Omaha Men's Basketball OMAHA MEN's
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OMAHAomaha MEN'Smen's BASKETBALLbasketball 2020-21 GAME NOTES For Immediate Release: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020 • Contact: Bonnie Ryan • Email: [email protected] • Office: (402) 554-3267 • Cell: (402) 679-2912 /OmahaMBB @OmahaMBB @OmahaMBB OMavs.com 2020-21 SCHEDULE & RESULTS OMAHA SET FOR FRIDAY CLASH AT NO. 5 KANSAS Date Opponent Time (CT) Nov. 25 vs. Austin Peay ^ L, 72-66 OMAHA MAVERICKS Statistical Leaders Nov. 26 vs. Middle Tennessee ^ W, 60-59 Record: 2-4 (0-0 Summit League) Scoring: Marlon Ruffin -- 13.4 ppg Nov. 28 vs. Abilene Christian ^ L, 70-58 Head Coach: Derrin Hansen Rebounding: Matt Pile -- 9.5 rpg Dec. 1 at Creighton L, 94-67 Record at School: 245-219 (16th Year) Assists: Ayo Akinwole -- 2.5 apg Dec. 3 at Drake L, 87-66 Career Record: Same Steals: Ayo Akinwole -- 1.5 spg Last Game: W, 65-63 at SIUE (12/5) Blocks: Matt Pile -- 1.0 bpg Dec. 5 at SIUE W, 65-63 Dec. 11 at Kansas 6 p.m. KANSAS JAYHAWKS All-Time Series: KU leads 1-0 Dec. 16 at Wyoming 4 p.m. Record: 5-1 (0-0 Big 12) Last Meeting: Dec. 17 at Colorado 4 p.m. Head Coach: Bill Self KU won 109-64 in Lawrence, Kan. (12/18/17) Dec. 29 at Kansas State 7 p.m. Record at School: 506-110 (18th Year) Jan. 2 Oral Roberts* 7 p.m. Career Record: 713-215 (28th Year) Jan. 3 Oral Roberts* 7 p.m. Last Game: W, 73-72 vs. #8 Creighton (12/8) Jan. 8 at North Dakota State* 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at North Dakota State* 7:30 p.m. THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE Jan. 15 South Dakota State* 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11 • OMAHA at #5 KANSAS • 6 p.m. • Allen Fieldhouse -- Lawrence, Kan. Jan. 16 South Dakota State* 7 p.m. Stats: OMavs.com • Video: OMavs.com • Audio: OMavs.com • TV: ESPN2 • Radio: 1180 Zone 2 Jan. 29 at South Dakota* 8 p.m. Jan. 30 at South Dakota* 7 p.m. The Basics Feb. 6 Western Illinois* 8 p.m. The Omaha men's basketball team heads to Allen Fieldhouse for a meeting with No. 5 Kansas this Friday, Dec. 11. Feb. 7 Western Illinois* 8 p.m. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan. Feb. 12 at Kansas City* 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg and Jimmy Dykes on the call. Gary Sharp will have Feb. 13 at Kansas City* 7 p.m. the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com. Feb. 19 North Dakota* 7 p.m. Feb. 20 North Dakota* 7 p.m. Quick Hits Feb. 26 at Denver* 2 p.m. • The 2020-21 season is the 108th overall in program history and the 10th of the Mavericks' Division I era. All-time, the Feb. 27 at Denver* 7 p.m. program is 1,199-1,206. March 2-6 at Summit League Championship TBA • Friday's tilt with No. 5 Kansas is Omaha's sixth game against a Top-25 opponent. • It also marks the second time the Mavericks have faced two ranked opponents in the same season. The last was 2017- * - Summit League game • ^ #BeachBubble at the Gulf 18 with No. 18 Louisville and No. 13 Kansas, 31 days apart. Coast Showcase • All home games listed in bold italics • Pile owns the third-most total rebounds nationally. His 761 career rebounds are the sixth-most of any active player in and played at Baxter Arena NCAA Division I, and his 22 career double-doubles are the 12th-most. • Pile needs 21 points to become the 42nd 1,000-point scorer in Maverick history. • Pile has started 78 consecutive games, the longest streak of any active Maverick. • The Mavericks have a 10-game non-conference slate, all on the road from Nov. 25 to Dec. 29. During that time, their home facility, Baxter Arena, will serve as the host site for the NCHC Pod, with 38 hockey games held Dec. 1-21. • Omaha plays 18 of its 26 games away from Baxter Arena this season. • Omaha was picked fourth in the Summit League's preseason poll. Pile was a first-team Preseason All-Summit MEDIA AVAILABILITY selection, and Marlon Ruffin was a second-team pick. • Pile and Akinwole are serving as team captains for the second straight season. Student-athletes and coaches are available for interviews after practice or by arrangement through the Omaha athletic communications office. All men’s basketball interview requests must be arranged through Bonnie OMAHA PROBABLE STARTERS Ryan of the athletic communications staff at least one No. Player Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. PPG RPG APG SPG BPG day in advance. 10 Ayo Akinwole G Sr. 6-0 165 9.0 3.7 2.5 1.5 0.0 0 Sam'i Roe G Jr. 6-1 180 2.8 2.7 0.3 0.2 0.0 22 Marco Smith G Jr. 6-2 175 5.0 2.0 1.5 0.7 0.2 13 Wanjang Tut F Jr. 6-8 205 7.5 4.5 0.2 0.7 0.3 40 Matt Pile F Sr. 6-8 240 10.3 9.5 1.0 0.5 1.0 2 / / / 2020-21 OMAHA MEN’S BASKETBALL WHEN REFERRING TO THE MAVERICKS 2020-21 OMAHA MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER As part of a university-wide rebranding effort that began # Name Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School/Previous School) in 2011, host institutions, media and fans are reminded 0 Sam’i Roe Jr. G 6-1 180 Atlantic City, N.J. (Hopkins Academy/Independence CC) to refer to the school as the “University of Nebraska 1 Nick Ferrarini Jr. G 6-5 190 Omaha, Neb. (Millard North/Wayne State College) Omaha,” “Omaha” or “UNO.” “Nebraska Omaha” and 2 Darrius Hughes So. G/F 6-7 230 Kansas City, Mo. (Rockhurst) “Nebraska-Omaha” are no longer acceptable references. 3 Kyle Luedtke So. G 6-5 190 Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep) 5 Zach Thornhill Jr. G 6-4 185 Lenexa, Kan. (St. James Academy) 10 Ayo Akinwole Sr. G 6-0 165 Papillion, Neb. (Papillion-La Vista) 11 La’Mel Robinson RFr. G 6-0 160 Riverside, Mo. (Park Hill South) 13 Wanjang Tut Jr. F 6-8 205 Omaha, Neb. (Omaha Burke/The Skill Factory Prep) 14 Dylan Brougham Fr. C 6-9 195 Riverside, Mo. (Park Hill South) Primary Logo Secondary Logo 15 Grant Frickenstein RFr. G 6-3 170 Fremont, Neb. (Archbishop Bergan) 20 Jadin Booth Fr. G 6-2 175 Omaha, Neb. (Westside) USA TODAY COACHES TOP 25 POLL 21 Devin Evans So. F 6-9 200 Conyers, Ga. (Duluth/Southwest Mississippi CC) 22 Marco Smith Jr. G 6-2 175 Kansas City, Kan. (Washington/UMKC) Released Dec. 7, 2020 23 Marlon Ruffin Jr. G/F 6-5 195 Madison, Wis. (Sun Prairie/Highland CC) School Record Last Week 24 Nathan Brusseau So. C 6-11 225 New Prague, Minn. (New Prague) 1. Gonzaga ..............................3-0 ................................ 2 40 Matt Pile Sr. F 6-8 240 Wichita, Kan. (Eisenhower) 2. Baylor ..................................3-0 ................................ 1 Head Coach: Derrin Hansen (16th Year) • Assistant Coaches: Pat Eberhart (10th Year), Tyler Erwin (12th Year), 3. Iowa ....................................3-0 ................................ 6 Jake Koch (1st Year) • Director of Men’s Basketball Operations: Kevin Jewell (1st Year) 4. Michigan State ....................5-0 .............................. 12 5. Kansas .............................4-1 ..............................5 PRONUNCIATION GUIDE 6. Villanova .............................4-1 ................................ 3 Ayo Akinwole: EYE-oh AH-kin-WOH-lay • Dylan Brougham: BRAUM • Nathan Brusseau: broo-SOH 7. Creighton .........................3-0 ............................11 Pat Eberhart: EBB-er-heart • Nick Ferrarini: FAIR-uh-REE-knee • Darrius Hughes: DAIR-ee-us 8. Houston...............................4-0 .............................. 18 Kyle Luedtke: LOOT-key • La’Mel Robinson: luh-MEL 9. Illinois .................................3-1 .............................. 10 10. West Virginia .....................4-1 .............................. 15 11. Duke ..................................2-1 ................................ 8 Scouting the Kansas Jayhawks 12. Texas .................................4-1 .............................. 22 No. 5 Kansas rattled off its fifth consecutive win Tuesday, improving to 5-1 after a 73-72 victory over No. 8 Creighton, 13. Wisconsin ..........................3-1 ................................ 7 which pushed the Jayhawks' win streak at Allen Fieldhouse to 11 straight games. Jalen Wilson led all scorers with 23 14. North Carolina ...................3-1 .............................. 16 points and added 10 rebounds, and Christian Braun (14) and David McCormack (13) also scored in double figures. 15. Virginia Tech ......................4-0 ..............................NR KU finished the 2019-20 campaign at 28-3 (17-1 Big 12) and was picked second in the Big 12's 2020-21 preseason poll. 16. Tennessee ..........................0-0 .............................. 14 Marcus Garrett was a unanimous Preseason All-Big 12 selection. 17. Texas Tech ..........................4-1 .............................. 13 Head coach Bill Self is in his 18th season in Lawrence with a record of 506-110 and carries a career record of 713-215 18. Virginia ..............................3-1 ................................ 4 over 28 years. 19. Richmond ..........................2-0 ..............................NR 20. Ohio State..........................3-0 .............................. 24 All-Time Against Kansas 21. Florida State ......................1-0 .............................. 18 Friday marks the second meeting all-time between Omaha and Kansas. The first was Dec. 18, 2017 at Allen 22. Rutgers ..............................3-0 .............................. 23 Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks won 109-64. 23. Arizona State .....................3-1 .............................. 17 Matt Pile and Ayo Akinwole are the only two current Mavericks to have played at Allen Fieldhouse, as the two were 24. Louisville ...........................4-0 ..............................NR freshmen in 2017-18. Pile finished with six points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 15 minutes off the 25.