Omaha men’s basketball dominated Kansas City 77-58 in the Mavericks’ first nationally televised home game in school history.
The Mavs are now 3-0 to start league play for the first time since the 2019-20 season and sit tied atop the Summit League with St. Thomas, who is also 3-0.
“Great win,” Coach Chris Crutchfield said. “Points in the paint and rebounding were the keys of that game tonight, and we won those two battles and we took care of the basketball, didn’t turn it over but eight times, so any time you do that you are going to have a chance.”
Dominant Defense
Slowing down the preseason Summit League player of the year in Kansas City guard Jamar Brown was a focus, and Omaha did just that. Coming into the game, Brown was averaging 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in his two league games.
Omaha held Brown to just 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting (including 1-of-5 from 3) and five rebounds. He went the first 15:29 of the game before hitting his first shot, a three-pointer, at the 4:41 mark of the first half.
Omaha might have a defensive stopper in Kam Thomas. The Hutchinson Junior College transfer has been assigned to the toughest opposing guard in the last few games, and it’s worked.
His length and ability to switch with Marquel Sutton and Ja’Sean Glover on the wing are problems that teams in the league will have a hard time solving.
“I really think our defense set the tone for what were able to do offensively, and when you’ve got guys out there that can switch like positions and really take their two guys out of the game really, the whole team really did it,” Crutchfield said.
Paint Dominance
Omaha dominated the paint, outshooting the ‘Roos 36-22. With 6:38 left in the game, Omaha had a 58-38 lead and a 34-16 advantage in points in the paint.
“Our success is going to come from rebounding the basketball, our success is going to come taking care of the basketball and getting great shots,” Crutchfield said. “If we continue to do that and stay focused and take on each challenge every week or every Thursday, Saturday night, then we have a chance to be a really good basketball team.”
Omaha was the more physical team, They are bigger, stronger and have more depth than the Kangaroos.
The Mavs set the tone early with a 4-0 offensive rebounding advantage and a 5-0 second-chance points advantage in the first eight minutes of the game.
Senior guard Tony Osburn, not known for his rebounding ability, grabbed his lone offensive rebound at the end of the first half when he out-toughed three Kansas City players in the paint. The result was a trip to the free-throw line where he sank two free throws to give the Mavericks an eight-point lead heading into halftime.
Waddles the Closer
Lance Waddles might just be the offensive closer for Omaha. After making five 3s in 90 seconds in the win at North Dakota State last week, Waddles scored 11 of his 15 points against Kansas City from the 5:46 to 2:48 mark of the second half, which put the game away.
“He’s one of those guys that I think once he sees one go in, he can make shots,” Cruthcfield said. “He has to see one go in first. Unfortunately, he struggled in the first half. He’s becoming the second-half guy maybe, and maybe he’s that guy. I don’t know if he’s a closer yet, but as long as he makes shots and you take good shots, and he did it tonight, he was efficient. I mean, he shoots 50%, but he takes good ones and he was able to get down to the rim a couple of times, too.”
The first-place Mavs have another big game Saturday at 1 p.m. CT when they host South Dakota State at Baxter Arena.
