The Mavericks finally caught a good break in their long non-conference schedule when they hosted NAIA Doane College Tuesday night, defeating the Tigers 100-60 in front of a crowd of 1,965 at Baxter Arena.
The Mavericks improved to 5-12 on the year after taking on a challenging slate which included road games against New Mexico, TCU, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Louisville. Omaha's SOS ranks 64th of 351 on RealTimeRPI and 50th on KenPom.
A hyper-aggressive defensive led to quick offense and allowed Omaha to pull away early. The Mavs recorded 7 steals and forced 11 turnovers in the first half, leading to 19 points off turnovers and 12 fast break points.
Freshman Matt Pile came off the bench and dominated the game, scoring 18 points on 9-for-11 shooting, and collecting 10 rebounds to record his first career double-double. The tenth rebound came on a wonderful tip-in off a missed layup. "He just keeps growing and continues to get better," said Coach Derrin Hansen after the game, "He's a better passer, defensively he's been a lot smarter, and he's just growing every single day."
Freshman Ayo Akinwole has also stepped up for the Mavericks, finishing the evening as the game-leader in minutes (32), and scoring 12 points on a perfect night of shooting, going 5-for-5 from the field and adding 9 rebounds to the total.
Akinwole picked up his 3rd career start in place of injured KJ Robinson. Robinson is leading the team in assists despite missing the last 3 games.
Doane spread their minutes around as best they could, checking in a total of 15 players. Omaha's injury-shortened bench saw only 9 players on the floor.
The hot shooting in the first half for Omaha only got hotter as the game moved along: the Mavericks shot 59.5% from the field and 38.5% from long range in the first half and 60% and 62.5%, respectively, in the 2nd half.
Up Next, Omaha hosts South Dakota State on Saturday, January 6.
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