Nebraska Omaha @ Washington preview

Nebraska Omaha at Washington

Washington’s not-so-demanding early-season schedule will take a turn for the tougher over the next week with games against top-15-ranked Kansas and Gonzaga. But first, the Huskies get another mid-major tune-up, hosting struggling Summit League program Omaha on Sunday.

All five of Washington’s wins so far under first-year coach Mike Hopkins have been home victories against mid-majors, while the two losses came against 6-1 Providence (77-70) and 6-1 Virginia Tech (103-79) at the 2K Classic in New York. The Huskies have won their three ensuing games, with the latest an 85-71 victory Tuesday over Kennesaw State. Forward Noah Dickerson led the way with a game-high 24 points in 24 minutes as Washington shot 50 percent from the field and enjoyed a 40-21 rebound advantage. The Mavericks, meanwhile, will be tipping off a three-game road trip Sunday which also will include visits to UC Santa Barbara and Drake.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT OMAHA (1-7): Last season, their fifth at the Division I level, the Mavericks were a 79-77 loss in the Summit League championship game away from making their first NCAA Tournament appearance. This season hasn’t started out so well, including pre-Thanksgiving road losses at Oklahoma (108-89), Louisville (87-78) and TCU (99-66), but Omaha did break into the win column Wednesday with a 75-73 victory over visiting Drake as guards Zach Jackson, Daniel Norl and KJ Robinson combined for 42 points, including 8-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. Jackson, a 6-5 junior, is pacing the team with 16.3 points per game while Norl (14.1), forward Mitch Hahn (11.3) and Robinson (11.3) also are averaging double figures.

ABOUT WASHINGTON (5-2): Like No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Markelle Fultz a season ago, a 6-4 freshman guard is making an immediate impact in Seattle as Jaylen Nowell is averaging a team-high 18.4 points while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 83.8 percent from the free-throw line. Nowell, though, is coming off his worst outing of the season, scoring six points on 3-of-9 shooting with four turnovers against Kennesaw State as he failed to score in double digits for the first time this season. Dickerson, a 6-8 forward, is averaging 16.4 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds while guards David Crisp (11.7 points) and Matisse Thybulle (11.1) also own double-figure averages.

TIP-INS

1. Sam Timmins, a 6-11 sophomore from New Zealand who starts on the post, is averaging 6.0 rebounds for Washington, which owns an average rebound margin of plus-5.8.

2. Dickerson is shooting 67.3 percent from the field and has hit 41-of-55 free throws – easily team-best marks in both categories.

3. Norl, a 6-3 guard, is averaging a team-best 5.4 rebounds for Omaha, which is getting outrebounded by an average of 7.3 per game.

PREDICTION: Washington 92, Omaha 74