DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program will continue a stretch of four-straight contests in the state of Colorado when the Pioneers head north on I-25 to take on Colorado State Tuesday inside Moby Arena. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the game can be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Colorado State owns a 16-3 series advantage, winning each of the last three.
• CSU is 9-1 in the series in Fort Collins.
• Denver's last win came in December, 2013 when the Pios won 80-70 in Moby Arena.
• The last game in the series in Denver was played in December, 2014, a game CSU won 85-84 in Magness Arena.

LAST TIME OUT:
Denver raced out to a 46-29 lead at the intermission and carried the advantage through the second half in a 97-80 win over Western Colorado on Friday afternoon in the Pios home opener inside Hamilton Gymnasium.

SPREADING THE SCORING

• Denver had six players score in double figures and no one score more than 15 in Denver's 97-80 win over Western Colorado on Nov. 8.
• DeAndre Craig led the Pios with 15, Pedro Lopez-Sanvicente scored 13, Sebastian Akins added 12 and Nicholas Shogbonyo, Isaiah Carr and Josh Lee all finished with 10.
• It was the first time Denver had 6 players in double figures since December 15, 2012 against Omaha.
• 12 years ago - Royce O'Neale had 17, Chase Hallam had 12, Chris Udofia scored 11, Brett Olson and Nate Engesser chipped in 11 and Cam Griffin scored 10.

LEGAL THEFT

• Denver recorded 13 steals in a win over Western Colorado on Nov. 8, the program's most since February 26, 2020 at Fort Wayne.
• Sebastian Akins and Nicholas Shogbonyo had 3 apiece to lead a group of five Pios with multiple steals.

AKINS NCAA DEBUT

• Freshman guard Sebastian Akins put up 15 points off the bench in the Pios season debut at Stanford on November 4.
• Akins is the fifth Pio to post 15+ points off the bench in a season opener since Denver rejoined Division I in 1998-99.
• Akins is the first since Jase Townsend scored 16 off the bench as a freshman in November, 2018.
• Akins is the fourth freshman to post 15+ off the bench in a season opener.
• Akins is the 3rd to do it against a DI opponent and the 2nd to do it against a Power5/4 opponent.
• Akins has scored in double figures in his first two collegiate contests.

NEW, BUT EXPERIENCED ASSISTANTS

• Fourth-year HC Jeff Wulbrun has an entirely new staff this year.
• The five-member staff of Wulbrun, Bill Peterson, Shammond Williams, Curran Walsh and Director of Operations Jack Frost have combined 80 seasons in NCAA basketball and 24 seasons both playing and coaching in the NBA or the G-League. 
• Peterson has been involved in college coaching for 32 seasons and spent 11 years on NBA and G-League staffs. Prior to joining Denver, Peterson had been on the staff of the national champion Baylor Bears from 2017 through the end of last season.
• Williams has coached in the NCAA for eight years, played four years at North Carolina that included three trips to the Final Four, and played professional basketball for 13 seasons, including stints with seven different NBA franchises. Walsh has been involved in college basketball circles for seven seasons, making stops at Utah, Utah State and Loyola Marymount before joining the DU staff.
• Frost served in three different roles spanning across five years at Stanford as the video coordinator, special assistant to the head coach and as an assistant coach. 

BUILDING ON CHAMPIONSHIP GAME EXPERIENCE

• Last season, Denver advanced to the Summit League Championship game for the first time since joining the league in 2013-14.
• The conference final appearance was Denver's second since turning Division I in 1998-99.
• 2005 Sun Belt Conference Final: Louisiana Lafayette 88, Denver 69
• 2024 Summit League Final: South Dakota State 76, Denver 68
• This March, Denver will look to win a conference postseason game in back-to-back years for the first time since the Sun Belt Tournaments in 2009 and 2010.

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