Deep inside Omaha, Nebraska's Baxter Arena on Dec. 21, the mood in the home locker room was somber.
The Omaha Mavericks were preparing to face off against the Cal Poly Mustangs, marking their first game back home after a three-game road trip that came with two losses. The Mavericks were 4-9, having won only two of their last 11 games.
Associate head coach Kyan Brown surveyed the scene and didn't like what he saw. He tried a brief pep talk, but the response was tepid. Searching for any way to spark some energy in the room, Brown opted for a motivational tactic fueled by pure instinct.
Kicking a trash can.
"I didn't even plan it. I just saw a big trash can sitting in the corner, and I just went over and kicked the hell out of it," Brown told ESPN. "Probably said some choice words that I can't repeat to the public."
The locker room loved it. Brown then made an unconventional, spur-of-the-moment promise to the trash can.
"If you're still in here after the game," he said. "I'm gonna whip your ass again."
Omaha went out and beat the Mustangs for their first win in two weeks. By the game's end, Brown had forgotten about his declaration -- but his players had not.
"We come back in the locker room after the game, I completely forgot I even said something, and our guys go: 'Coach, it's still in here!"
Brown let loose on the trash can once more. And one of college basketball's unlikeliest traditions was born.
A WEEK PASSED and the Mavericks won their next game, a 30-point triumph over NAIA foe Mount Marty. Brown had assumed his bout with the trash can would be a one-off matchup. The players, however, eyed the same can and demanded a rematch. Brown obliged.
When Omaha started Summit League play with a road swing in North Dakota, Brown assumed the trash can business was over, for real this time. After all, even if the momentum sparked from his initial tussle traveled, his nemesis in the Baxter Arena home locker room was hundreds of miles away. But once again, Mavericks players had other ideas.
Omaha beat North Dakota on Jan. 2, and sure enough Brown was approached by three players outside the visiting locker room after the game -- a trash can in hand.
Next came a win over North Dakota State. Then Kansas City. Then South Dakota State. Then Denver. Suddenly, Omaha was rolling. Coach Brown was ready to be done with the trash can beatdowns, but the Mavericks' evolving streak made his continued participation a requirement.
"I wanted to kind of quit after about the third or fourth one," Brown said. "And my boss [head coach] Chris Crutchfield is awesome. He's like 'We're not superstitious, but we're a little stitious... We gotta keep it going.'"
So Brown accepted his fate and began cooking up more elaborate ways to attack trash cans after every win, each more distinct than the last. After taking down St. Thomas, he wielded a baseball bat that he had hid above the lockers. The weapon of choice after a road win against Oral Roberts was a folding chair.
BAH GAWD! IT'S KB WITH A STEEL CHAIR!😵#GoMavs #OmahaMBB pic.twitter.com/IqqABWpMXz
— Omaha Men's Basketball (@OmahaMBB) January 26, 2025
OMAHA DIDN'T JUST benefit from the trash can mania on the court. The school also turned the tradition into one of college basketball's most distinctive home game promotions.
On Jan. 28, the Mavericks announced the "Bring Your Own Can" promotion for the team's Feb. 1 game against Denver. Inspired by Brown's plastic post-win foe and the team's winning streak, fans were encouraged to bring their own five-gallon (or smaller) trash cans into Baxter Arena to use as popcorn containers.
Omaha beat Denver, and the promotion proved to be a hit. The school saw a 1,400 percent increase in ticket sales compared to the five months prior from when "Bring Your Own Can" was first announced through the end of walk-up sales on gameday. The final attendance counter of 3,356 was the highest of the year at Baxter Arena. It was estimated via popcorn sales that over a quarter of those in attendance brought trash cans with them.
Crutchfield called the promotion "genius." Senior guard JJ White remembered the team smelling popcorn all week during practice as the stadium's concessions geared up for the event. But the unique practice aroma proved well worth it when it came time for tip-off and Baxter's stands were filled.
"Me and my teammate Ja'Sean Glover, we were looking up at the rafters, and we were like 'Bro, that's the first time anyone's ever been in the rafters at our games since we've been here," White told ESPN. "We kind of shared a moment right there. The fans, man they're great. They came out and supported and I just hope they keep coming."
THE WIN OVER Denver also marked an important moment for the Mavericks' post-win trash can tradition: the changing of the guard. Omaha's loss to South Dakota earlier in the week meant that the original win streak -- the longest for the program since they began the move to Division I in 2011-12 -- had come to an end at nine games. According to Brown, it was time to signify the start of a new chapter with some new blood entering the locker room beatdown arena.
After the Denver game, Brown set down the trash can in the center of the locker room, but this time held up his hands and asked for quiet. He announced it was time to introduce his tag-team partner, while the opening bars of John Cena's iconic "The Time Is Now" entrance theme song played in the background.
Arms flexed, assistant coach Josh Crutchfield -- Chris' son -- walked into the locker room to a roar from the players.
Crutchfield ran to the far end of the locker room, where he leaned against imaginary ropes. He then ran back across the room and repeated the motion. Then he made his way over to the trash can and unleashed an elbow drop that would make Randy Savage proud.
🚨JOSH CRUTCHFIELD HAS ENTERED THE RING🚨#OmahaMBB pic.twitter.com/FtL2VFdCIA
— Omaha Men's Basketball (@OmahaMBB) February 2, 2025
"No practice. Matter of fact, I probably should have practiced, because my whole left side of my body is still feeling the effects today," the younger Crutchfield quipped to ESPN. "[Brown] keeps saying now, it's a young man's game ... I feel old the way my body feels right now."
And just like that, a new streak was born.
The Mavericks won their next two games after Crutchfield's debut, with the assistant coach adding his own stamp to the trash can crushing tradition each time. After White's buzzer-beating three lifted Omaha over North Dakota, Crutchfield climbed onto a locker and delivered a "top rope" elbow drop on the can. Following a Feb. 8 win over North Dakota State, Crutchfield feigned the elbow to instead tee up a vicious spear by fellow assistant coach and team director of operations Brandt Danals.
Now 10-1 in conference play and possessing sole control of first place in the Summit League entering the final stretch of the regular season, the Mavericks have a realistic shot at capturing the program's first-ever regular season conference title.
And with another winning streak underway, two things are certain in Omaha. First, as long as the victories keep coming, trash cans in locker rooms everywhere will remain in danger. Second, focus on the celebratory tradition will always take a backseat to making sure the team has wins to celebrate in the first place.
"I love that the trash can thing has taken off," Cruchfield said. "But we're going to keep the main thing the main thing and keep trying to win games and keep trying to work on this tournament berth."