DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program will begin its final week of the regular season on Thursday when the Pioneers make the trip to Kansas City. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Plus and 104.3 The Fan HD3.
LAST TIME OUT:
Freshman Sebastian Akins broke Denver's Division I freshman scoring record, leading the Pioneers with 15 en-route to their 10th win of the season, a 71-60 victory over Oral Roberts last Wednesday night inside Hamilton Gymnasium. FULL RECAP
SERIES HISTORY:
Kansas City leads the all-time series 9-6, including 7-6 since Denver joined Division I in the 1998-99 campaign. Denver is just 1-5 in Kansas City, with that victory coming in the 2021-22 season. DU, who has won each of the last two meetings in the series by a single point, intentionally missed a free-throw in the final seconds of regulation, grabbed his own rebound and converted a three-point play off the put-back in Denver's 69-68 win in Hamilton Gymnasium on January 30. FULL HISTORY
LAST BEATS FIRST
- Preseason No. 9 in the Summit League Preseason Poll Denver beat preseason favorites Kansas City 69-68 in Hamilton Gymnasium on January 30.
- Denver has defeated the preseason favorite two seasons in a row after beating SDSU 99-80 last January at home.
- Last season's win over the Jacks marked the first time in the Summit League regular season that last beat first since Western Illinois defeated preseason favorites Fort Wayne 93-91 on Dec. 29, 2016.
- The 2024 win was also Denver's first win vs. the Summit League preseason favorite since the Pios defeated Fort Wayne 76-73 in overtime on February 4, 2017.
AKINS DEBUT SEASON
- 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 an opener.
- Akins is the 3rd to do it against a DI opponent and the 2nd to do it against a Power5/4 opponent.
- Akins enters the game with 372 points, the most by a Pioneer in their true freshman season in DU's DI history.
- Akins is 17th in the country this season in freshman scoring.
- Akins has 15+ points in 11 games this season, including four 20+ point games and a 19-point game vs. St. Thomas (2/8).
- Akins had the game-winning assist to Abdulai Fanta Kabba in Denver's 70-68 win at ORU on January 23.
TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL
- The Pioneers finished 35th in the country in turnovers per game, averaging just 10.0 turnovers per contest.
- Denver's 1 total turnover on November 17, 2023 against South Alabama was the lowest in DU's DI history.
- The Pioneers finished with single-digit turnovers in 17 games last season, including committing just seven in the 2024 Summit League Final.
- In a 50 minute game on December 1 at Portland, Denver turned it over just six times, its first single digit turnover game this season.
ADDO-ANKRAH DIALING LONG DISTANCE
- Three-point sharp-shooter Isaiah Addo-Ankrah leads the Pioneers with 51 made triples on 124 attempts, good for 41.1% from beyond the arc.
HONORING MR. DANIEL L. RITCHIE
- Denver men's basketball players will wear special 'DR' patches on their jerseys for the remainder of the 2024-25 season to honor Chancellor Emeritus Daniel L. Ritchie, who passed away on Thursday, Jan. 30 at the age of 93.
- Ritchie was an immense supporter of DU Athletics during his time as the school's "Cowboy Chancellor" beginning in 1989, and his support for all 18 D-I programs continued after he left the position in 2005. Among his accomplishments as Chancellor was leading the University to new success academically and moving the school to full Division-I status in 1998-99—the same year the Daniel L. Ritchie Center of Sports and Wellness opened on campus where Denver plays its home games inside Hamilton Gymnasium.
- The University hosted a memorial for Mr. Ritchie on February 13 in Magness Arena to celebrate his remarkable life and legacy. Learn more about Daniel L. Ritchie at DenverPioneers.com and DU.edu.
UP NEXT:
Denver will honor its three-member senior class before tipoff on Saturday when the Pioneers host South Dakota State for Senior Day. Tip is set for 1 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on the Summit League Network and 104.3 the Fan HD3.
TICKETS:
Get tickets for the 2024-25 season by clicking here.
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