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Nebraska-Omaha Focused on the Task at Hand
By David Boyce
Following practice Tuesday afternoon, the Nebraska-Omaha men's basketball team hopped on a bus for a 5-hour drive to Kirksville, Mo.
It's a long enough trip for the Mavericks' minds to wander and think about an early-season MIAA showdown on Saturday at home against Central Missouri, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II basketball.
Don't expect it. The only game on the Mavericks' minds is the one Wednesday evening at Truman.
Nebraska-Omaha has jumped to an 11-1 start and 4-1 in the MIAA by focusing on the game at hand and not looking two or three games down the road.
Since losing 79-68 at home to Fort Hays State on Dec. 5, the Mavericks have reeled off five straight wins, in part by taking each opponent seriously.
Just because Truman is currently 3-10 overall and 1-5 in the MIAA doesn't mean the Bulldogs aren't dangerous.
"Every conference game is a big game," said junior guard Jeff Martin, who is averaging 13.1 points. "We are at Truman and some people might think we would over look them. That's definitely not the case here. Truman is a good team.
"We are focusing on them before we focus on Saturday. Central Missouri is a good team. They lost to Fort Hays, but I know they will bounce back, but we are looking at Truman right now."
If the Mavericks are able to extend their winning streak, they will have a home game on Saturday that their fans should flock to Sapp Fieldhouse for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff against Central Missouri.
The Mules lost their first game on Monday, falling at home to Fort Hays. Fort Hays has what every top MIAA teams want and that's road victories.
"Anytime you can go on the road and get a win it is big for us," said junior Tyler Bullock, who is averaging 17.5 points.
"As far as the second game, we don't want to look past this one, but Saturday is a big one. Anytime you are at home and have a chance to play someone at that caliber it is always a good opportunity to get that win as well."
Other than the loss to Fort Hays, the Mavericks have taken care of business at home. It's one of the reasons for their quick start, said Martin.
Martin said many of the players have played together for a while, and that's another factor for the sparkling record.
Bullock pinpointed two more reasons that all coaches love hearing.
"We accept our roles and believe in the coaching staff's game plan night in and night out, and that's allowing us to put ourselves in position to win," he said.
Nebraska-Omaha coach Derrin Hansen likes what he sees.
"We play hard and unselfish for the most part," Hansen said.
Hansen also believes the Mavericks learned a lesson in their only loss. Nebraska-Omaha was in position to win the game but let it slip away in the final few minutes.
"You got to finish games," Hansen said.
And Hansen saw exactly that from his players in an 83-72 victory over Emporia State on Dec. 31 and an 82-62 win against Missouri Western on Jan. 2.
"I like our focus," Hansen said.
It is something the Mavericks will need every game if they want to battle Fort Hays, Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist for supremacy in the MIAA all season long.
"The level of play in this conference is so good from top to bottom," said Hansen, whose UNO team is in its second season in the MIAA. "The coaching is good. You have to come prepared every night."
It's what makes January and February so much fun. As big as Saturday's game might be for the Mavericks and Central Missouri, there will be many more showdowns in the coming weeks as five teams are currently in the hunt for first.
"This is the fun part of the year," Bullock said. "We work all preseason and the beginning of the season to get where we are now. When you play many games in a week, you don't have time to rest. You just keep going and going and as a player you can't ask for a better situation than that."
To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.
