DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program wraps-up its North Dakota road trip on Saturday afternoon with a trip to UND. Opening tip from the Betty Englestad Sioux Center is set for 1 p.m. CT/12 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on the Summit League Network.   
 
SERIES HISTORY:
Denver is 5-11 against North Dakota in its history, including 2-4 in Grand Forks. The Fighting Hawks used a late run in the second half to pull away from the Pioneers down the stretch 93-86 on January 24 in Hamilton Gymnasium. The road team has won the last four games in the series.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Denver earned its third win in Fargo in 15 tries behind big performances from its starting backcourt in a 78-71 victory over North Dakota State on Thursday night. Sophomore Carson Johnson led the Pioneers with 20 points and Zane Nelson chipped in 19 in the Pioneers win. Denver has four Quad 1-3 wins this season. Nelson became the 11th player in the country to carry a stat line of at least 19-8-5-3 in a road win this season.
 
20+ POINT SCORING NIGHTS
Sophomore Carson Johnson leads the Pioneers with 13 games with 20+ points this season, including five of the last six. Johnson is tied for 11th 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 130th 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 week as the top ranked player in the country in effective FG% at 74.4% (Ken Pom), 0.3 points higher than the next closest player (Aidan Kehoe - Navy).
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).
 
CARSON JOHNSON - MR. RELIABLE
Sophomore guard Carson Johnson is averaging 35.4 minutes per game this season, ranking 17th in the country in percentage of minutes played (90.0 - KenPom).
Johnson is leading the Summit League in points per game in conference match-ups at 21.9 per tilt.
 
SPREADING THE SCORING
In Denver's January 31 date with Omaha, Denver had four different players finish with 18+ points. Zane Nelson and Carson Johnson scored 19, while Jeremiah Burke and Logan Kinsey added 18.
The game marked the second time in Denver's DI history that Denver has had four players finish with 18+ points, matching Denver's four 18+ scorers on November 29, 2017 against Wyoming.
In the 2017 date, Daniel Amigo led the Pioneers to a win over their northern neighbors with 22. Jake Holtzmann had 20 off the bench, Jake Pemberton had 19 and Joe Rosga scored 18.
4 players with 18+ points in a game ties for the most in the country this season, a stat reached nine times this season.
 
NELSON IN TOP-25 IN KEN-POM OFFENSIVE RATING
Graduate student guard Zane Nelson currently ranks 17th in the country in KenPom Offensive Rating this season with a 117.7.
Nelson is third on the team with 14.3 points per game, doing so in 24.6 minutes per game.
Nelson is shooting 47.6% from beyond the arc (49-103).
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 51st in the country and second in the Summit League in effective field-goal percentage, entering the game at 55.3%.
The Pioneers are also 25th in the country and first in the league in free-throw percentage (77.2) and 22nd in the country and first in the Summit League in three-point percentage (38.0).
Denver leads the league and is 55th in the country in scoring offense at 83.1 points per game.
 
UP NEXT:
Denver returns to Hamilton Gymnasium on Thursday night when the Pioneers welcome South Dakota State to the Mile High City for DU's Crimson Out game. Tip on Altitude 2, 104.3 The Fan HD3 and the Summit League Network is set for 7 p.m. MT.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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