DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program will open its 2025-26 home slate on Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers welcome UTSA to Hamilton Gymnasium. Opening tip is set for 12 p.m. MT, and will be streamed live on the Summit League Network.

SERIES HISTORY:
Denver holds a 2-1 advantage in the series, including a 1-0 mark in the Mile High City. The two programs met twice as members of the Western Athletic Conference in 2013, with the Pioneers sweeping the Road Runners by counts of 75-50 and 71-57. The two teams also met in November, 2021, a game UTSA took 78-64. FULL HISTORY

LAST TIME OUT:
Summit League Men's Basketball Peak Performer of the Week Jeremiah Burke led the Pioneers with 23 points and sophomore Carson Johnson hit a game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds to go to send Denver to its first win under head coach Tim Bergstraser by a score of 75-73. FULL RECAP

JOHNSON CLUTCH DOWN STRETCH IN WIN AT MONTANA STATE

• Carson Johnson hit the game-winning shot with 1.8 seconds to go in Denver's 75-73 win over Montana State on November 9, the Pioneers first win under head coach Tim Bergstraser. 
• In the second half of the win, Johnson shot 6-10 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the arc for 15 points.
• Prior to the winner, Johnson hit a step-back triple to take a 73-71 lead with 1:33 to go.
• In his first three games at the DI level, Johnson scored 9, 11 and 15 points in the three second halves.
• Denver's 13-point comeback was its biggest since coming from 20 down to beat North Dakota St. 77-71 on Feb. 17, 2024. It was also the biggest comeback in a road game since Feb. 3, 2022 at North Dakota.

BURKE'S FIRST HALVES GETTING DENVER OFF TO GOOD STARTS

• Graduate student Jeremiah Burke has been on fire in the opening 20 minutes of Denver's season so far, averaging 13.3 points 2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the first half of games.
• In the first half of each of the three games combined, Burke has shot 14-21 from the field (66.7%), 5-8 from deep (62.5%) and 7-9 from the line (77.8%).
• In Denver's two-point win at Montana State on November 9, Bruke scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
• Burke had 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in the first half of the season opener at Seattle on November 3.
• For his performance in the opening week, Burke was named Summit League Peak Performer of the Week on November 11, becoming the seventh different Pioneer to earn the honor since the Pioneers joined the league in 2013, and the first Pio not named Tommy Bruner since Jase Townsend on January 18, 2021.

KINSEY HAS BIG DAY IN POWER-4 DEBUT

• Senior Logan Kinsey had 23 points on 8-12 shooting, including 3-5 from beyond the arc in Denver's tight loss to Washington on November 6.
• Kinsey's 23 points were the most by a Pioneer against a P4 opponent since Joe Rosga scored 24 points at Texas A&M on December 7, 2016.

BURKE PLAYS 40 MINUTES IN DU DEBUT, LEADS PIOS WITH 21

• Graduate student Jeremiah Burke played all 40 minutes in Denver's regulation loss at Seattle on November 3 (73-84).
• Burke is the first DU player to play 40 minutes in a regulation game since Jase Townsend in the 2020 Summit League Tournament against North Dakota State (3/7/20).
• Burke scored Denver's first eight points of the season and led the Pioneers with 21 in the opener, the first 20-point game of his career.
• Teammate Logan Kinsey played 40 minutes six days later in the Pioneers win over Montana State on November 9.

KINSEY REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS IN DENVER DEBUT

• Senior Logan Kinsey reached the 1,000 point club in the 98th game of his collegiate career on November 4, scoring 15 points in Denver's season-opening loss at Seattle.
• Kinsey scored 498 points (14.6) in his junior season at Minnesota State Moorhead a year ago.
• Kinsey now has 1,040 points in 100 career games.

DEFENDING THE HOME FLOOR

• Since turning Division I in 1998-99, the Pioneers are 50-38 in Hamilton Gymnasium.
• Denver has played in Hamilton full-time since the 2020-21 campaign.
• 2023-24 marked the first double-digit win season in Hamilton (10-4).
• Denver finished 8-6 at home in 2024-25 season.

THE TIM BERGSTRASER ERA

• Tim Bergstraser was named the 34th head coach in the men's basketball program's history on April 14.
• At age 34 (as of Oct. 1), Bergstraser is the eighth youngest Division I men's basketball head coach in the country in 2025-26.
• Bergstraser retained three players from last year's Denver roster, kept one DU commit and signed 11 transfers late in the transfer portal.
• Bergstraser came to Denver after three seasons at Minnesota State Moorhead, where he went 75-22, leading the Dragons to three-consecutive 25-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
• MSUM won two NSIC Tournament titles in his three seasons, and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in his final season with the Dragons in 2024-25, the program's first regional final appearance since 2014-15.
• In 2023-24 MSUM opened the campaign 14-0 to earn the program's first No. 1 ranking in program history.
• Bergstraser's teams in his three years at MSUM all finished with a 3.4 GPA or better, and earned the conference's Elite 18 Award winner for the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the NSIC Championship.
• Prior to taking over as the head coach, Bergstraser was an assistant for four seasons at MSUM, an assistant at Quincy for a year, a grad assistant for two at MSUM, an assistant at Wisconsin-River Falls and a student-assistant at St. Cloud State after his third ACL injury cut his playing career short.

DENVER'S ASSISTANTS

• Associate head coach Spenser Bland comes to the Mile High City from being in the same position on the MSUM staff under Bergstraser.
• Bergstraser said in his 2025-26 season preview radio show that he would not have taken the Denver job if Bland didn't agree to come with him.
• Bland serves as the program's offensive coordinator.
• In the middle of seven seasons at Minnesota State Moorhead, of which he spent the final two as the associate head coach, Bland coached one season at the University of Sioux Falls (2021-22).
• A former assistant in the Summit League, Kyle Heikkinen joined Tim Bergstraser's staff after five seasons at Western Illinois, of which he spent the final two as the associate head coach.
• Heikkinen also had assistant jobs at Highland CC and Wisconsin-Whitewater, combining for a 237-124 record in his previous 12 seasons as an assistant.
• Abe Woldeslassie joined Bergstraser's staff after spending the last seven seasons as the head coach at Macalester (NCAA DIII).
• Prior to his time in Minnesota, Woldeslassie had positions on DI staffs at Siena, Davidson and Dartmouth.
• Scott Gauthier was named the program's Director of Operations, coming to Denver after a year as an assistant at IU Indy.
• Gauthier's previous coaching stops also included a year at Lindenwood and seven seasons at the University of Missouri -St. Louis.
• Nihilo Ibarra was the last addition to the staff, joining Denver after serving as the head manager for San Diego State's 2022-23 squad that made the national title game, and two seasons as a graduate assistant at Nebraska.

UP NEXT:
Denver begins a three-game road swing on Friday night when the Pioneers make the trip up I-25 North to Fort Collins to take on Colorado State. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. MT on the Mountain West Network.

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