Wednesday, January 8
Omaha, Neb.
8 p.m. CT
Omaha
vs
Kansas City
Photo by: Mary Pritchard
Mavericks Host Kansas City in Nationally Televised CBS Game
Jan 7, 2025 | Men's Basketball
The Basics
Coming off two road wins in the opening week of conference play, the Mavericks return home this Wednesday at 8 p.m. for a nationally televised showdown vs. a Kansas City team that was ranked first in the Summit League preseason poll.
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOILÂ and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• The Mavericks made a huge statement in the opening week of conference play as they bested two teams picked ahead of them in the Summit League Preseason Poll. First to fall was North Dakota, who the Mavericks led for the entire game in a 95-85 victory. Then, against the No. 23 ranked team in the National Mid-Major poll, Omaha erased a 12-point deficit in the final minutes to come from behind and best North Dakota State 85-80 to claim the team's first win in Fargo since 2019.
• Marquel Sutton led the way for Omaha with 43 points and 19 rebounds last week. Shooting 10-for-16 (.625) on Thursday, he set a new season-high with 27 points, before recording his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday. Most importantly, though, was that Sutton became the 44th Maverick in history and 10th who exclusively played in the Division I era to reach 1000 career points. He is now just seven rebounds away from 500 as well. Should he reach that mark, Marquel will become the 15th Maverick ever and fourth in the D1 era to total 1000 points and 500 boards.
• The other big story last week was Lance Waddles' dominant performance against his old team on Saturday. With Omaha trailing NDSU 66-62 with 6:10 to go, Waddles went on a historic tear as he rattled off five straight three-pointers on five straight possessions in under three minutes to sling shot the Mavericks in front 77-70. He ended the day with 24 points, setting a new personal best in single-season scoring with 168 points in the process.
• Ever since JJ White returned to the starting lineup back on December 7, the Mavericks have since gone 5-2 while he has totaled 67 points while shooting 50.9% (27-for-53).
• Five Mavericks scored in double figures vs. NDSU: Waddles (24), Sutton (16), Tony Osburn (13), White (13), & Ja'Sean Glover (11). This was the team's first time having 5 players with 10+ points this year.
• For Omaha's success in picking up its third and fourth road wins of the season, as well as extending its win streak to four in a row, Head Coach Chris Crutchfield was named the HoopDirt Division I Coach of the Week.
• 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).Â
• Omaha has three captains this year: Marquel Sutton, Tony Osburn, and Lance Waddles.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 42-59 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.
Scouting the Kansas City Roos
Picked as the No. 1 team in the Summit League in the official preseason poll, the Roos are currently 10-7 overall with a perfect 2-0 record in league play after a pair of big wins over South Dakota (68-54) and Oral Roberts (90-67) last week.
Reigning Summit League Newcomer of the Year and First Team selection Jamar Brown continues to excel in his sophomore season, leading the team and ranking fifth in the league with 16.4 ppg, as well as ninth in total points with 229. He is also pulling down 7.2 rpg and has 23 steals on the year, both of which rank third in the conference. Likewise, his .494 FG% and .891 FT% both slot in the top five. On the year, Brown has four double-doubles, two of which came last week vs. USD and ORU.
Fellow guard Jayson Petty has also topped 200 points on the season as he is averaging 12.6 ppg. Meanwhile, graduate student guard Babacar Diallo owns the best FG% on the team (minimum 50 attempts) at .655, as well as ranking second on the team in assists with 52 behind Davontae Hall with 58. Also making an impact this season are forwards Josh Ijeh and Ring Nyeri who rank fifth and seventh in the league with 12 and 10 blocks, respectively.
Marvin Menzies is in his third year leading the Roos following three years heading up UNLV's program and nine years at the helm of New Mexico State before that. He has led five different squads to the NCAA Tournament, all during his time at NMSU. He left the Aggies with the third-best winning percentage in WAC history, a 2014-15 WAC Coach of the Year Award, and seven total WAC Regular Season and Tournament Titles.
All-Time Against Kansas City
After going 0-2 against the Roos last year, Omaha now trails the all-time series 10-11 having fallen just short in both games (74-72 and 63-58). Sutton totaled 32 points and 10 rebounds last year, while KC's Jamar Brown had 33 points and 11 boards.
Coming off two road wins in the opening week of conference play, the Mavericks return home this Wednesday at 8 p.m. for a nationally televised showdown vs. a Kansas City team that was ranked first in the Summit League preseason poll.
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOILÂ and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• The Mavericks made a huge statement in the opening week of conference play as they bested two teams picked ahead of them in the Summit League Preseason Poll. First to fall was North Dakota, who the Mavericks led for the entire game in a 95-85 victory. Then, against the No. 23 ranked team in the National Mid-Major poll, Omaha erased a 12-point deficit in the final minutes to come from behind and best North Dakota State 85-80 to claim the team's first win in Fargo since 2019.
• Marquel Sutton led the way for Omaha with 43 points and 19 rebounds last week. Shooting 10-for-16 (.625) on Thursday, he set a new season-high with 27 points, before recording his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday. Most importantly, though, was that Sutton became the 44th Maverick in history and 10th who exclusively played in the Division I era to reach 1000 career points. He is now just seven rebounds away from 500 as well. Should he reach that mark, Marquel will become the 15th Maverick ever and fourth in the D1 era to total 1000 points and 500 boards.
• The other big story last week was Lance Waddles' dominant performance against his old team on Saturday. With Omaha trailing NDSU 66-62 with 6:10 to go, Waddles went on a historic tear as he rattled off five straight three-pointers on five straight possessions in under three minutes to sling shot the Mavericks in front 77-70. He ended the day with 24 points, setting a new personal best in single-season scoring with 168 points in the process.
• Ever since JJ White returned to the starting lineup back on December 7, the Mavericks have since gone 5-2 while he has totaled 67 points while shooting 50.9% (27-for-53).
• Five Mavericks scored in double figures vs. NDSU: Waddles (24), Sutton (16), Tony Osburn (13), White (13), & Ja'Sean Glover (11). This was the team's first time having 5 players with 10+ points this year.
• For Omaha's success in picking up its third and fourth road wins of the season, as well as extending its win streak to four in a row, Head Coach Chris Crutchfield was named the HoopDirt Division I Coach of the Week.
• 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).Â
• Omaha has three captains this year: Marquel Sutton, Tony Osburn, and Lance Waddles.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 42-59 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.
Scouting the Kansas City Roos
Picked as the No. 1 team in the Summit League in the official preseason poll, the Roos are currently 10-7 overall with a perfect 2-0 record in league play after a pair of big wins over South Dakota (68-54) and Oral Roberts (90-67) last week.
Reigning Summit League Newcomer of the Year and First Team selection Jamar Brown continues to excel in his sophomore season, leading the team and ranking fifth in the league with 16.4 ppg, as well as ninth in total points with 229. He is also pulling down 7.2 rpg and has 23 steals on the year, both of which rank third in the conference. Likewise, his .494 FG% and .891 FT% both slot in the top five. On the year, Brown has four double-doubles, two of which came last week vs. USD and ORU.
Fellow guard Jayson Petty has also topped 200 points on the season as he is averaging 12.6 ppg. Meanwhile, graduate student guard Babacar Diallo owns the best FG% on the team (minimum 50 attempts) at .655, as well as ranking second on the team in assists with 52 behind Davontae Hall with 58. Also making an impact this season are forwards Josh Ijeh and Ring Nyeri who rank fifth and seventh in the league with 12 and 10 blocks, respectively.
Marvin Menzies is in his third year leading the Roos following three years heading up UNLV's program and nine years at the helm of New Mexico State before that. He has led five different squads to the NCAA Tournament, all during his time at NMSU. He left the Aggies with the third-best winning percentage in WAC history, a 2014-15 WAC Coach of the Year Award, and seven total WAC Regular Season and Tournament Titles.
All-Time Against Kansas City
After going 0-2 against the Roos last year, Omaha now trails the all-time series 10-11 having fallen just short in both games (74-72 and 63-58). Sutton totaled 32 points and 10 rebounds last year, while KC's Jamar Brown had 33 points and 11 boards.
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