Men's Basketball Travels to Utah to Face No. 25 BYU and Utah State

OMAHA - The Omaha men's basketball team (1-0) hits the road for the first time this season as it makes it way to Utah to face No. 25 BYU (1-0) in Provo on Friday night before facing Utah State (1-0) in Logan on Saturday afternoon. Friday's game against the Cougars will tip at 8 p.m. central and can be seen on ESPN+. Saturday's tipoff against the Aggies is slated for 3 p.m. central and can be seen on the Pac-12 YouTube page. Both games can be heard on the Varsity Sports App with Gary Sharp on the call.

Mavericks Hit the Road to Face No. 25 BYU and Utah State

The Omaha men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season as it faces two tough tests against No. 25 BYU and Utah State.
Omaha is 1-0 after a 73-65 win over Mid-America Christian on Monday night.
Both BYU and Utah State earned spots in the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26. Utah State was a No. 9 seed and fell to No. 1 Arizona in the Round of 32, while BYU was a No. 6 seed and fell in the Round of 64 to No. 11 Texas.

Series History

Omaha has never played BYU or Utah State.
Omaha has made just one prior trip to the state of Utah, playing Southern Utah on November 16, 2024. Omaha fell 79-73.

Scouting the Cougars

The No. 25 BYU Cougars got off to a good start on Monday night as they rallied from an early double-digit deficit to take down Ohio State 94-83 in Salt Lake City.
The Cougars exploded for 60 points in the second half, shooting 64% from the field and making 7-of-11 three-pointers.
All five starters were in double digits for BYU but Robert Wright III led the way with 35 points. Wright III was a Third Team All-Big 12 selection at Baylor last season.
The Cougars are led by Kevin Young, who is in his third season with the Cougars and has helped BYU to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

Scouting the Aggies

Utah State opened its season with a 94-58 victory over Idaho State on Monday.
Utah State outscored the Bengals 57-29 in the second half and were led by Kingston Tosi who dropped 26 points in his debut for the Aggies.
As a team, the Aggies shot 58% from the field, held Idaho State to just 35% shooting and outrebounded the Bengals by 23.
Utah State is led by Ben Jacobson who is in his first year with the program. Jacobson spent the last 20 seasons at Northern Iowa where he helped the Panthers to five NCAA Tournaments and one Sweet 16.

Last Time Out

Omaha pulled away in the second half to take down Mid-America Christian 73-65 on Monday night at Baxter Arena.
The Mavs led by 20 with just three minutes left in the game before pulling its starters allowing the Evangels to cut the lead.
Cahmai Crosby led the way with a career-high 21 points.
Jonny Jordan Jr. and Deke Thompson also had strong debuts for the Mavs as each tallied 13 points.
Grant Stubblefield also cracked double figures with 11 points and shot 71% from the field.
The story for the Mavs was getting out in transition as the Mavs had 20 fast-break points and also had 10 second-chance points thanks to 10 offensive rebounds.

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 and had 13 points in the season opener against Mid-America Christian.
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 sharpshooting 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. Crosby led the Mavs with 21 points on opening night.
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. Dockery played 11 minutes against MACU with two points and three rebounds.
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. Pleasant logged 17 minutes against MACU, scoring six points and tying Isaac Ondekane for the team lead with seven rebounds.
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. Bukinga played 11 minutes for the Mavs against MACU.

Cahmai "Chop" Crosby Shines in Debut

Cahmai Crosby made his name known in his first action with the Mavs on Monday night as the senior went for 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting to lead the Mavs to victory.
Crosby, also known as "Chop" by his teammates, played a team-high 32 minutes and not only scored but grabbed four rebounds, had three assists and two steals.
His 21 points were a career high after averaging just 2.1 points per game last season at North Texas.
Crosby got his nickname, "Chop", from childhood friends as it was his gamer tag, and the name has continued to stick to this day.

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 got off to a good start on Monday as the senior tallied 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.
Last season, he ranked fifth in the Summit League with a 2.10 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Ondekane Healthy For 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, an ankle 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 played 25 minutes in his first game since March 20, 2025, and had a productive seven points and seven rebounds for the Mavs. He was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
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. Jordan Jr. Provides spark off the bench in first collegiate action
There were no nerves for freshman Jonny Jordan Jr. in his first collegiate action on Monday night as the St. Louis, Missouri, native had 11 points in his first four minutes of action for the Mavs.
Jordan Jr. finished the game with 13 points after playing 25 minutes with three rebounds, two assists and no turnovers.
Jordan Jr. was a top 10 high school player out of Chaminade High School in St. Louis.
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.

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Players Mentioned

Justin Bolis

Heri Bukinga

Cahmai Crosby

Chris Dockery

Jonny Jordan Jr.

Isaac Ondekane

Dace Pleasant

Grant Stubblefield

Deke Thompson

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