DENVER - The University of Denver men's basketball team will play 15 home games in Magness Arena as part of the 2010-11 schedule, fourth-year head coach Joe Scott announced today.
Denver's schedule features five games against 2010 NCAA Tournament teams, five additional teams that played in the postseason and nine games against teams that won at least 20 games last season, as well as home games against regional rivals Colorado State, Utah State and Northern Colorado.
The Pioneers enter the season with a 15-game home winning streak, tied for the ninth longest in the nation, and have gone 36-7 (.837) at home in Scott's three years as head coach.
"This is an exciting schedule for our fans," Scott said. "Ten of our 13 nonconference opponents have played in the NCAA Tournament since 2002, including three in 2010. This is a challenging schedule against some very talented teams. The nonconference schedule is designed to prepare our team for Sun Belt Conference play, and this year's schedule does that."
The Pioneers will open the season at the three-game BTI Invitational, hosted by the University of Oregon on Nov. 12-14. In addition to the Ducks, who have appeared in the NCAA Tournament five times since 2000, the tournament will feature 2009 NCAA Tournament participant North Dakota State and UC Santa Barbara, which won both the 2009-10 Big West regular season and conference tournament titles to earn a berth into last season's NCAA Tournament.
"The BTI Invitational is a great way to start the season," Scott said. "We will be playing three very good teams with players who have won conference championships."
Denver will take on regional rival Colorado State in the home opener at Magness Arena on Nov. 18, followed by a home meeting against Alcorn State on Nov. 24.
After a road contest at Boise State (Nov. 27), the Pioneers will welcome three-time defending WAC champions Utah State (Dec. 1), which has appeared in the postseason in each of the past 11 years and has recorded winning records for 17-straight seasons. Utah State has been one of the most consistent teams in the country, winning at least 23 games every year for the last decade. DU then will host Cal State Northridge (Dec. 4), which appeared in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
The West Coast Conference's Portland, which won 21 games and was ranked among the Top 25 in the nation last season, will visit Magness Arena on Dec. 11, between road trips to Conference USA's Southern Mississippi (Dec. 7) and regional rival and Mountain West Conference member Wyoming (Dec. 14).
Denver then plays four-straight home games, including a challenging conclusion to the nonconference schedule against regional rival Northern Colorado (Dec. 18), which won 25 games last season, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Dec. 21), which won the play-in game of the 2010 NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Duke in the First Round.
The Pioneers open the Sun Belt Conference portion of the schedule by hosting Louisiana-Lafayette (Dec. 30) and Arkansas-Little Rock (Jan. 2).
"The Sun Belt is once again going to be very competitive," Scott said. "With the number of talented players returning, the level of the conference continues to get better every year."
Denver's remaining home games feature Florida International (Jan. 15), Arkansas State (Jan. 20), 2010 SBC champion North Texas (Jan. 29), Florida Atlantic (Feb. 10), Louisiana-Monroe (Feb. 17) and South Alabama (Feb. 20).
The road conference schedule features perennial Sun Belt power Western Kentucky (Jan. 6), Louisiana-Monroe (Jan. 8), Middle Tennessee (Jan. 22), Arkansas-Little Rock (Feb. 3), Arkansas State (Feb. 5), Troy (Feb. 12), Louisiana-Lafayette (Feb. 24) and North Texas (Feb. 26), which narrowly defeated DU in last season's SBC Tournament en route to the conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Sun Belt Conference Tournament will be held March 5-8. The top four seeds receive first round byes and the winner of the Sun Belt Tournament championship in Hot Springs, Ark., will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Pioneers return seven of the top eight scorers and four starters from last season's squad that went 19-13 overall and 10-8 in the Sun Belt Conference, the most wins and conference wins by DU since the 2004-05 season, as well as the second-highest total victories in Denver's NCAA Division I history. The Pioneers also advanced to the semifinals of the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Tournament for just the third time in team history and the first time since 2005.
"This is a good schedule against quality opponents, and it fits with where we are in Year Four of our building process," Scott said. "We were the youngest team in the nation two years ago, but now those players are all upperclassmen. We are looking forward to seeing continued progress toward our goals."
Season tickets for the 2010-11 Denver Pioneers are currently on sale. DU continues its commitment to provide the community with the most affordable and exciting entertainment in the Denver metro area. Ticket packages start at $64.
Individual game tickets will go on sale in October, with prices ranging from $9-$15 for adults. DU students get into the game free with their Pioneer Card.
For ticket information, please visit DenverPioneers.com or call the Pioneer Basketball Ticket Hotline at (303) 871-HOOP.
