Thursday, October 15
Minneapolis, MN
7 p.m. CT
Omaha
at
Minnesota
Men's Basketball Opens Season With Exhibition at Minnesota
Oct 14, 2026 | Men's Basketball
OMAHA - The Omaha men's basketball team begins its season with an exhibition game at Minnesota on Thursday night at The Barn. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on BTN+
MAVERICKS OPEN SEASON IN MINNEAPOLIS AGAINST THE GOPHERS
- The Mavericks will open the 2026-27 season Thursday night with an exhibition game against the Golden Gophers at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
- Minnesota finished the 2025-26 season with a 15-18 overall record and an 8-12 mark in Big Ten play.
- Omaha finished last season 16-17 overall and 8-8 in Summit League play.
SERIES HISTORY
- The Mavericks and Gophers have met four times in regular-season play.
- Omaha will be looking for its first victory over Minnesota.
- The two teams last met in 2024 at Williams Arena, where the Gophers prevailed 68-64.
- Isaac Ondekane played 26 minutes in that matchup, scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds. Grant Stubblefield also appeared in the game, playing five minutes.
- Stubblefield and Ondekane are the only current Mavericks who played in the 2024 matchup against the Gophers.
CRUTCHFIELD BRINGS IN EXCITING NEW FACES FOR 2026-27
- Coach Crutchfield brings back just one player from last season's team, but plenty of new faces will join the Mavericks for the 2026-27 campaign.
- Deke Thompson is a sophomore guard who redshirted his freshman season at Texas State. Thompson led the Mavericks in scoring during a scrimmage against Creighton earlier this fall.
- Justin Bolis joins Omaha after spending two seasons at Nebraska. During the Huskers' historic 2025-26 campaign, Bolis appeared in 17 games, including Nebraska's first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Troy. Bolis is expected to contribute across the stat sheet for the Mavericks this season.
- Cahmai Crosby is a sharp-shooting guard who spent last season at North Texas after playing his first two collegiate seasons at Kilgore College. Crosby made 25 3-pointers at North Texas last season, ranking second on the team. During his second season at Kilgore, he averaged 15.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, earning recognition as one of the top 50 junior college recruits in the country.
- The Mavericks also expect significant contributions from transfers Chris Dockery, Dace Pleasant and Heri Bukinga.
- Dockery spent last season at Kansas City, averaging 7.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while making 20 starts for the Roos.
- Pleasant is a versatile forward who can contribute in several areas. At Howard College, he averaged double figures in scoring and helped the team win the 2026 NJCAA Division I men's basketball championship.
- At 6-foot-11, Bukinga is Omaha's tallest player and will provide a significant presence in the middle. He redshirted last season at Drake but is expected to see valuable minutes for the Mavericks this season.
STUBBLEFIELD TO LEAD THE MAVS IN THE BACKCOURT
- A familiar face returns to Omaha as Grant Stubblefield begins his fourth season with the Mavericks.
- Stubblefield started 22 games at point guard last season, averaging 9.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game.
- The Overland Park, Kansas, native was named to the Preseason All-Summit League Second Team heading into the 2026-27 season.
- Stubblefield shot 52.1% from the field last season.
- He ranked fifth in the Summit League with a 2.10 assist-to-turnover ratio.
ONDEKANE RETURNS HEALTHY FOR HIS FINAL SEASON
- Coaches and fans were excited to see what Isaac Ondekane could accomplish in the 2025-26 season after he transformed his body during the offseason. However, a lower-leg injury prevented him from reaching the court as anticipated.
- The center from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, returns healthy for his final season, renewing the excitement surrounding his potential impact.
- Ondekane is Omaha's most experienced player from the Mavericks' 2025 NCAA Tournament run, having started all but one game during the 2024-25 season.
- That year, Ondekane averaged 5.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
THE NEBRASKA BOYS
- Coach Crutchfield's roster has a strong Nebraska connection, with five players hailing from the state.
- Gavin Baker, Justin Bolis, Brandon Orgibold, Brock Scholl and Aidan Skradis are all from within 50 miles of Omaha's campus.
- The five Nebraska natives represent the second-most under Crutchfield and the largest group since his first season, when seven Nebraska natives were on the roster.
THE THREE FRESHMEN
- Omaha welcomes three true freshmen this season: Gavin Baker, Jonny Jordan Jr. and Ethan Sheats.
- Baker, a Fremont, Nebraska, native, helped Bergan Catholic win three consecutive state championships. He averaged 21.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, earning Class C2 Player of the Year honors.
- Jordan Jr. was a top-10 high school prospect in Missouri. He averaged 22.5 points per game and led Chaminade with 119 assists during his senior season, earning Metro Catholic Conference Player of the Year honors.
- Sheats averaged 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game at Denton High School and earned Class 5A All-State honors.
HOME SWEET HOME
- Baxter Arena has been a friendly home for the Mavericks over the past three seasons.
- Omaha has defended its home court at a high level, compiling a 32-9 record at Baxter Arena over that span.
SCHEDULING TOUGH OUT OF THE GATE
- Omaha will challenge itself early and often during the 2026-27 season.
- In addition to the exhibition at Minnesota, the Mavericks will travel to face NCAA Tournament participants BYU and Utah State during the second week of the regular season.
- Omaha will also visit Texas Tech and Kansas State during nonconference play.
STAFF CHEMISTRY
- In a landscape of constant change, Coach Crutchfield has maintained a consistent core of staff members.
- Associate head coach Kyan Brown has been with Crutchfield for all five seasons, while assistant coach Brandt Danals has also spent five years on his staff.
- Crutchfield's son, Josh, and Keenan Holdman are entering their third seasons on staff.
- J.R. Reynolds is the newest member of Crutchfield's staff, entering his second season at Omaha.
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