Re-Live #MarchMavericks

In UNO's first full season as an approved Division I school, the men's and women's basketball teams competed at this year's Summit League Tournament, which ran Saturday, March 5, through Tuesday, March 8.

Both the men's and women's team's played on Sunday, March 6, with the women's team advancing to the semi-finals on Monday, March 7, but completing their run in the semi-finals.

Throughout the tournament, fans were able to follow the hashtags #MarchMavericks and #March2TheSummit on Twitter, or by following the Omaha Mavericks, and the Men's and Women's Basketball teams.

Regardless of the outcome, we are proud of our student athletes and can't wait for what the future holds for both teams. Go Mavs!

Explore the sections below

Social Media
Women's Basketball Recaps
Mens Basketball Recaps
Images and Videos
All Conference Honors
Homegrown Talent

Social Media

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Women's Basketball (3/7): UNO 60, SDSU 76

From the Summit League

SDSU Overpowers UNO on Way to Championship Game

Women's Basketball (3/6): UNO 62, IUPUI 51

From the Summit League

Big Fourth Quarter Propels Omaha to First Tournament Win

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Omaha dominated the fourth quarter and upset fourth seed IUPUI 62-51 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Summit League Women's Basketball Championships Sunday.

Trailing 43-40 after three periods, the Mavericks outscored the cold-shooting Jaguars 22-8 in the final period. IUPUI made just 6-of-31 field goal attempts, 19.4 percent, after intermission.

UNO, the number six seed, improves to 15-14 for the year and will face defending champion South Dakota State, 24-6, in the 2:30 p.m. semifinal game Monday. IUPUI dropped to 20-10 for the year.

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Men's Basketball (3/6): UNO 70, IUPUI 78

From the Summit League

Denver Upends Omaha on Way to Semifinals

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Sixth seed Denver saw a 19-point lead disappear, then regrouped and knocked off third seed Omaha 78-70 in the 2016 Summit League Men's Championship Tournament Sunday night.

The victory puts Denver, 16-14, in Monday's semifinal game against South Dakota State, 24-7. Omaha slipped to 18-13.

The game was tied five times in the early going before Denver broke from an 11-11 deadlock to take a 26-16 lead, then went on an 11-0 run to take a 44-25 lead on a basket by Nate Engesser with 1:21 to go the half. It was 44-29 at the break but Omaha quickly erased most of that deficit, pulling within 48-44 just over four minutes into the second half.

Omaha took its only lead of the game at 60-59 on a dunk by Randy Reed after a steal by Tra-Deon Hollins with 6:39 to play. With the game tied at 61, Thomas Neff hit a pair of free throws to put Denver back on top for good.

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Images/Videos from The Tournament

Students Arrive at the Sanford Premier Center for UNO's first game as the women take on IUPUI


UNO Chancellor John Christen joins Durango and some future Mavericks to wish the Mavs good luck!

Durango gets screen time before the start of the game


The UNO Maverick Machine get the team pumped up


So does UNO's nationally-ranked Dance Team

A great turnout of UNO students

Rallying from being down at the half, the Maverick Women rallied to win by nine, defeating IUPUI 62-51

Durango celebrates with the dance and cheer teams


The women's team celebrates with fans following their upset win of IUPUI

Students and fans prepare for the men's game with large cut outs of player faces

Family and friends of senior Kyler Erickson showed up in force at the Sanford Premier Center

The UNO men's team huddles before the start of their first-ever Summit League post-season game

The Maverick Machine sends positive vibes to the men's basketball team during a free throw attempt in the first half

Despite a second-half comeback, erasing a 19 point deficit, the men's team fell short against Denver

Women's coach Brittany Lange's message for Mav fans

The UNO Women's Team warms up before their game against SDSU on Monday

The cheer team is pumped to root on the Mavericks

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All Conference Honors

On Thursday, March 3, the Summit League announced the men's and women's team all-conference honors for the 2015-2016 season.

The UNO men's team scored a number of recognitions with Junior Tra-Deon Hollins leading the pack as the men's Defensive Player of the Year, Transfer of the Year, All-Summit League First Team selection and All-Summit League Newcomer Team selection. Hollins currently leads the nation in steals-per-game with 3.9. It has been more than a decade since any NCAA player averaged 3.9 steals per game in a single season.

Also recognized were Seniors Devin Patterson and Jake White, who both made All-Summit Second Team selections. Patterson, a guard, has averaged 17.5 points per game this year, while White, a forward, has averaged 17.4 points per game this year and has a 57.4 perent field goal percentage.

On the women's team, Junior Mikela Shaw was named to the All-Summit League First Team while Freshman Caroline Hogue was named to the All-Summit Newcomer Team.

Shaw led the conference in the conference in scoring (18.3 points per game), field goals made (196), and total points (511). She also ranked in the league’s top five in field goal percentage (52.5 percent), free throws made (104), and rebounds (225).

Houge was the Summit League leader in blocked shots (83) and blocks per game (3.0). In addition, she averaged 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. She ranks fourth in blocked shots in a single season and is fifth all-time.

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Homegrown Talent

The UNO Mavericks are Omaha's Team and represent some of the best athletes in the state of Nebraska. This year, five starters on the men's and women's team are products from the state of Nebraska with three coming from Omaha.

Prior to enrolling at UNO, these impressive student athletes made an impact at their high schools. Here are some words of encouragement from their high school coaches:

Eric Behrens, Central High School (2001-2014)
Coached: Tre-Shawn Thurman, Tra-Deon Hollins



"It has been a pleasure to watch both Tre-Shawn and Tra-Deon at UNO this season. I got to talk to them both recently at a Central High basketball game and I've been rooting for them both the whole time.

Tre-Shawn is such a quality young man, a skilled, versatile basketball player that I really enjoyed having in my program, and what can I say about the impressive season Tra-Deon has had that hasn't already been said nationally? He brings a sense of competitiveness and toughness to everything he does on the court. I think his selection as Summit Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year are both well deserved.

What has impressed me the most is how UNO continues to defy expectations. After being picked near the bottom of the conference this year, to finish third in this is a huge accomplishment and I think both Tre-Shawn and Tra-Deon are a big part of why the team has been able to make that jump."

Russ Ninemire, Sandy Creek High School (1977-Present)
Coached: Mikela Shaw



"Coaching Mikela when she was here at Sandy Creek was an absolute dream. She is such a great kid on and off the floor and I think her best asset is her willingness to be a hard worker and an example to her teammates on the court. I saw that when she was here and I think those traits have followed her to UNO.

When I heard she was selected to the All-Summit League First Team and her inclusion on a national Academic All-America team, I really wouldn't have expected anything less for her. It is a testament to her work both as a player and in the classroom.

One thing that really stands out for me about Mikela is that she was always a positive person to be around but she also had the ability to get her game face on when it was time to go on the court. She really was a complete person, a complete player and I admire her quite a bit for that. I also really think she is someone who appreciates where she comes from and her family. People may not know that she comes from such a small Nebraska community, but she definitely has not forgotten her roots. That goes back to her family and the hard work ethic they've instilled in her. The expectations are there and the hard work is there as well."

Tim Leuschen - Millard South High School (2003-Present)
Coached: Kyler Erickson



"Kyler was an absolute joy to coach becuse the kid showed up to work every single day with a great attitude. Not only did he appreciate the feedback we gave him as coaches, but he craved that feedback. I've coached for 13 years and Kyler is really one of the special ones because of that.

What I think people don't really know about Kyler is that he started out at Millard South as a backup on the JV team. It's not like he was a Varsity starter when he began, but look how far he's come. He has worked for everything he's gotten and his success is a result of his relentless work and perserverence and all that he has had to overcome.

I think a true testament to the kind of person Kyler is goes back to a district tournament game we played against Burke in his senior year. You know, he scored 39 points that night and, despite that, he was more concerned that he missed a late free throw and thought he let his teammates down. That's the kind of person he is. It wasn't 'Wow, look at me, I scored all these points' it was 'How could I have done more for our team?'

His promotion to the starting lineup couldn't have happened to a better person. It's been so much fun to follow him and watch his success and the success of UNO. As someone from Omaha and someone who has followed UNO since I was a kid, seeing their resurgence and having a kid from Millard South being a part of that is something special."

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