DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program closes out the first half of the Summit League's double round robin on Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers welcome defending league champions Omaha to Hamilton Gymnasium. Opening tip on the Summit League Network and 104.3 The Fan HD3 is set for 2 p.m. MT.
 
SERIES HISTORY:
Omaha holds a 15-12 advantage in the series, and the Pioneers are an even 7-7 against Omaha in the Mile High City. Omaha swept last season's series to snap a stretch of three wins in four for the Pioneers. FULL HISTORY
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Denver won a defensive battle at Kansas City by a count of 69-61 to wrap-up the program's first regular season sweep of Kansas City in its history. Junior Gabe Oldham pulled down 19 boards to lead the Pioneers to 51 caroms off the glass. Oldham's total tied for third in program history, while the team total tied for the fourth-most in a game for DU in the modern DI era. FULL RECAP
 
SOMETHING IS BREWING IN HAMILTON
Since turning Division I in 1998-99, the Pioneers are 56-41 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.
1,456 came to Denver's home opener against UTSA on November 15, the largest Denver crowd since the 2021-22 home opener (1,607).
Denver's game against NDSU in Hamilton was played in-front of 1839, the second-biggest basketball crowd in the history of Hamilton Gymnasium, and the biggest since the facility's only basketball sellout on January 27, 2007 vs. Western Kentucky (2665).
 
DEFENSIVE BATTLE LEADS TO DENVER'S FIRST SWEEP OF KANSAS CITY
Denver earned just its second win in Kansas City on January 28, completing the program's first regular season sweep of the Roos by a count of 69-61 in Missouri.
The win was Denver's first game of the season holding a DI opponent to less than 70 points.
DU's sweep also capped just Denver's second win of the season when scoring less than 80.
 
OLDHAM PULLS DOWN 19 BOARDS IN WIN AT KANSAS CITY
Junior Gabe Oldham pulled down eight offensive rebounds and 19 total rebounds in Denver's 69-61 win over Kansas City on Jan. 29.
The total tied for the third-most in Denver's DI history, and tied for the 20th most in a game in the country this season.
Oldham's 19 boards were one behind Yemi Nicholson's 20 rebounds against Troy on January 28, 2006 and Touko Tainamo's 20 against Oral Roberts on December 31, 2023.
Oldham led Denver to a 51-rebound night, tying for the fourth-most team rebounds in a game in the program's modern DI era.
The Pioneers pulled down 20 offensive rebounds for the first time since the 2023-24 season opener at UC San Diego.
 
CARSON JOHNSON - MR. RELIABLE
Sophomore guard Carson Johnson is averaging 35.1 minutes per game this season, ranking 19th in the country in percentage of minutes played (KenPom).
Johnson is leading the Summit League in points per game in conference match-ups at 22.5 per tilt.
 
20+ POINT SCORING NIGHTS
Sophomore Carson Johnson leads the Pioneers with 12 games with 20+ points this season, including in each of the last four games. Johnson is tied for 13th in the country in most 20+ point games this season (stathead).
Graduate student Jeremiah Burke has 8 20+ point games this season, tying him for 86th in the country in the category (statehead).
Denver had three players finish with 20+ in its win over Oral Roberts on January 14. Carson Johnson scored 33 and Zane Nelson and Jeremiah Burke had 20 apiece.
That win marked the first game Denver had three players finish with 20+ in regulation since December 20, 2021 against Western Illinois (KJ Hunt - 22, Touko Tainamo - 21, Jordan Johnson - 21).
 
OLDHAM LEADS THE COUNTRY IN EFFECTIVE FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE
Gabe Oldham entered the weekend as the top ranked player in the country in effective FG% at 75.7% (Ken Pom), three points higher than the next closest player (Darius Duffy - Purdue Fort Wayne).
Oldham shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field on January 10 vs. South Dakota, making him the 11th player in the country this year to produce a 20-point double-double (pts/rbs) and shoot perfect from the field (Stathead).
 
NELSON IN TOP-25 IN KEN-POM OFFENSIVE RATING
Graduate student guard Zane Nelson currently ranks 22nd in the country in KenPom Offensive Rating this season with a 116.5.
Nelson is third on the team with 13.8 points per game, doing so in 23.5 minutes per game.
Nelson is shooting 47.8% from beyond the arc (43-90).
In Denver's two road in-state wins, Nelson had 22 on 6-of-10 shooting at Colorado State and 32 on 11-for-15 from the field at Northern Colorado.
 
HOT-SHOOTING PIOS
Denver is currently ranked 54th in the country and second in the Summit League in effective field-goal percentage, entering the game at 55.3%.
The Pioneers are also 29th in the country and first in the league in free-throw percentage (77.0) and 18th in the country and first in the Summit League in three-point percentage (38.3).
Denver leads the league and is 54th in the country in scoring offense at 83.4 points per game.
 
3 FOR 30
Denver has had three different players score at least 30+ in a game this year, one of six teams in the country that holds true for as of January 28, joining Texas Tech, UCLA, Illinois, Charleston Southern and Northern Kentucky (Stathead).
Shaun Wysocki was the first to 30+ this year, scoring 32 in Denver's win over Alaska Anchorage on December 11.
Zane Nelson matched Wysocki's 32 in Denver's in-state road win at Northern Colorado on December 20.
Carson Johnson was the third to 30+ in the Pioneers Summit League win over Oral Roberts on January 14.
 
UP NEXT:
Denver will return to the road next weekend for its final North Dakota road swing. The Pioneers travel to NDSU on Thursday for a 6 p.m. MT tip before heading to North Dakota on Saturday for a 12 p.m. MT tip. Both games will be broadcast on the Summit League Network.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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