Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
First Place Mavericks Take On SDSU in Brookings
Jan 17, 2024 | Men's Basketball
The Basics
The Mavericks look to build on their first-place lead in the Summit League when they head up north to face the second-place South Dakota State Jackrabbits this Thursday at 7 p.m.
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOIL and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
Scouting the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Currently tied for second in the conference at 9-9 overall and 2-1 in league play, the Jackrabbits began the year ranked 10th on the Mid Major Top 25 Poll, though, have since fallen off. They went 1-1 on the road last week, holding on to beat St. Thomas 81-80 before falling to Denver 99-80.
Junior guard Zeke Mayo, 2021-22 Newcomer of the Year and 2022-23 First Team All-Conference selection, remains one of the Summit League's best players. Coming into the week he is fourth in the conference in scoring (18.3 ppg, 329 points), seventh in rebounding (6.2 rpg, 111 total), fourth in assists (3.4 apg, 64 total), fourth in steals (1.3 spg, 24 total), and top five in FG% (.479), 3-PT FG% (.375), and FT% (.811). Â
SDSU also boasts the league's most accurate shooter in sophomore forward William Kyle III, who owns a .638 FG% (nearly .100 higher than second place) and is second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg, 241 points) and rebounding (5.8 rpg, 104 total) behind Mayo.
Head Coach Eric Henderson is in his fifth year leading the Jackrabbits and eighth year overall with the program. During his head coaching tenure, SDSU has won three Regular Season Titles and a Championship Title in their 30-win 2021-22 campaign.Â
All-Time Against South Dakota State
Omaha is 32-54 all-time vs. SDSU, owning a 5-19 in the Division I era. The Mavericks have lost eight straight to the Jackrabbits, last winning on December 19, 2019. Last season, Omaha dropped three games to SDSU, including one in the Summit League Tournament. Frankie Fidler totaled 44 points and 20 rebounds in the season series, while JJ White had 29 points and 18 assists.
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The Mavericks look to build on their first-place lead in the Summit League when they head up north to face the second-place South Dakota State Jackrabbits this Thursday at 7 p.m.
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOIL and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
- The Mavericks moved into a tie with St. Thomas for first in the conference last week after beating North Dakota and North Dakota State at home to move to 10-9 overall and 3-1 in league play.
- It was an instant classic Saturday night as the Mavericks and Bison were as evenly matched as could be, with Omaha fighting back to take a two-point lead with just over a minute left in regulation, only for NDSU to tie it a few seconds later to send it to overtime where the Mavericks ultimately pulled away.
- Both teams were dead even in shooting, with NDSU owning a slight edge in FG% (56.9% to 53.0%), while Omaha led in 3-PT FG% (47.1% to 45.8%) and FT% (78.3% to 75.0%).
- Saturday's victory marked the first time this season that Omaha won a game that was on a Saturday, in overtime, that they allowed the opponent to score at least 90 points, and had a scoring margin of less than five points.
- Frankie Fidler was named the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week for the second time this year for his efforts last week, racking up 63 points, a .500 FG%, a .897 FT%, and 19 rebounds. He tied the program single record for single game free throws with 18 vs. UND, before recording his second double-double this year with 34 points and 12 boards vs. NDSU. Overall, he is second in the conference with 355 points, third in ppg with 18.7, and first in FT% at .875.
- Fidler is also nearing both 400 career field goals made and 400 total rebounds. He begins the week with 399 field goals and 396 boards.
- JJ White set a new career high with 19 points on Saturday, as well as tying his career best with seven total rebounds.Â
- Marquel Sutton had 12 more rebounds last week, bringing him to 114 on the year and 6.2 rpg, both placing him in the top 10 in the conference.
- Nick Davis also added two more blocks on Saturday giving him 10 in league play and 21 on the year, the former total being the most in the conference and the latter being tied for fourth.
- Grant Stubblefield, Marcel Bryant, Nick Davis, and Biko Johnson are Omaha's top newcomers coming into this season.Â
- Stubblefield was named 6A Player of the Year and First Team All-State while at Blue Valley Northwest and Bryant was named the Austin Area Player of the Year at Cedar Ridge. Johnson is coming off his second season at Western Nebraska CC where he was named All-Conference and All-Nebraska, while Davis is fresh off winning GAC Defensive Player of the Year and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the Division II NCAA Tournament with Southern Nazarene.Â
- Fidler was Omaha's lone All-Summit honoree last season, earning an Honorable Mention. He led Omaha in scoring (14.7 ppg), rebounding (5.8 rpg), steals (1.2 spg), and free throw percentage (.887), with his FT% in particular ranking in the NCAA's top-25 for most of the season.
- Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 29-41 career record. It marks his third season as a head coach and second with the Mavericks.
Scouting the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Currently tied for second in the conference at 9-9 overall and 2-1 in league play, the Jackrabbits began the year ranked 10th on the Mid Major Top 25 Poll, though, have since fallen off. They went 1-1 on the road last week, holding on to beat St. Thomas 81-80 before falling to Denver 99-80.
Junior guard Zeke Mayo, 2021-22 Newcomer of the Year and 2022-23 First Team All-Conference selection, remains one of the Summit League's best players. Coming into the week he is fourth in the conference in scoring (18.3 ppg, 329 points), seventh in rebounding (6.2 rpg, 111 total), fourth in assists (3.4 apg, 64 total), fourth in steals (1.3 spg, 24 total), and top five in FG% (.479), 3-PT FG% (.375), and FT% (.811). Â
SDSU also boasts the league's most accurate shooter in sophomore forward William Kyle III, who owns a .638 FG% (nearly .100 higher than second place) and is second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg, 241 points) and rebounding (5.8 rpg, 104 total) behind Mayo.
Head Coach Eric Henderson is in his fifth year leading the Jackrabbits and eighth year overall with the program. During his head coaching tenure, SDSU has won three Regular Season Titles and a Championship Title in their 30-win 2021-22 campaign.Â
All-Time Against South Dakota State
Omaha is 32-54 all-time vs. SDSU, owning a 5-19 in the Division I era. The Mavericks have lost eight straight to the Jackrabbits, last winning on December 19, 2019. Last season, Omaha dropped three games to SDSU, including one in the Summit League Tournament. Frankie Fidler totaled 44 points and 20 rebounds in the season series, while JJ White had 29 points and 18 assists.
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Players Mentioned
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