 84-80. Their last regular-season tussle was Feb. 11, 2017 in Fort Wayne, with the Mastodons prevailing 108-101.
Last Time Out: Wofford-Humphrey's Career Night Lifts Omaha to First League Win, 87-66
Omaha claimed its first road win and first Summit League win of the season Thursday night, triumphing over Western Illinois 87-66 at Western Hall. Senior Lamar Wofford-Humphrey tallied a career-high 18 points with seven rebounds, shooting 7-of-9 from the floor with three 3-pointers over 16 minutes. Junior Zach Jackson matched him with another 18 points, five boards, two assists and two steals.
Sophomore JT Gibson added 16 points, three rebounds, a game-best and career-high-tying six assists, two steals and a block. Senior Daniel Norl rounded it out with an identical 16 points alongside six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Omaha outshot Western Illinois .532 (33-of-62) to .414 (24-of-58), including .481 (13-of-27) to .238 (5-of-21) from long range. The Mavericks also outrebounded the Leathernecks 39-30.
Action Jackson
Junior Zach Jackson is in his third year as a starter, averaging a team bests of 17.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game with a .536 shooting percentage. The Wichita, Kan., native has scored in double figures in all but one game, including six 20-point scoring performances: 24 at Oklahoma (Nov. 12), 22 vs. Jackson State (Nov. 25), 28 at Washington (Dec. 3), 22 vs. Arkansas State (Dec. 13), 25 vs. Montana State (Dec. 21) and a career-high 29 vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 6).
Jackson ranks in the top 10 in the Summit League in multiple categories: third for points (341), field goals made (119) and free throws made (76), fourth for points per game (17.9), sixth for field goal percentage (.536), free throw percentage (.809) and total rebounds (127), seventh for 3-point percentage (.429) and steals (21) and eighth for rebounds per game (6.7) and offensive rebounds (37).
Against high major opponents this season, Jackson averaged 18.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks in six games. Combined against Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisville, TCU, Washington and Kansas, he has shot .507 from the field and .763 at the stripe.
Gibson at Full Strength
Sophomore JT Gibson, who assumed a starting spot Dec. 9, is fourth on the team for scoring with 11.5 points per game. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has nine double-figure scoring efforts this season. Omaha's triples leader, he has hit at least one 3-pointer in 15 straight games since Nov. 20 and owns 12 performances with two or more treys this season. Additionally, he is a perfect 16-of-16 at the free throw line since beginning his streak Nov. 14 at New Mexico.
Gibson ranks eighth in the Summit League for 3-pointers made (39), assists (57) and steals (20). With 85 assists to his credit, he is Omaha's active career leader in the category.
Gibson had a second go at his man campaign in 2016-17. In 2015-16, he appeared in eight games off the bench before suffering a season-ending elbow injury that led to a medical redshirt.
Here's to You, Mr. Robinson
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 has now assumed a starting role in 2017-18 season.
A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Robinson had a standout performance vs. No. 18 Louisville (Nov. 17) with a then-career-high 14 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals. He followed by dishing out a career-best eight assists at TCU (Nov. 20) while adding 11 points, four rebounds and a steal. Against Tennessee Tech (Nov. 24), Robinson went off for a career-high 25 points while hitting seven 3-pointers and adding five rebounds, five assists and a block. It was the most threes in a game by any Maverick since Marcus Tyus had eight at South Dakota State (Jan, 7, 2017).
Robinson had four straight double-figure scoring performances from Nov. 17-25. He is ninth in the league for assists (56).
Norl Off to a Strong Start
Senior Daniel Norl has had a strong start to his senior season, ranking second on the team for scoring with 12.9 points per game. The Clarksville, Tenn., native earned his first career start at Montana State (Nov. 10), exploding for career highs of 29 points, nine rebounds and two steals while shooting 13-of-18. He posted his second 20-point effort with a game-high 23 points, three boards, a career-high-tying seven assists and a career-best three steals at Oral Roberts (Dec. 30).
Norl 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. He 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.
Wofford-Humphrey Making a Difference
Senior Lamar Wofford-Humphrey had a standout effort at No. 18 Louisville (Nov. 17), tallying his first double-double as a Maverick with 14 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist.
The transfer from Eastern Michigan has eight double-figure scoring games to his credit, including his most recent with a career-high 18 points at Western Illinois (Jan. 11) on 7-of-9 shooting with a trio of 3-pointers. He has the team lead and ranks third in the Summit League for offensive rebounds (43).
The Pile Driver
Freshman Matt Pile averaged 6.3 minutes per game over the first three contests this season but has seen his court time increase to 16.8 minutes per game over the last 16. In that stretch, Pile has boosted his averages to 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game off the bench.
Pile notched his first career double-double vs. Doane (Jan. 2) with career highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds and 9-of-11 shooting. He followed up with four blocks vs. South Dakota State (Jan. 6) -- the most of any Maverick this season -- and he ranks third in the Summit League for blocks (17).
Welcome Back, Renard
Senior Renard Suggs made his Maverick debut vs. Montana State (Dec. 21) and has quickly moved up to average double-digit minutes off the bench. The Washington State transfer scored in double figures in back-to-back games with 14 points at Oral Roberts (Dec. 30) and 13 vs. Doane (Jan. 2), and he has averaged 7.8 points over his first five games.
Suggs is the son of former Maverick standout Rickey Suggs. The elder Suggs played basketball at UNO from 1980-85, was part of three Omaha squads to play in the NCAA Tournament (1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84) and went on to a professional football career in the Canadian Football League.
More on Meyer
Senior Daniel Meyer made his second collegiate appearance in his home state Nov. 10 with Omaha's season opener at Montana State. The Billings, Mont., native is Omaha's active career leader for games played (102) and blocks (29).
Meyer has been mainstay for Omaha over the last few seasons. He appeared in every game in 2015-16 and 2016-17, making 11 starts as a junior and finishing the year with 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He had one of his best performances in league play, pulling down a season-high nine rebounds with two blocks vs. Oral Roberts.
Off the court, Meyer is a fully-rated instrument and private aircraft pilot.
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 and SWAC. 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
Omaha welcomes Denver on Thursday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and Gary Sharp and John Karhoff will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
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