DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program will wrap-up its 2025-26 Big Sky/Summit League Challenge on Saturday evening when the Pioneers travel to Idaho State. Opening tip is set for 4 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.    

SERIES HISTORY:
Denver has a 4-0 lead in the modern Division I era (1998-present), including a 95-82 overtime win in the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge inside Hamilton Gymnasium in January, 2024. The previous three meetings all came in November of 2014 (54-38), 2015 (79-69) and 2022 (70-69). Denver has a 6-5 lead in the overall series that began in 1956-57. DI History

LAST TIME OUT:
Denver had five players finish in double figures in the Pioneers 93-89 win over Eastern Washington in Hamilton Gymnasium on Wednesday. Jeremiah Burke led Denver with 23 points, and Zane Nelson provided another spark off the bench with 17. Full Recap 

DENVER'S NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

• According to KenPom ratings, Denver played the 13th most difficult non-conference schedule in the country in the month of November.
• Denver's strength of schedule is now 27th in the country (thru games played 12/3).  

DENVER IN THE BIG SKY-SUMMIT LEAGUE CHALLENGE

• Denver is 4-1 in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge, including 1-1 in true road games.
• January 3, 2024: @Denver 95, Idaho State 82 (OT)
• January 6, 2024: @Northern Colorado 86, Denver 82
• December 4, 2024: @Denver 80, Sacramento State 59
• December 7, 2024: Denver 68, @Portland State 67
• December 3, 2025: @Denver 93, Eastern Washington 89
• December 6, 2025: Denver, @Idaho State - 4 p.m. MT

OFFENSE CARRIES PIOS TO CHALLENGE WIN OVER E. WASHINGTON

• Jeremiah Burke led five Pios in double figures with his 23-point night in a 93-89 win over Eastern Washington in Hamilton Gymnasium on December 3.
• Julius Rollins gave Denver the lead at the half with his 13 points in the opening 20 minutes on 2-2 from the field and 7-8 from the line.
• Zane Nelson had another 17 points off the bench including 12 in the second half.
• Denver's 93 points tied for the 11th most in Denver's Division I history against a DI opponent.
• The 93 points were Denver's most in a regulation win against a DI opponent since February 10, 2024 against St. Thomas (94-77).
• Denver shot 28-for-33 from the free-throw line, its most free-throws made since knocking down 29 against Montana State in a 79-78 win in November, 2024.

DENVER CRACKS NET TOP-200

• Following Denver's win over Eastern Washington on December 3, Denver cracked the top-200 in the NET, sitting at 199.
• The last time Denver finished a season in the top-200 was in 2013-14 when the Pioneers finished 136th (then RPI) in their first season in the Summit League.
• Denver's best ever finish in the NET/RPI came in the 2012-13 campaign, when Denver finished 69th after winning the Western Athletic Conference Regular season title and advancing to the second round of the NIT.
• The Pioneers have finished in the top-200 nine times since rejoining the Division I ranks in 1998-99, including the top-100 three times (2012-13, 2011-12, 2004-05).
• DU ranks fourth in the NET among Summit League teams this year, behind NDSU (142), SDSU (148) and St. Thomas (152).

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER ACCEPTS WCC INVITE FOR 2026-27

• On October 31, the University of Denver announced it has accepted an invitation to join the West Coast Conference in nine sports, beginning in the 2026-27 season.
• "My immediate response was excited. I understand how big it is for the university and overall for athletics. I understand that it's a power conference for sure, and I think it's just the absolute perfect fit for our program and university." Head Coach Tim Bergstraser
• Denver will join the West Coast Conference in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.
• The move provides Denver with a significant enhancement to the overall reputation of the university and brand association, allying DU with highly regarded, mostly private institutions with stronger academic ranking and profiles that will further strengthen the university's position in the western United States.

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 will begin a season-long four-game homestand on Tuesday, December 9, when the Pioneers welcome Colorado Christian to Hamilton Gymnasium. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on the Summit League Network and 104.3 The Fan HD3.  

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