Game #7: Denver (2-4) vs. Mercer (5-4)
Saturday, December 7, 2013 • 1 p.m. MT
Hawkins Arena (3,200) • Macon, Ga.
TV: None • Radio: AM 1510 & FM 93.7 • Web: Pioneer Vision (Audio)
About Denver: The Pioneers have won two-straight games, including a 75-74 overtime win over Southern on Dec. 3. Denver returns 10 players, including their top two scorers, from last year’s squad that went 22-10, claimed a share of the WAC regular season title and won a game in the NIT for the first national postseason victory in team history. Denver returns Preseason All-Summit League First Team member Chris Udofia and Second Team selection Brett Olson, as well as starting guard Jalen Love. DU was picked to finish second in the Summit League by conference coaches, media and SIDs.
About Mercer: The Bears are 5-4 this season and coming off a 96-82 loss at Oklahoma on Dec. 2, but their wins include a double overtime win against Seton Hall and a triple overtime win at Valparaiso. Mercer returned 11 players, including four starters, from last year’s team that went 24-12 overall and 14-4 to win the Atlantic Sun regular season championship. The Bears, who were picked to finish second in the A-Sun this season in both the coaches’ and media polls, are led by Preseason All-Atlantic Sun selections Langston Hall and Daniel Coursey who are averaging 15.0 and 10.6 points, respectively. Hall also is dishing out 5.6 assists per game, and Coursey is pulling down 6.3 rebounds. Ike Nwamu is adding 10.2 points per game.
The Match-up: The Pioneers took the only previous matchup, winning 69-40 at Magness Arena on Dec. 5, 2012.
Last Time Out: Redshirt sophomore forward Marcus Byrd scored a career-high 20 points while draining six three-pointers to lead the Pioneers to a 75-74 overtime win over Southern at Magness Arena on Tuesday night. Junior Brett Olson scored 19 points, including five in the final 1:17 of overtime, and sophomore Jalen Love added 14 points for the Pioneers. Senior Chris Udofia earned his second double-double of the season by scoring 11 points and tying a career best with 12 rebounds, while adding five assists and a game-high four blocks, which moved him within two blocked shots of Denver’s all-time career record. Junior guard Cam Griffin recorded career highs with six steals and 11 rebounds, while adding five of his eight points in overtime.
Toy Drive: DU Athletics has teamed up with CBS4 in support of the Care 4 Colorado Toy Drive to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. The University’s Daniel L. Ritchie Center will serve as a drop location for new, unwrapped toys before all hockey, women’s basketball and men’s basketball through Dec. 15. Beneficiaries of the toy drive will be children in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. Their families will be welcomed at facilities across the city to receive the donated toys in an effort to brighten their Holiday Season.
Out of the Gate: Nine of Denver’s first 11 games are against teams that played in the postseason last year, including Cal, Harvard, Southern, Colorado State and Belmont, which all played in the NCAA Tournament. DU’s first four opponents have a combined record of 22-8 (.733). Overall, Denver’s schedule includes 16 postseason teams from last year.
Everybody’s Heard About the Byrd: Redshirt sophomore Marcus Byrd had a career day in DU’s win over Southern on Dec. 3, setting career highs with 20 points and six three-pointers. It was the first time a Denver player made six three-pointers in a game since Brian Stafford did so against Louisiana-Monroe on Feb. 18, 2012. Byrd’s previous career high was two three-pointers in a game.
Working Overtime: Denver beat Southern on Dec. 3 for the team’s first overtime win of the season and first since beating Utah State in Logan, Utah, on Feb. 14, 2013. Denver is 5-19 in overtime games since returning to NCAA Division I in 1998-99, and 4-11 in such games since head coach Joe Scott took over the program in 2006-07, including a 76-75 neutral-site win in Norman, Okla., against East Central University in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic on Nov. 8, 2008, in Scott’s first game with the Pioneers.
U-Tube: Senior Chris Udofia blocked four shots against Southern on Dec. 3, increasing his career total to 208, just two shy of Denver’s all-time record held by Yemi Nicholson (2003-06). The six-foot-six Udofia is ranked 16th in the nation with 3.60 blocks per game this season. Udofia also scored 11 points and tied a career high with 12 rebounds, giving him his sixth-career double-double and his second of the season. The team captain, who is playing in his 100th career game, has 1,188 career points, just one point shy of Horace Kearney (1967-71) for 17th on DU’s all-time scoring list, 11 shy of Arthur Ireland (1997-01) for 16th and 20 shy of former teammate Chase Hallam (2009-13) for 15th place. A Preseason All-Summit League First Team selection, Udofia was named the Most Underrated Player in the Nation by Bleacher Report, the No. 6 Under-the-Radar Performer by CBSSports.com and a Preseason All-Mid Major Third Team member by College Sports Madness. Udofia was voted to the All-WAC First Team and WAC All-Defensive Team last season. Udofia, who earned a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 6 First Team, ranked 34th in the nation and third in the WAC in blocked shots (2.34 per game), and ranked second in the WAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.81), fourth in steals (1.62), fifth in field goal percentage (.516), and ninth in both scoring (13.3) and assists (3.28 per game). Udofia’s 75 blocks last year were the fourth most in DU single-season history. Udofia was voted Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team as a sophomore.
Olson Well: Junior guard Brett Olson, who was voted to the Preseason All-Summit League Second Team, hit a pair of three-pointers against Southern which moved him into a tie with Andrew Hooper (2009-11) for 10th on DU’s all-time career three-pointers made list with 141. Olson has scored 19 points in each of the last two games and was named to the Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team. Olson is ranked first in The Summit League in minutes played (37.0), second in free throw percentage (.850), fourth in three-pointers made (1.8), sixth in assists (3.5), eighth in assists/turnover ratio (1.6), 10th in scoring (12.7) and 12th in defensive rebounds (3.7).
Lights, Cam, Action: In the last three games, junior guard Cam Griffin has recorded a combined 30 rebounds, including a career-high 11 against Southern on Dec. 3, and now leads the team and is second in The Summit League with 7.5 per game. Seven of those rebounds against the Jaguars were on the offensive glass, increasing his average to 3.2 per game, the second most in the Summit League. Griffin also set a career high with six steals against Southern, increasing his season average to 1.8 which is the second most in the Summit League. Griffin ranked seventh in the WAC last season in steals (1.5 per game), and during conference play he ranked third in steals (1.7) and eighth in free throw percentage (.750). Griffin moved to the starting lineup this season after being named the WAC 6th Man of the Week five times by StatSheet.com.
Magness Magic: Denver’s 75-74 overtime win against Southern on Dec. 3 was the team’s first home win of the season. The Pioneers are 76-16 (.826) at Magness Arena under head coach Joe Scott, including a 46-6 (.885) mark in conference games (Sun Belt/WAC). DU was 14-2 overall and 9-0 in WAC games at home in 2012-13 after going 15-2 at home in 2011-12. In February 2012, ESPN.com’s Ken Pomeroy wrote that Magness Arena was one of the top two home-court advantages in the nation.
The Long Ranger: The Pioneers hit a season-high 11 three-pointers against Southern on Dec. 3, their second-straight double-digit performance. Denver was first in the WAC and 29th in the NCAA in three-pointers per game (7.9), and first in the WAC and 37th in the nation in three-point percentage (.375). DU took 43.6 percent of its field goal attempts last season from beyond the three-point arc (ninth-highest rate in the nation), while only 24.5 percent of opponents points came from three-point range (fifth in the NCAA), according to KenPom.com. Denver is 2-0 this season, was 8-1 in 2012-13 and is a combined 20-2 over the last three seasons when hitting 10 or more three-pointers. The Pioneers have at least one three-pointer in 230-straight games, dating back to Feb. 2, 2006.
A Little Help from Their Friends: The Pioneers recorded assists on 19-of-20 field goals against Harvard on Nov. 28, and now their season total is 97-of-123 field goals (78.9 percent) this season, the highest mark in the nation according to KenPom.com. Denver had assists on 69.8 percent (516-of-739) of their field goals last year, second most in the country. Chris Udofia (3.7 per game), Brett Olson (3.5) and Drick Bernstine (2.6) are ranked fourth, sixth and 15th in The Summit League in assists. In Joe Scott’s first six seasons at DU, the Pioneers recorded an assist on 66.4 percent of their field goals (2,636 assists on 3,967 field goals made), ranking among the top six highest percentages in the nation every year.
Reaching the Summit: The Pioneers begin their first season in the Summit League in 2013-14, the team’s third conference in as many years. Denver was a member of the WAC in 2012-13 after enjoying 11 years in the Sun Belt Conference.
Road More Traveled: At Mercer, senior Chris Udofia will play in his 43rd arena and 22nd state. By the end of this regular season, the Pioneers will have played in 53 arenas, 28 states and three countries during Udofia’s career, including a trip to Spain and Andorra prior to his freshman year.
Road More Traveled, Part 2: The Pioneers are in the midst of playing five games in 10 days. During that stretch, DU will travel from Alaska to Denver to Georgia, which encompasses 7,224 miles and spans four time zones.
Short Stop: At 5-foot-4, senior Charles Webb is the shortest player in college basketball. The walk-on guard appeared in seven games last season, scoring his first career points against Southern Utah (Dec. 21, 2012).
National Letters of Intent: DU signed Cameron Delaney and Jake Pemberton to a National Letter of Intent to join the Pioneers in 2014-15. A 6-foot-3 guard from Harker Heights High School in Harker Heights, Texas, Delaney was selected as All-District First Team as a junior, averaging 12.4 points per game. Harker Heights named him the team’s most valuable player and defensive player of the year. Pemberton was named to the Colorado State All-Tournament Team last year after leading Mountain Vista High School to the Final Four. The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native was named All-State Second Team as a junior.
Playing the Percentages: Denver is shooting an uncharacteristically low 40.5 percent from the field through six games this season, last in The Summit League. In the first six games of last season, DU shot just 38.1 percent from the floor, but after that point the Pioneers raised their season average to 48.0 percent, tops in the WAC and 10th in the nation. According to KenPom.com, DU was second in the nation in two-point percentage (56.0 percent) and third in effective field goal percentage (56.1 percent), which gives added weight to three-pointers to determine overall offensive effectiveness. According to KenPom.com, Denver has ranked in the top 10 for effective field goal percentage in each of the last five years, including twice as the top team in the nation.
Oh Captain, My Captain: For the second-straight year, Chris Udofia will serve as Denver’s team captain. Brett Olson and Cam Griffin were selected as assistant captains.
Catch-22, Again: Denver had 22 wins each of the past two seasons, tying the most in the team’s 90-year Division I history.
Preseason Honors: Senior forward Chris Udofia was voted to the 2013-14 Preseason All-Summit League First Team and junior Brett Olson made the Second Team in a vote by the league coaches, media and SIDs.
