SIOUX FALLS, SD - MARCH 8: Ja'Sean Glover #5 of the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks drives to the basket around Chase Forte #9 of the South Dakota Coyotes at the 2025 Summit League Basketball Championship at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. (Photo by Dave Eggen/Inertia)

By Ari Selvey

aselvey@nujournal.com

OMAHA — For the first time in school history, the University of Nebraska Omaha has made the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament this season.

And for Madelia High School grad Ja’Sean Glover, it’s everything he has dreamed of.

“It’s real,” Glover said. “You dream about this as a kid, but to actually be in it, it’s a blessing. I just thankful that I’m blessed and we have the right coaching staff and the right teammates to pull this thing off and try to do some damage in the NCAA tournament.”

Omaha went 22-12 this season and earned a bid as a 15th seed in this season’s March Madness tournament and will face second-seeded St. John’s on Thursday at 8:45 p.m. Glover said the season that team has been having is special.

“It’s been an incredible year,” Glover said. “We definitely put in a lot of work, and it’s just a testament to what’s going on. Coach has been telling us to enjoy the moment and take the wins for what it was and enjoy the March Madness as it’s going on. As a collective, we’ve been having a great time.”

Glover had his most involved season so far as a member of the Mavericks, starting in six games and averaging 22.9 minutes per game, fifth on the team. Glover, who averaged over 30 points per game in his senior season at Madelia, has seen his game shift to a more defensive focus, earning a Summit League All-Defensive Team selection this season. Glover said that the transition from an offensive force to a defensive menace has been rewarding for him.

“It’s definitely been a journey,” Glover said. “Coming out of high school, they need you to score the ball, but coming into college and playing at Division I here, it’s more so my defense that stands out. I’m OK with that, I’m proud of that actually. But I just think about people like Patrick Beverly that, coming out of high school has been a crazy scorer, but throughout the league he’s developed into a defensive player and it’s beautiful to see. And also just fitting into a role, a role that involves winning. I say that’s the most beautiful thing, the ability for somebody to change their role for the betterment of the team that involves winning, I think that’s beautiful.”

Glover averaged 7.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and nearly 1.9 assists per game, along with nearly one steal this season. Now looking ahead to the tournament, Glover said he’s looking forward to getting onto the court for the first time at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.

“I’m looking forward to playing, obviously,” Glover said. “Being out on that court and enjoying the moment. I know that there’s a lot of nerves that come before the game, which is natural because you care about the game, but I feel that as soon as the game starts and the ball tips off, the crowd goes away and it’s just you and the basketball. It will be a blessing.”

St. John’s provides a tough first-round matchup for the Mavericks, but during March Madness, anything can happen. Glover sees sticking to the team’s identity and rebounding as the keys to pulling off the upset in the game.

“It’s going to take us playing loose and playing free,” he said. “But enjoy the moment. And we’re definitely going to need to be able to rebound. This team, they average a lot of offensive rebounds, and we’ve just got to do a good job of rebounding and playing loose and playing free and playing our game. Whatever outcome comes out of that, we’ll be satisfied as long as we play hard and compete for 40 minutes.”