PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WOWT) – A historic season for the Omaha Mavericks (22-13) came to an end in the NCAA Tournament at the hands of No. 2-seed St. John’s (30-4) in Providence on Thursday, 83-53.
Omaha’s first-ever March Madness appearance started with a bang as the Mavs jumped out to a 7-0 lead and trailed by just five at the half, but a 17-5 St. John’s run to start the second half buried any hopes for an upset.
JJ White led the Mavericks with 15 points while Marquel Sutton dropped 11, which is the same amount of rebounds Isaac Ondekane collected — the most of any player in the game.
St. John’s star RJ Luis, Jr. shined as he has all season, leading all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting while raking in eight boards.
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Being a massive underdog is nothing new for Omaha. They were picked second-to-last in the Summit League preseason poll before going 13-3 in conference play and earning league’s regular season and tournament championship titles.
A season that started with losses in nine of their first 13 games ended in a trophy, a net-cutting ceremony last week in Sioux Falls, and a trash-can-smashing victory celebration that took the sports world by storm.
The Mavs are just fine being “counted out.”
“If you go in with the mindset that you’re gonna lose, you’re probably gonna lose,” said senior guard JJ White. “You’ve got to have that belief that you’re gonna win no matter the circumstances. Just trust the coaches’ game plan and see where it goes.”
GAME INFO
- WHO: No. 15 Omaha vs. No. 2 St. John’s
- WHAT: NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – 1st Round
- WHEN: 8:45 p.m., Thursday, March 20
- WHERE: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, R.I.
- WATCH: CBS
- LISTEN: 1620 The Zone
- VEGAS ODDS: Omaha +18.5, O/U 147.5
White has been a major catalyst for the team’s success this season, averaging 13.7 points per game and earning First Team All-Summit League honors along with his teammate, Marquel Sutton.
Sutton broke out as one of the best players in all of mid-major college basketball this year. He was named the Summit League Player of the Year and led the team in scoring, rebounds, and steals.
But it’s no secret that White, Sutton and the rest of the Mavs will need a herculean effort to come away with a win Thursday. St. John’s has only lost one game since the calendar turned to 2025 and ran roughshod through the Big East tournament last week.
Rick Pitino’s squad enters as an 18.5-point favorite over Omaha.
“They’re a tough team,” said Omaha Head Coach Chris Crutchfield, the Summit League Coach of the Year. “They won the Big East and the Big East is a tough, physical league. Rick Pitino is a hall of fame coach. He’s done an unbelievable job everywhere he’s been.”
St. John’s is led by second team All-American RJ Luis, Jr., who’s been a walking bucket all season for a team that otherwise struggles to shoot the ball, often relying on its havoc-inducing defense to win games.
Luis — a lengthy 6-foot-7 guard — averages 18.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, posing a threat as both a scorer and a lockdown perimeter defender. As a team, St. John’s works incessantly to force turnovers, ranking in the top 30 in the nation in steal percentage.
Omaha’s guard tandem of White, Tony Osburn, Lance Waddles and Ja’Sean Glover will need to make ball security a top priority if the Mavericks want to have a chance Thursday.
“We approach it as we approach every other game, and that’s just executing the game plan,” Glover said. “Sticking to what we know, going out there and competing and having fun.”
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