College basketball regular season is over, which means it is time for the conference championships, and automatic bids into the NCAA tournament are going to be handed out. The second automatic bid to be awarded came from the Summit League, and the Omaha Mavericks are going to be making their first-ever appearance in the event. The Summit League has been a lot of fun to watch over the years because of the high-powered offenses and wide-open style that most teams play. It is the same league that brought us Oral Roberts and their run to the Sweet 16, South Dakota State, and their stars Mike Daum and Baylor Scheierman. This year Omaha is going to enter their name into the mix of teams we will always remember.
Omaha has already gone viral this season for their celebrations after a win. The Mavericks have a trash can they bring with them to every game, and after every win, the players and the coaching staff take turns beating the plastic trashcan with bats, fists, and whatever else they can find. It is a weird celebration, but when you have won 19 of your last 22 games and qualified for your first-ever tournament, something must be working. Omaha is likely going to be a 15 seed and heads to the NCAA tournament with an overall record of 22-12
The Mavericks are having a year of firsts. They have never won the Summit League regular season until this year; they had never made the NCAA tournament until this year, and they had never had a Summit League player of the year until Marquel Sutton won it this season. This may also be the year that they get their first win in the NCAA tournament. How can they make sure that happens?
Nothing to Lose
Omaha, like so many other teams from one-bid conferences, has nothing to lose and everything to gain by playing in the NCAA tournament. They are going to get a top seed in the tournament who is going to head into this matchup looking ahead to their next matchup. Omaha isn’t the team you want to do that against. They have tremendous weapons, and star Marquel Sutton is one of the best players in the country in the mid-major ranks. The Mavericks were another team that wasn’t supposed to be here; they were picked to finish 8th out of 9 teams in the preseason poll. Omaha isn’t going to be scared, and they are a dangerous team if you are not ready for them.
Three-Point Shooting
If you go back and look at all of the 15 over 2 upsets in the past couple of years, one thing will stand out, and that is the lower-seeded teams’ ability to make shots and usually threes. Omaha is a team that is built to be the team to upset a 2 seed and, at the very least, will keep the game uncomfortably close for a while. The Mavericks shot 40% in conference games and 37% overall from three this season. They also shoot well over 50% from inside the arc. Omaha has a team built like Oral Roberts when they made their run out of the Summit League. The Mavericks have a star point guard in JJ White. White has a 3-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and shoots well over 40% from deep. Sutton is the do-everything wing who can step out and hit a three, make free throws, and get to the rim. It would take a perfect storm for the Mavericks to win this game, but Omaha has the players to get them over the hump.
Confidence
This one goes without saying but there may not be a more confident bunch of guys in the tournament right now than the Mavericks. Omaha knows they are going to go out and play their best, make shots and everyone is going to fill their role. In the days of NIL and the way that a lot of power five teams have been built this year that is refreshing to see. Confidence can get you a long way in basketball; when you trust each other and trust that you are going to do the right thing and your coaches will do the right thing, the game is free and easy. Low and mid-major teams with a ton of confidence have won games over higher-seeded teams with more talent because they are more connected and have more belief. If Omaha is in a close game late they are going to have an advantage, they know how to win.
Omaha is a lot of fun to watch, no one has enjoyed the run more than the city of Omaha who is going to have two teams in the NCAA tournament for the first time ever. Keep an eye on this one as head coach Chris Crutchfield has seen his name mentioned for some jobs that are likely to come open and this is a wonderful interview. The Mavericks are a dangerous low seed who can bust a lot of brackets.