The Post breaks down the Omaha Mavericks, which face St. John’s in the Red Storm’s opening game of March Madness 2025:
Location
Omaha, Neb.
Enrollment
14,972
Coach
Chris Crutchfield (3rd season)
NCAA Tournament history
First appearance
How they got here
Since hiring Crutchfield as head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season, Omaha has steadily improved.
From just nine wins in Crutchfield’s first season to 15 in the next, the Mavericks’ improvements culminated in this year’s 22-12 campaign and Crutchfield’s Summit League Coach of the Year honor.
Omaha was winless across seven Quad 1 and Quad 2 games, but the Mavericks won the Summit League’s regular-season title with a 13-3 conference record, then earned an automatic NCAA Tournament bid by winning the conference tournament.
Starters
G JJ White — 13.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4 apg
G Tony Osburn — 12.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.4 apg
F Kamryn Thomas — 6.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 apg
F Marquel Sutton — 19.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.2 apg
C Isaac Ondekane — 5.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 58.3 FG%
Key reserves
G Lance Waddles — 9.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.9 apg
G Ja’Sean Glover — 7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.8 apg
F Joshua Streit — 2.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 59.3 FG%
Player to watch
Marquel Sutton has been the driving force behind Omaha’s success this season.
He has tallied 651 points, the 18th-most in the country.
Sutton was named Summit League Player of the Year and Summit League Tournament MVP.
Key numbers
11: No. 15 seeds to upset No. 2 seeds in NCAA Tournament history — posting an all-time record of 11-145.
The Post breaks down the four March Madness regions with sleeper picks and predictions.
- Where St. John’s stacks up in tough West Region
- The East Region is Duke’s to lose
- Why March Madness’ top overall seed is in big trouble in South Region
- A familiar, under-seeded face will stun the Midwest Region
14: Years since Omaha made its transition from Division II to Division I before making its first NCAA Tournament this season.
18: Wins in its last 21 games since starting the season 4-9.