SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Hands on his knees, head down, chin to his chest, Omaha men’s basketball coach Chris Crutchfield stood motionless, waiting for the final buzzer.
Lance Waddles stepped towards the free-throw line with 31.6 seconds on the clock. The contingent of Omaha fans was cheering and the coronation had begun.
With an eight-point lead, it didn’t matter if Waddles made the first of two free throws. If he missed them both, who cares?
All that mattered in that moment was that Omaha had finally reached the summit. And Crutchfield knew it.
“I was just reflecting on all of those guys’ journeys,” Crutchfield said. “They all had special journeys throughout the year when we started from day one.”
In its 12th year in the league and ninth season eligible to make the Summit League Tournament, the No. 1-seeded Mavericks won the Summit League Tournament Championship 85-75 over No. 2 seed St. Thomas.
The celebration was loud. The ever-stoic, intimidating, gruff looking exterior of Crutchfield doesn’t reflect the man he is. He is peaceful and cares deeply about his players and his university. The alumnus came back to his school to deliver an NCAA Tournament berth.
The faith-based believer in his craft had to work his way from city to city and school to school to get a chance at his first Division I head coaching job three years ago when Omaha Athletic Director Adrian Dowell saw Crutchfield’s vision.
This team, the 2024-25 Omaha Mavericks- — yes, Omaha’s team — includes the alumni, the former coaches, the athletic trainers, the support staff, the radio announcer that has seen the heartbreak and misery that built Omaha. Not UNO, not Nebraska-Omaha, but Omaha’s team, the best in school history, the one that set a single season win record with its 22nd win Sunday night in Sioux Falls — these Mavericks had belief in each other from day one.
“All the individual issues, every problem that they had, our group became closer,” Crutchfield said. “Our staff became closer and we knew we had a special group because of their character, not because of their talent.
“Their chemistry was unbelievable and that was our superpower.”
Crutchfield built a team that looked different from the normal teams in the league. A team built with athleticism and length, especially on the perimeter. A team that can switch one through four on the defensive end and not bat an eye. A team with that superpower to fight through 10 of its first 13 games on the road and persevere after a 4-9 start.
That chemistry was built on the road and helped them flip a switch in the back-to-back road wins to start league play in North Dakota.
“They never lost confidence; that trip to Fargo and Grand Forks was a big boost in our confidence,” Crutchfield said. “I think that did it, to be able to go up there and win those two games on the road opened those guys’ eyes, like ‘we are good and Coach was right.’”
After the confetti cannons exploded over his sweat-filled head and the net was cut and the on-court interviews were done, Crutchfield sat alone, stoic in the back hallway outside of the press conference room, waiting for more questions about his team.
He wasn’t sad the journey was over; he was happy there is still work to be done with his team of castoffs, second chances and the new stars that no one else believed in. It was a peaceful moment, a time of reflection on the work of a team that was picked to finish second to last in the preseason Summit League Standings.
Regular Season Champion ✔️
Summit League Tournament Champion ✔️
Summit League Tournament MVP ✔️@avariehoward31 speaks with @xMarquel following the title win. pic.twitter.com/yZeVz5cZxZ— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) March 10, 2025
