Saturday, February 22
Macomb, Ill.
2 p.m.
Omaha
at
Western Illinois
Omaha looks for its third straight win Saturday afternoon at Western Illinois.
Omaha Visits Western Illinois on Saturday
Feb 21, 2020 | Men's Basketball
The Basics
The Omaha men's basketball team concludes its road swing this Saturday, Feb. 22 with a visit to Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Western Hall in Macomb, Ill., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1620 The Zone, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
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Quick Hits
• Thursday night's victory at Purdue Fort Wayne snapped a four-game road losing streak for Omaha and was its sixth straight win in the series with the Mastodons.
• A win Saturday at Western Illinois would bring the Mavericks back over .500 at 15-14 overall.
• The Mavericks have the second-best home attendance in the Summit League season with an average of 2,382 fans per game -- their best of the Division I era.
• Omaha started 3-0 in Summit League play and was the last undefeated team in the conference until falling at South Dakota on Jan. 11, which ended its season-long four-game win streak.
• Omaha was picked fourth in the Summit League's preseason poll, and Matt Pile and JT Gibson were both second-team Preseason All-Summit picks.
• The Mavericks had a 3.14 semester GPA as a team in the fall semester. It marked their third straight semester with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• 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 1,195-1,200.
• JT Gibson, KJ Robinson, Ayo Akinwole and Matt Pile are serving as first-time team captains this season.
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Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
Western Illinois has a record of 5-11 (2-11 Summit League) after an 86-83 overtime defeat at the hands of North Dakota last Saturday for its eighth straight loss. Kobe Webster led all scorers 20 points, while Ben Pyle (15), DreShawn Allen (12) and C.J. Duff (11) also scored in double figures. Anthony Jones also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
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Webster, who was a first-team Preseason All-Summit pick, has averaged a team-leading 16.3 points per game this season. WIU was picked seventh in the Summit League's preseason poll.
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Head coach Billy Wright is in his sixth season in Macomb with a career record of 53-112.
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All-Time Against Western Illinois
Saturday marks the 24th meeting between Omaha and Western Illinois, and the Mavericks lead the all-time series, 13-10, including 10-7 in the Division I era. Omaha has won nine of the last 10 meetings, including seven straight. The Leathernecks have a 5-3 advantage in Macomb since 2011-12, but the Mavericks have won three straight there.
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Omaha and WIU last met Jan. 23 at Baxter Arena, where the Mavericks won 87-82 in overtime.
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Last Time Out: Akinwole's Game-Winner Lifts Omaha Past Purdue Fort Wayne, 61-59
Ayo Akinwole's game-winning basket with 3.4 seconds left lifted Omaha to a 61-59 road victory over Purdue Fort Wayne Thursday night at Gates Sports Center. It was the final time the two teams will meet in the regular-season as members of the Summit League.
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KJ Robinson and JT Gibson finished with 12 points apiece to pace the Mavericks offensively. Wanjang Tut and Darrius Hughes added an identical eight points each.
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Matt Pile, who was limited after running into foul trouble in the first half, collected a game-high 11 rebounds with three blocked shots, an assist, a steal and four points. Akinwole finished with six points and three steals.
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Omaha shot 38.8% (26-of-67) and just 17.6% (3-of-17) from beyond the arc, while Purdue Fort Wayne finished at 38.9% (21-of-54) from the field and 23.3% (7-of-30) from long range. The Mastodons had a 40-36 advantage on the glass. Omaha limited itself to 10 turnovers, while the Mastodons committed 19 miscues.
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Up Next
Omaha hosts its home finale with North Dakota on Wednesday, Feb. 26, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena. The game will be broadcast live on YurView Cox Channel 13, Midco and ESPN+ with Jon Schriner on play-by-play. Gary Sharp and 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 concludes its road swing this Saturday, Feb. 22 with a visit to Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Western Hall in Macomb, Ill., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1620 The Zone, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
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Quick Hits
• Thursday night's victory at Purdue Fort Wayne snapped a four-game road losing streak for Omaha and was its sixth straight win in the series with the Mastodons.
• A win Saturday at Western Illinois would bring the Mavericks back over .500 at 15-14 overall.
• The Mavericks have the second-best home attendance in the Summit League season with an average of 2,382 fans per game -- their best of the Division I era.
• Omaha started 3-0 in Summit League play and was the last undefeated team in the conference until falling at South Dakota on Jan. 11, which ended its season-long four-game win streak.
• Omaha was picked fourth in the Summit League's preseason poll, and Matt Pile and JT Gibson were both second-team Preseason All-Summit picks.
• The Mavericks had a 3.14 semester GPA as a team in the fall semester. It marked their third straight semester with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• 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 1,195-1,200.
• JT Gibson, KJ Robinson, Ayo Akinwole and Matt Pile are serving as first-time team captains this season.
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Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
Western Illinois has a record of 5-11 (2-11 Summit League) after an 86-83 overtime defeat at the hands of North Dakota last Saturday for its eighth straight loss. Kobe Webster led all scorers 20 points, while Ben Pyle (15), DreShawn Allen (12) and C.J. Duff (11) also scored in double figures. Anthony Jones also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
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Webster, who was a first-team Preseason All-Summit pick, has averaged a team-leading 16.3 points per game this season. WIU was picked seventh in the Summit League's preseason poll.
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Head coach Billy Wright is in his sixth season in Macomb with a career record of 53-112.
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All-Time Against Western Illinois
Saturday marks the 24th meeting between Omaha and Western Illinois, and the Mavericks lead the all-time series, 13-10, including 10-7 in the Division I era. Omaha has won nine of the last 10 meetings, including seven straight. The Leathernecks have a 5-3 advantage in Macomb since 2011-12, but the Mavericks have won three straight there.
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Omaha and WIU last met Jan. 23 at Baxter Arena, where the Mavericks won 87-82 in overtime.
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Last Time Out: Akinwole's Game-Winner Lifts Omaha Past Purdue Fort Wayne, 61-59
Ayo Akinwole's game-winning basket with 3.4 seconds left lifted Omaha to a 61-59 road victory over Purdue Fort Wayne Thursday night at Gates Sports Center. It was the final time the two teams will meet in the regular-season as members of the Summit League.
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KJ Robinson and JT Gibson finished with 12 points apiece to pace the Mavericks offensively. Wanjang Tut and Darrius Hughes added an identical eight points each.
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Matt Pile, who was limited after running into foul trouble in the first half, collected a game-high 11 rebounds with three blocked shots, an assist, a steal and four points. Akinwole finished with six points and three steals.
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Omaha shot 38.8% (26-of-67) and just 17.6% (3-of-17) from beyond the arc, while Purdue Fort Wayne finished at 38.9% (21-of-54) from the field and 23.3% (7-of-30) from long range. The Mastodons had a 40-36 advantage on the glass. Omaha limited itself to 10 turnovers, while the Mastodons committed 19 miscues.
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Up Next
Omaha hosts its home finale with North Dakota on Wednesday, Feb. 26, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena. The game will be broadcast live on YurView Cox Channel 13, Midco and ESPN+ with Jon Schriner on play-by-play. Gary Sharp and 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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