Thursday, November 7
Omaha, Neb.
Noon
Omaha
vs
Midland
Ayo Akinwole and the Omaha men's basketball team play their first game at Baxter Arena Thursday afternoon.
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Mavericks Face Midland for Home Opener
Nov 6, 2019 | Men's Basketball
The Basics
The Omaha men's basketball team makes its home debut this Thursday, Nov. 7, welcoming Midland. Tipoff is set for Noon at Baxter Arena.
Gary Sharp and former Maverick Kyler Erickson 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
• The 2019-20 season is the 107th overall in program history and the ninth of the Mavericks' Division I era. All-time, the program is 1,181-1,187.
• Midland is longtime assistant coach Tyler Erwin's alma mater. Erwin, a 2000 graduate, was a four-year letterwinner from 1996-2000 and helped the Warriors to the national tournament as a senior. He was honored earlier this fall with Midland's Distinguished Young Alumni Award.
• Tuesday's game at Wichita State marked Omaha's earliest start in program history, a full day ahead of last year's opener.
• It was also Omaha's fourth straight season opener away from home. The Mavericks previously opened on the road Nov. 6, 2018 at Minnesota, Nov. 10, 2017 at Montana State and Nov. 12, 2017 at UC Santa Barbara.
• JT Gibson, KJ Robinson, Ayo Akinwole and Matt Pile will all serve as first-time team captains this season.
Scouting the Midland Warriors
Midland is 2-2 (0-0 GPAC) on the season after a 72-65 loss to York College Tuesday night at home.
Ryan Williams is the Warriors' leading scorer and rebounder with 23.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Bowen Sandquist (11.0 ppg) and Laurence Merritt (10.3 ppg) also average in double figures.
Head coach Oliver Drake has compiled a record of 63-57 in five seasons at Midland and a career mark of 173-113 over 10 seasons.
All-Time Against Midland
Thursday marks the 30th meeting between Omaha and Midland, with the Mavericks leading the all-time series, 25-4. Omaha has won 11 straight games in the series.
Omaha and Midland have never met in the Mavericks' Division I era. Their most recent meeting was Nov. 27, 2010 -- a 76-53 win for the Mavericks at Sapp Fieldhouse.
Home Openers
Omaha is 11-3 in home openers in the Derrin Hansen era, which dates back to 2005-06. The Mavericks have won 10 of their last 12 home openers and are 6-2 since the Division I era began. Most recently, they registered a 94-58 win over Buena Vista to open the 2018-19 slate.
Omaha has averaged 86.6 points per game in its eight home openers in the Division I era, with a high of 101 points vs. UMKC in 2013-14. Across all Hansen-era home openers, the Mavericks have averaged 86.5 ppg.
Honey, We're Home
Omaha was 10-2 at home last season, including 7-1 in Summit League play, and ended the slate on a six-game home win streak. They averaged 83.3 points per game and had an average margin of victory of 13.4 points at Baxter Arena.
Over the last four years, the Mavericks have enjoyed a 35-14 (.714) advantage at home.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Fall in Opener at Wichita State, 68-54
Omaha opened its 2019-20 campaign Tuesday night, falling 68-54 to Wichita State at Charles Koch Arena. Ayo Akinwole's all-around effort led the Mavericks, as the junior finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
Zach Thornhill hit 5-of-9 from the floor en route to a career-high 11 points in his first career start, and JT Gibson, who celebrated his 23rd birthday, matched Thornhill with 11 points with a pair of threes.
Wichita native Matt Pile's homecoming came with a six-point, career-high 15-rebound performance, and he added two steals and an assist.
The Mavericks held Wichita State to 36.6% shooting on the night while registering a 39.3% clip themselves. WSU had a 44-39 advantage on the glass, including 15-7 on the offensive end. Omaha held a 22-18 edge in the paint. The Shockers knocked down 11 threes.
JT for Three
JT Gibson was the only Omaha player to hit a three in each of the first 27 games last season, though his streak came to an end Feb. 28 at Oral Roberts. It was the longest stretch of his career, surpassing his previous best of 19 straight games with a three from Nov. 20, 2017 to Jan. 25, 2018. Dating back to 2017-18, Gibson had had a make from distance in 29 straight games.
Gibson's team-leading 76 treys marked the fifth-best single-season total by any Maverick in school history. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native ranks sixth (170) on the career chart.
The Pile Driver
Matt Pile returned to his hometown of Wichita Tuesday night, pulling down a game-high and career-best 15 rebounds with six points against Wichita State.
In 2018-19, Pile shot at a .587 clip in his sophomore campaign, ranking second among Summit League players. He was the league leader for offensive rebounds (99) and was fourth for total rebounds (252) and fifth for rebounds per game (7.9). Pile ranked 35th nationally for offensive rebounds per game (3.09).
Pile scored in double digits 22 times last year, including a streak of nine straight from Feb. 3 to March 9. In his final 10 games, he averaged 12.9 points and 9.1 rebounds and shot .574 from the field.
Pile's is Omaha's active career leader in for total rebounds, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, blocks and double-doubles.
Ayo!
Ayo Akinwole earned the start in Tuesday night's season opener at Wichita State, and the junior stepped up with an all-around effort. The Papillion-LaVista product finished with a team-best 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
Akinwole's sophomore campaign saw him average 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals per game over 19.4 minutes per contest.
Up Next
Omaha welcomes Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Nov. 11, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. at Baxter Arena. Gary Sharp and former Maverick Kyler Erickson will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links ¬¬to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
The Omaha men's basketball team makes its home debut this Thursday, Nov. 7, welcoming Midland. Tipoff is set for Noon at Baxter Arena.
Gary Sharp and former Maverick Kyler Erickson 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
• The 2019-20 season is the 107th overall in program history and the ninth of the Mavericks' Division I era. All-time, the program is 1,181-1,187.
• Midland is longtime assistant coach Tyler Erwin's alma mater. Erwin, a 2000 graduate, was a four-year letterwinner from 1996-2000 and helped the Warriors to the national tournament as a senior. He was honored earlier this fall with Midland's Distinguished Young Alumni Award.
• Tuesday's game at Wichita State marked Omaha's earliest start in program history, a full day ahead of last year's opener.
• It was also Omaha's fourth straight season opener away from home. The Mavericks previously opened on the road Nov. 6, 2018 at Minnesota, Nov. 10, 2017 at Montana State and Nov. 12, 2017 at UC Santa Barbara.
• JT Gibson, KJ Robinson, Ayo Akinwole and Matt Pile will all serve as first-time team captains this season.
Scouting the Midland Warriors
Midland is 2-2 (0-0 GPAC) on the season after a 72-65 loss to York College Tuesday night at home.
Ryan Williams is the Warriors' leading scorer and rebounder with 23.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Bowen Sandquist (11.0 ppg) and Laurence Merritt (10.3 ppg) also average in double figures.
Head coach Oliver Drake has compiled a record of 63-57 in five seasons at Midland and a career mark of 173-113 over 10 seasons.
All-Time Against Midland
Thursday marks the 30th meeting between Omaha and Midland, with the Mavericks leading the all-time series, 25-4. Omaha has won 11 straight games in the series.
Omaha and Midland have never met in the Mavericks' Division I era. Their most recent meeting was Nov. 27, 2010 -- a 76-53 win for the Mavericks at Sapp Fieldhouse.
Home Openers
Omaha is 11-3 in home openers in the Derrin Hansen era, which dates back to 2005-06. The Mavericks have won 10 of their last 12 home openers and are 6-2 since the Division I era began. Most recently, they registered a 94-58 win over Buena Vista to open the 2018-19 slate.
Omaha has averaged 86.6 points per game in its eight home openers in the Division I era, with a high of 101 points vs. UMKC in 2013-14. Across all Hansen-era home openers, the Mavericks have averaged 86.5 ppg.
Honey, We're Home
Omaha was 10-2 at home last season, including 7-1 in Summit League play, and ended the slate on a six-game home win streak. They averaged 83.3 points per game and had an average margin of victory of 13.4 points at Baxter Arena.
Over the last four years, the Mavericks have enjoyed a 35-14 (.714) advantage at home.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Fall in Opener at Wichita State, 68-54
Omaha opened its 2019-20 campaign Tuesday night, falling 68-54 to Wichita State at Charles Koch Arena. Ayo Akinwole's all-around effort led the Mavericks, as the junior finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
Zach Thornhill hit 5-of-9 from the floor en route to a career-high 11 points in his first career start, and JT Gibson, who celebrated his 23rd birthday, matched Thornhill with 11 points with a pair of threes.
Wichita native Matt Pile's homecoming came with a six-point, career-high 15-rebound performance, and he added two steals and an assist.
The Mavericks held Wichita State to 36.6% shooting on the night while registering a 39.3% clip themselves. WSU had a 44-39 advantage on the glass, including 15-7 on the offensive end. Omaha held a 22-18 edge in the paint. The Shockers knocked down 11 threes.
JT for Three
JT Gibson was the only Omaha player to hit a three in each of the first 27 games last season, though his streak came to an end Feb. 28 at Oral Roberts. It was the longest stretch of his career, surpassing his previous best of 19 straight games with a three from Nov. 20, 2017 to Jan. 25, 2018. Dating back to 2017-18, Gibson had had a make from distance in 29 straight games.
Gibson's team-leading 76 treys marked the fifth-best single-season total by any Maverick in school history. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native ranks sixth (170) on the career chart.
The Pile Driver
Matt Pile returned to his hometown of Wichita Tuesday night, pulling down a game-high and career-best 15 rebounds with six points against Wichita State.
In 2018-19, Pile shot at a .587 clip in his sophomore campaign, ranking second among Summit League players. He was the league leader for offensive rebounds (99) and was fourth for total rebounds (252) and fifth for rebounds per game (7.9). Pile ranked 35th nationally for offensive rebounds per game (3.09).
Pile scored in double digits 22 times last year, including a streak of nine straight from Feb. 3 to March 9. In his final 10 games, he averaged 12.9 points and 9.1 rebounds and shot .574 from the field.
Pile's is Omaha's active career leader in for total rebounds, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, blocks and double-doubles.
Ayo!
Ayo Akinwole earned the start in Tuesday night's season opener at Wichita State, and the junior stepped up with an all-around effort. The Papillion-LaVista product finished with a team-best 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
Akinwole's sophomore campaign saw him average 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals per game over 19.4 minutes per contest.
Up Next
Omaha welcomes Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Nov. 11, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. at Baxter Arena. Gary Sharp and former Maverick Kyler Erickson will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links ¬¬to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
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