Thursday, January 2
Grand Forks, N.D.
7 p.m.
Omaha
at
North Dakota
Photo by: Mary Pritchard
Mavericks Ring in New Year with Conference Opener vs. UND
Jan 1, 2025 | Men's Basketball
The Basics
With the new year here and non-conference play complete, the Mavericks open Summit League competition this Thursday at 7 p.m. in Grand Forks, N.D., in a rematch of last year's conference quarterfinal game against North Dakota.
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOIL or 1180 KZOT and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• The Mavericks wrapped up their non-conference schedule with their most dominant win of the season last Saturday when they defeated Mount Marty 81-51. This is the largest margin of victory by Omaha this season.
• Omaha comes into conference play tied with Denver and North Dakota for sixth in the Summit at 6-9. The Mavericks got here by winning their final two games of the year by a combined score of 167-133.
• Marquel Sutton enters this week fresh off back-to-back 20-point performances as he owns a .551 FG% (16-for-29) with 44 points over the last two weeks. With 967 career points he is now in striking distance of becoming the 44th Maverick in history and 10th who exclusively played in the Division I era to reach 1000 points. Likewise, with 17 rebounds over his past two games, Sutton is now at 474 career rebounds, setting him up to be the 22nd Maverick ever and fourth in just DI competition to reach 500 boards. Reaching both milestones would put him elite company as just the 15th Maverick all-time and fourth in the Division I era to have 1000 points and 500 rebounds.
• Also having a great end to non-conference play was Lance Waddles who had 19 points on Saturday to bring him to 141 on the season. His current career single-season high is 158 which he set last year with NDSU.
• Over the last two games, Omaha has done a lot of damage from short range as the team has a combined 79 points in the paint, including 37 on second chance opportunities, vs. Cal Poly and Mount Marty.
• In the month of December, Omaha posted 8.2 steals per game, the highest single month average since January 2017 (8.9 spg).
• Sutton earned his first career Summit League Preseason honor after being named Second Team All-Preseason in October. In 2023-24, he was second on the team with 12.3 PPG (406 total) and led all Mavericks with 6.3 RPG (208 total boards).
• Lance Waddles (NDSU), Joshua Streit (NDSU), and Isaac Ondekane (Lindenwood) headline the Mavericks' top transfers this year with the trio coming to Omaha with a combined six seasons of Division I basketball under their belts. Also new this year are top JUCO transfers Kamryn Thomas (2024 NJCAA Third Team All-American), Khamani Cooper (465 points as a freshman in 2024), and Valentino Simon (965 career points from 2022-24).
• Omaha has three captains this year: Marquel Sutton, Tony Osburn, and Lance Waddles.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 40-59 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.
Scouting the North Dakota Fighting Hawks
Entering conference play tied with Omaha at 6-9, North Dakota also had back-to-back wins to close out non-conference play after topping South Dakota Mines (80-48) and Waldorf (Iowa) (97-57) at home. The Fighting Hawks also came incredibly close to pulling off the upset of the season back on the 18th when they nearly defeated No. 6 Alabama in a 97-90 loss that came right down to the wire.
Coming off his second Peak Performer of the Week honor of the season, junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff currently leads the entire league in scoring with 20.1 ppg and 301 total points. He also leads UND with 30 assists, a .774 FT%, and a .374 3-PT FG% (minimum 30 attempts). Against Alabama he had the best game of his career with 40 points after shooting 15-for-30 from the field and 8-for-18 from behind the arc.
2023-24 All-Newcomer selection Amar Kuljuhovic is having another strong defensive season, slotting in right behind Sutton on the rebounding leaderboard at third in the league with 6.7 rpg (101 total). He also has 143 points on the season thanks to a team-leading .480 FG%. Meanwhile, Tulane transfer Mier Panoam is second on the team in scoring with 166 points and 11.1 ppg. He also leads the team and is fifth in the conference with 10 blocks.
Head Coach Paul Sather is now in his sixth year leading the Fighting Hawks. He brought UND to the Summit League Tournament Championship in his first season (2019-20) and logged a victory over the Huskers. During his nine-year tenure with Northern State, he made it all the way to the NCAA Division II Title game in the 2017-18 season.
All-Time Against North Dakota
Omaha moved to 45-49 all-time (13-4 in the Division I era) against UND after topping them 73-72 at the buzzer in last year's Summit League Tournament Quarterfinal. The teams went 1-1 in the regular season in 2023-24. Sutton totaled 42 points and 21 rebounds vs. the Fighting Hawks last season, while Eaglestaff had 61 points and seven boards for UND.
With the new year here and non-conference play complete, the Mavericks open Summit League competition this Thursday at 7 p.m. in Grand Forks, N.D., in a rematch of last year's conference quarterfinal game against North Dakota.
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOIL or 1180 KZOT and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• The Mavericks wrapped up their non-conference schedule with their most dominant win of the season last Saturday when they defeated Mount Marty 81-51. This is the largest margin of victory by Omaha this season.
• Omaha comes into conference play tied with Denver and North Dakota for sixth in the Summit at 6-9. The Mavericks got here by winning their final two games of the year by a combined score of 167-133.
• Marquel Sutton enters this week fresh off back-to-back 20-point performances as he owns a .551 FG% (16-for-29) with 44 points over the last two weeks. With 967 career points he is now in striking distance of becoming the 44th Maverick in history and 10th who exclusively played in the Division I era to reach 1000 points. Likewise, with 17 rebounds over his past two games, Sutton is now at 474 career rebounds, setting him up to be the 22nd Maverick ever and fourth in just DI competition to reach 500 boards. Reaching both milestones would put him elite company as just the 15th Maverick all-time and fourth in the Division I era to have 1000 points and 500 rebounds.
• Also having a great end to non-conference play was Lance Waddles who had 19 points on Saturday to bring him to 141 on the season. His current career single-season high is 158 which he set last year with NDSU.
• Over the last two games, Omaha has done a lot of damage from short range as the team has a combined 79 points in the paint, including 37 on second chance opportunities, vs. Cal Poly and Mount Marty.
• In the month of December, Omaha posted 8.2 steals per game, the highest single month average since January 2017 (8.9 spg).
• Sutton earned his first career Summit League Preseason honor after being named Second Team All-Preseason in October. In 2023-24, he was second on the team with 12.3 PPG (406 total) and led all Mavericks with 6.3 RPG (208 total boards).
• Lance Waddles (NDSU), Joshua Streit (NDSU), and Isaac Ondekane (Lindenwood) headline the Mavericks' top transfers this year with the trio coming to Omaha with a combined six seasons of Division I basketball under their belts. Also new this year are top JUCO transfers Kamryn Thomas (2024 NJCAA Third Team All-American), Khamani Cooper (465 points as a freshman in 2024), and Valentino Simon (965 career points from 2022-24).
• Omaha has three captains this year: Marquel Sutton, Tony Osburn, and Lance Waddles.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 40-59 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.
Scouting the North Dakota Fighting Hawks
Entering conference play tied with Omaha at 6-9, North Dakota also had back-to-back wins to close out non-conference play after topping South Dakota Mines (80-48) and Waldorf (Iowa) (97-57) at home. The Fighting Hawks also came incredibly close to pulling off the upset of the season back on the 18th when they nearly defeated No. 6 Alabama in a 97-90 loss that came right down to the wire.
Coming off his second Peak Performer of the Week honor of the season, junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff currently leads the entire league in scoring with 20.1 ppg and 301 total points. He also leads UND with 30 assists, a .774 FT%, and a .374 3-PT FG% (minimum 30 attempts). Against Alabama he had the best game of his career with 40 points after shooting 15-for-30 from the field and 8-for-18 from behind the arc.
2023-24 All-Newcomer selection Amar Kuljuhovic is having another strong defensive season, slotting in right behind Sutton on the rebounding leaderboard at third in the league with 6.7 rpg (101 total). He also has 143 points on the season thanks to a team-leading .480 FG%. Meanwhile, Tulane transfer Mier Panoam is second on the team in scoring with 166 points and 11.1 ppg. He also leads the team and is fifth in the conference with 10 blocks.
Head Coach Paul Sather is now in his sixth year leading the Fighting Hawks. He brought UND to the Summit League Tournament Championship in his first season (2019-20) and logged a victory over the Huskers. During his nine-year tenure with Northern State, he made it all the way to the NCAA Division II Title game in the 2017-18 season.
All-Time Against North Dakota
Omaha moved to 45-49 all-time (13-4 in the Division I era) against UND after topping them 73-72 at the buzzer in last year's Summit League Tournament Quarterfinal. The teams went 1-1 in the regular season in 2023-24. Sutton totaled 42 points and 21 rebounds vs. the Fighting Hawks last season, while Eaglestaff had 61 points and seven boards for UND.
Players Mentioned
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