DENVER  – The University of Denver men's basketball program will play the middle game of a three-game homestand on Thursday when the Pioneers welcome North Dakota to Hamilton Gymnasium. Tip on Altitude 2, the Summit League Network and 104.3 The Fan HD3 is set for 7 p.m. MT.

CALLING ALL STUDENTS:
University of Denver students in attendance Thursday night could be selected for a chance to win a Toyota 4Runner, courtesy of Your Front Range Toyota Stores. 

SUMMIT LEAGUE NETWORK:
New this year, fans can subscribe to the Summit League Network, the exclusive streaming home of all Denver men's and women's basketball home games and conference away games. For more information on the Summit League Network, click here. 

SERIES HISTORY:
North Dakota holds an 8-4 lead in Denver's DI history and a 9-6 lead in the series history overall, which started in 1991-92. The Pioneers and Fightin Hawks have split the six previous DI meetings in the Mile High City. Prior to North Dakota's current three-game winning streak dating back to the second match-up of last season, the Pioneers had won four-straight, including three at home.   

LAST TIME OUT:
Jaxon Brenchley had a career-high 25 points to go with nine rebounds and nine assists, nearly recording the first triple-double in the program's history in Denver's 94-77 win over St. Thomas in Hamilton Gymnasium on Saturday.

BRUNER LEADS DENVER IN NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS

• Tommy Bruner ranks first in the country in points per game (25.2), fifth in free-throws made (177), first in field goals made (208), 44th in assists (122) and 67th in three-point field goals made (63).
• Touko Tainamo ranks 38th in rebounds (219), 62nd in free-throw attempts (139), 65th in free-throws made (105) and 71st in field goals made (151). Tainamo is also tied for 60th nationally in double-doubles with seven.
• Isaiah Carr ranks 30th in the country in blocked shots (49).
• Denver entered the weekend 12th in the country in free-throw attempts per game (24.8) and 8th in free-throw makes per game (18.6) and 47th in three-point field goal percentage (36.7).
• As a team, the Pioneers are 8th in scoring offense (84.9) and 40th in turnovers per game (10.2).

DENVER'S OFFENSIVE PACE

• Denver's 84.9 points per game this season is the top scoring average in a season in the program's Division I history, and trails only the 1968-69 (89.8), 1990-91 (89.1) and 1975-76 (86.7) in DU's entire history.
• The Pioneers scored 80+ points in seven-straight games from Dec. 18-Jan. 13, the first 7+ games stretch over 80 points in the program's Division I history, and its first overall since the 1992-93 season (9-straight).
• Denver has scored 80+ points in 16 different contests this season, up from eight last season and seven the year before.
• 2023-24 is the first season with 16+ since the Pioneers had 16 80+ point games in the 1996-97 season.
• Denver has finished with 90+ points 10 times this season, tied for the fourth most games in the country in 2023-24 (as of 2/11).

TOMMY REACHES 1000 POINTS

• On January 20, 2024, Tommy Bruner became the 43rd Pioneer overall, and just the 16th in the Pioneers modern Division I era (since 1998-99) to score 1000 career points.
• Bruner reached 1000 points in just 52 career games in a Denver uniform, 15 games faster than B.J. Prat, who previously held the record.
• On February 8, 2024, Bruner crossed 2,000 career points in his five-year college career, the 16th active player in the country to reach that milestone.

TAINAMO PUNCHES TICKET TO 1000 POINT CLUB

• On February 10, Tainamo's first basket got Touko into the 1000 point club.
• Tainamo is the 44th Pioneer overall, and the 17th in the modern DU Division I era to reach 1000 career points (since 1998-99).
• Tainamo got to 1000 career points in 90 games, the 10th fastest Pioneer to the milestone in the program's modern DI era (chart on page 6).

DU'S DI RECORD BOOK WATCH

• CAREER RECORDS: POINTS: Bruner 12th (1164), 52 behind Chase Hallam for 11th. Tainamo 17th (1009), 28 behind Antonio Porch for 16th. FREE THROWS: Bruner is 3rd with 323, 11 behind Chris Udofia and 56 behind Nate Rohnert. REBOUNDS: Tainamo is 5th (587), 16 behind Chris Udofia for 4th.
• SINGLE SEASON: POINTS: Tommy Bruner passed Yemi Nicholson (2005-06) for the modern DI record in a season on Feb. 8 at South Dakota. Bruner is 3 points off the overall school record held by Matt Teahan (1978-79). FIELD GOALS: Bruner is 3rd, 27 behind Nicholson's 2004-05 season for 2nd and 30 behind Nicholson's 05-06 season for the record. FREE THROWS: Bruner broke Nate Rohnert's record on Feb. 1 and currently sits at 177 (Rohnert - 09-10, 157) REBOUNDS: Tainamo has 219 boards for 5th-most, 25 behind Steve Simmons (2000-01) for 4th. ASSISTS: Bruner has 122 dimes for 8th, 1 behind Rohnert for 7th and 9 behind Jake Pemberton for 6th. BLOCKS: Isaiah Carr is one block away from becoming the seventh Pioneer to record 50 blocks in a season.

UP NEXT:
Denver will close out its three-game homestand on Saturday when the Pioneers look for a season sweep of North Dakota State. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m. MT on Altitude, the Summit League Network and 104.3 The Fan HD3.  

Denver Tickets:  
Single game tickets are on sale now. Secure your seat today by clicking here.                 

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