The Omaha Mavericks were coming off a 95-80 defeat to Denver two days prior in front of a rowdy crowd of 3,707 people at Baxter Arena. That game was back and forth in the first half of the game. Red Panda was the halftime entertainment and after that things went downhill for Omaha. Denver started the second half on a 16-4 run and could not be stopped. Frankie Fidler had 32 points and tried to keep the Mavs in the game but the second leading scorer in the NCAA Tommy Bruner was too much for Omaha to handle.
The game was played in Vermillion and at a venue Omaha had never won before. The last time Omaha defeated South Dakota away from home was back in February 2019 in Sioux Falls at the Sanford Pentagon in overtime set up by a Mitch Hahn deep three to force the game to overtime and Omaha winning the game. This game was a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network with Alex Heinert and Shon Morris on the call and UNO grad Ana Bellinghausen as a sideline reporter. Omaha opened the game on an 11-0 run with Frankie Fidler going 2 for 3 from beyond the arc and a perfect 3 for 3 on free throws. South Dakota would score a basket and Omaha would push the lead and at one point led by as many as 20 points. South Dakota turned the ball over 13 times and Omaha would capitalize on these turnovers. Omaha also scored on several fast break points after a South Dakota bucket or a missed shot and would go in transition.
On another note, Omaha was doing this without Grant Stubbblefield who normally starts for Omaha and currently dealing with an injury.
The final score ended up being 67-51 Omaha and moves to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in Summit League play. Their next game is on Wednesday at home as they take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in the Summit League/Big Sky Conference Challenge.