Grow Omaha Sports

UNO Hockey concluded its season Saturday, losing 3-2 to North Dakota in the quarterfinals of the NCHC Tournament. The Mavericks closed the year 18-17-1 overall and 14-9-1 in the NCHC, one of college hockey’s premier leagues. While the season fell short of the goal of a Frozen Four appearance, there are plenty of individual achievements to celebrate. Junior goaltender Simon Latkoczy was named to the All-NCHC First Team while forward Sam Stange was named to the All-NCHC Second Team. Three members of the program are up for NCHC honors of their own.

Last Thursday, head coach Mike Gabinet was announced as one of three finalists for the Herb Brooks Coach of the Year award for the third time in the last five years, following his fifth winning season in a row. Defenseman Nolan Krenzen was named a finalist for the NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year. Simon Latkoczy is a finalist for the conference Goaltender of the Year after posting a conference-high 909 saves and the second-best save percentage (.925). Award winners will be announced tonight at the NCHC Awards Celebration.

The NCAA Tournament Round of 64 started today, with (9) Creighton defeating (8) Louisville 89-75 in the first game of the weekend in Lexington, Ky. Louisville featured former Bellevue West standout Chucky Hepburn. Now Creighton will have the opportunity to face #1 overall seed Auburn on Saturday, provided they take care of 16-seed Alabama State. Creighton is coming off back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.

(15) Omaha, in its first NCAA tournament game ever, will take on Hall of Famer Rick Pitino and the (2) Saint John’s Red Storm tonight at 8:45 p.m. on CBS. It’s the Johnnies’ second straight game against a team from the Omaha area. Omaha hopes to be the 12th-ever 15 seed to win a tournament game, and the first since Princeton took down Arizona in 2023.

(9) Creighton Women’s Basketball will play their first March Madness game Saturday, March 22 against (8) Illinois. Like the men’s squad, the Lady Jays finished second in the regular and postseason of one of the nation’s top basketball conferences but were awarded a perplexing nine seed in the Big Dance. Creighton is heading to its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament and is led by Big East First-Teamers Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly and veteran head coach Jim Flanery.

Former Creighton Bluejay Baylor Scheierman had a breakout game for the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in a win against the Brooklyn Nets. The former Bluejay and Aurora, Neb. native scored 20 points in just 16 minutes, going 8-9 from the floor and a blazing 6-7 from three, with one in buzzer-beating fashion to take the lead going into the fourth quarter. After swinging between Boston and their G League affiliate Maine Celtics all season, Scheierman may have earned himself a more permanent role in Boston with his latest performance. The Celtics’ next game is tomorrow, March 21 at 8:30 p.m. against the Utah Jazz.

The Omaha Supernovas have yet to lose in March and sit in first place in current PVF standings at 12-4 thanks to their four-game win streak and latest win over the second-place Orlando Valkyries. That game concluded their three-game road trip, and they will be back at the CHI Health Center on Saturday for a match with the Indy Ignite at 6:00 p.m. The Supernovas are 3-0 against the Ignite on the season and should be familiar with the club, as this is the third time they will match up in five games.

LOVB Omaha announced Tuesday that former Stanford middle blocker Sami Francis will join the team effective immediately. Francis will be available for the club as early as its next game against LOVB Austin Friday night. LOVB Omaha sits last in league standings at 4-7 overall. First serve on Friday at Baxter Arena is at 7:00 p.m. The club will be celebrating ‘Healthcare Heroes Night.’

The Omaha Beef are defending their National Arena League title this season. In their first year in the NAL, they picked up right where they left off after winning the CIF in 2023, posting an undefeated season and winning the NAL championship. They are currently 2-1 with their loss coming in the first game of the season to the Minneapolis Warriors on a last-second touchdown pass. That loss snapped a two-year winning streak that started before the Beef moved leagues to the NAL and dates to June 25, 2022, a loss in the CIF championship game. Omaha’s next game is Saturday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. at Liberty First Credit Union Arena.

With the storm yesterday, it may not feel like baseball season is upon us. However, there will be a clash of two crosstown rivals next Tuesday when Creighton Baseball makes the seven-mile journey to Omaha’s Tal Anderson Field. Creighton is 11-5 and on a three-game win streak, while Omaha is 5-13 and on a three-game losing streak. Both programs have an opportunity to build momentum heading into next week’s matchup with three-game series this weekend. Creighton will host Saint Mary’s at Charles Schwab Field while Omaha hits the road for a weekend with Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla.

Upcoming Games
• Omaha Men’s Basketball vs. St. John’s | Today, March 20 | 8:45 p.m.
• Creighton Women’s Basketball vs. Illinois | Saturday, March 22 | 6:15 p.m.
• LOVB Omaha vs. LOVB Austin | Friday, March 21 | 7:00 p.m.
• Omaha Supernovas vs. Indy Ignite | Saturday, March 22 | 6:00 p.m.
• Creighton Baseball vs. Saint Mary’s | Friday, March 21 – Sunday, March 23 | 6:00 p.m. Friday
• Omaha Baseball at Oral Roberts | Friday, March 21 – Sunday, March 23 | 6:00 p.m. Friday
• Omaha Baseball vs. Creighton Baseball | Tuesday, March 25 | 5:00 p.m.

Creighton Basketball set a program record for Big East wins with 15 this season, their tenth year in a row above .500 in conference play. Per Rob Anderson, the list of programs with the most seasons finishing .500 or better in league play over the last 30 years is as follows: 30 – Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas; 29 – Creighton, Kentucky, Michigan State. Decent company for the small Jesuit school in Middle America.

Ryan Kalkbrenner will occupy a lot of real estate in this week’s sports report. The Creighton big man has earned multiple accolades so far and there are still some irons in the fire. On Sunday, he was announced as a unanimous selection to the All-Big East first team and the conference Defensive Player of the Year – again – after leading the league with 2.7 blocks per game. This is his fourth-straight DPOY honor and puts him in rarefied air with Patrick Ewing as the only other player in Big East history to do so. He was also named a Top 5 finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the best center in college basketball.

Kalkbrenner is the all-time leader for the Big East in blocked shots, field goal percentage, games played and field goals made, per a Creighton release. He is one of two players in the storied Big East Conference to ever win four DPOY honors. He is the winningest player in school history in both the regular and postseason. Doug McDermott had his jersey retired at Creighton just last season, the first since Kyle Korver’s in 2018. It won’t be much longer until a jersey numbered 11 hangs with them.

Steven Ashworth and Jackson McAndrew also earned All-Big East honors of their own. Ashworth, in his second and final season with the Bluejays, was named Second Team All-Big East after leading the conference in assists. McAndrew conversely was named to the All-Freshman team for contributing 7.6 points per game on 36 percent three-point shooting, and 4.4 rebounds per game.

UNO Basketball won the Summit League title Sunday sending them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. It was hardly the first historic feat for the Mavericks this season, and they hope to keep beating the odds – and trashcans – on the chase for more. For more on UNO and the above trashcan reference, read the article from earlier this week on Grow Omaha’s sports page.

#22 Creighton Women’s Basketball lost the Big East Tournament Title to #3 UConn on Monday, 70-50. It was just their 6th loss of the season, with all losses coming to teams in this week’s Top 25, according to Creighton Athletics. The Lady Jays will wait to hear their name called for the fourth straight time on Selection Sunday and are projected as an 8-seed in the NCAA’s final bracket prediction. Fans are invited to a free viewing party for the Men’s and Women’s brackets starting at 4 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena.

The NSAA Boys’ State Basketball Championships began last night at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. Ten teams from the metro will compete for a state championship from classes A through C1. All championship games will be held Saturday and will be broadcast on Nebraska Public Media.

Former Metro basketball stars Chucky Hepburn, Hunter Sallis and John Tonje all received distinctions in their respective conferences. Hepburn (Bellevue East, Louisville) and Sallis (Millard North, Wake Forest) were named All-ACC First Team while Tonje (Omaha Central, Wisconsin) earned All-Big Ten First Team honors. Hepburn was also awarded the ACC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in steals with 73 (2.43 per game).

Union Omaha lost their season opener last night, falling 3-0 to Greenville Triumph SC in a rematch of last year’s USL League One semifinals. The Owls’ next game will be next Thursday, March 20th against Flatirons FC. All Union Omaha games are broadcast live on ESPN+.

Upcoming Games
• Creighton Basketball vs. DePaul (Big East Tournament) | Tonight, March 13 | 6:00 p.m.
• Omaha Supernovas at Indy Ignite | Tonight, March 13 | 6:00 p.m.
• LOVB Omaha vs. LOVB Madison | Tonight, March 13 | 7:00 p.m.
• UNO Baseball vs. St. Thomas | March 14-16 | 3:00 p.m. Friday
• Creighton Baseball at San Francisco | March 14-16 | 4:00 p.m. Friday
• Omaha Supernovas at Orlando Valkyries | Saturday, March 15 | 6:00 p.m.

University of Nebraska at Omaha Men’s Basketball won the Summit League Championship Sunday Night, defeating Saint Thomas 85-75. Omaha officially clinched an NCAA Tournament berth Saturday following St. Thomas’ defeat of North Dakota. After making the jump directly from Division III to Division I in 2020, Saint Thomas will be ineligible for postseason play until July 2025 when their five-year transition period is over. The Mavericks still had a lot to play for – and brought home the program’s first conference tournament title since moving to D-I in 2011.

Sunday night added another line to the laundry list of historic “firsts” for this team. UNO went 22-12 overall and 13-3 in conference play this year, which was good enough to win their first regular season conference title since moving to Division I. That record included a nine-game win streak, also the longest for the program since their jump to D-I.

They then dominated the Summit League Tournament, winning their three games by an average margin of 15 points per game. By winning the Summit League Tournament, the Mavericks were awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will make the program’s first-ever appearance in the big dance. They will be the Summit League’s lone representative this March.

Special seasons require special people around the program. Coach Chris Crutchfield saw his career come full circle this season, his third at the helm for Omaha. Crutchfield was a two-sport athlete at UNO from 1989 to 1992, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams. He then later began his coaching career as an assistant for the Mavericks basketball team during the 1995-96 season.

Now, he’s led his alma mater to its first regular season and conference tournament championships since moving to D-I, and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance. That’s not it though, Crutchfield became the program’s first Conference Coach of the Year and delivered the first Conference Player of the Year since the program transitioned to D-I. Marquel Sutton, who entered the program in Crutchfield’s first recruiting class, started every game of his career and averaged 18.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season on his way to that honor.

Associate Head Coach Kyan Brown also played a unique role in UNO Basketball’s success – and fame – this season. Sensing low energy amongst the team following a 2-game skid early in the year, Brown kicked a trashcan in the locker room prior to a game against Cal Poly. It wasn’t planned, just a moment of pure passion and frustration that sparked motivation – and wins. The team beat Cal Poly that night, went on to win their next eight games and gained national notoriety for the outburst-turned-tradition.

SportsCenter, USA Today, and just about every national sports outlet spotlighted the bizarre postgame celebration, and AEW team “The Outrunners” gave the team a pep talk prior to a game against South Dakota. UNO Chancellor Dr. Joanne Li even got in on the fun, jumping out of a trashcan with the AEW Championship belt after the team locked up the regular season title at Baxter Arena. It’s safe to say Coach Brown played a large, and unconventional, role in the Mavericks historic run this season.

Omaha is projected as a 16-seed, matching up with 1-seed Houston in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology for ESPN. With Selection Sunday on March 16th, the situation is fluid. But, expect UNO to be on the 15 or 16 line for March Madness and trashcans to be on watch for the next couple of weeks.