DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program will open its 2024-25 season on Monday afternoon when the Pioneers travel to Stanford. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT, and the game will be broadcast live on ACC Network Xtra and 104.3 The Fan HD3.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Stanford holds an 11-2 series history lead dating back to the first meeting in the 1946-47 season.
• At the Division I level, Stanford has won all seven meetings, including all five in Palo Alto.

WULBRUN'S FOURTH YEAR

• Head coach Jeff Wulbrun is in his fourth season in charge of the Denver men's basketball program in 2024-25.
• Wulbrun led the Pios to 11 wins in 2021-22, the most by the program since the 2017-18 season. The nine-win improvement tied for the best in the program's Division I era.
• Denver earned 15 wins in 2022-23, winning eight of the first nine out of the gate, the best start to a season in the program's DI history.
• Denver had 17 wins last season and earned the program's first Summit League Tournament wins since 2018, and made the first conference final since 2005.
• Prior to joining the Pioneers, Wulbrun had nearly three decades of experience as an assistant coach at Stanford, UAB, Virginia Tech, Illinois State and Cal.

DENVER IN SEASON OPENERS

• Denver is 11-15 in season openers since the program turned DI in the 1998-99 season.
• The Pioneers are 0-9 in Division I season openers that are true away games.
• Including all the eras of the Denver men's basketball program, the Pioneers are 18-35 in true road season openers, including 11-28 in the NCAA eras.
• Last Season: at UC San Diego 95, Denver 87
• Last Win (11/7/22): at Denver 68, Idaho 63
• Last Season-Opening Win on the Road (11/22/87) Denver 83, at New Mexico Highlands 76 (DU was in the NAIA)
• Season Openers on the Road Streak: L11

IMPROVING BRICK BY BRICK

• Denver is one of 25 programs to improve its win total each of the last three seasons since Jeff Wulbrun arrived on the DU campus.
• Of those 25 programs, Denver is one of nine to improve its win total by at least 15 games over the four-year span.
• Denver's 17 wins last year was the program's most since the 2012-13 season.
• The Pioneers finished with their first .500 season or better (17-17) since the 2017-18 campaign.
• Denver has had three-straight double-digit wins seasons for the first time since 2015-16 through 2017-18.

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. 

CRAIG NAMED TO PRESEASON SECOND TEAM

• Sophomore guard DeAndre Craig was named to the Preseason All-Summit League Second Team ahead of Media Day on October 8.
• Craig and South Dakota State sophomore guard Kalen Garry are the only two underclassmen across the two All-Summit League teams this preseason.
• Craig played in all 34 games in his freshman campaign, averaging 6.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game, while adding 85 assists against just 40 turnovers to go with 35 steals.
• In Denver's three Summit League Tournament games last year, Craig finished with 13 points in the quarterfinal win, 15 and 5 assists in the semifinal victory and 12 and 7 helpers in the championship game against South Dakota State.
• Craig, along with teammate Isaiah Carr, represented the program at the 2024 Summit League Basketball Media Day in Sioux Falls.

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.

TYMO'S SUMMER

• This past summer, Tymo Sternicki led Poland at the EuroBasket U-18 Tournament to the knockout rounds of Division B in North Macedonia.
• In pool play, Sternicki led Poland with 16.2 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounds per game (7.2), assists (4.8) and steals (2.8).
• Sternicki comes to Denver having played for the U15, U17 and U18 teams in Poland. 

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