DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program opens its postseason on Friday night when the Pioneers take on third-seeded North Dakota in the Summit League Quarterfinal from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Opening tip on Friday night is set for 8:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network.  
 
SERIES HISTORY:
North Dakota holds an 11-6 edge in the modern era DI series, and a 12-7 edge overall. The two teams split the season series, both winning on each other's home floors. North Dakota defeated Denver 93-86 in Hamilton on January 24 before the Pioneers answered back with a 98-79 win in Grand Forks on February 7. FULL HISTORY
 
DENVER IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT:
Denver is 5-10 all-time in the Summit League Tournament, including 4-5 in the quarterfinal round. Denver last won a tournament game in 2024, getting all the way to the final with wins over Kansas City (61-60) and Omaha (66-63). Last season, the Pioneers fell to No. 2 seed St. Thomas 80-62. In Denver's modern DI era, the Pioneers are 14-23 in conference tournament games, including 9-7 in the quarterfinals. North Dakota defeated Denver 83-68 in the 2023 First Round, the only previous postseason meeting between the two teams.
 
20+ POINT SCORING NIGHTS
Sophomore Carson Johnson leads the Pioneers with 18 games with 20+ points this season, including 10 of the last 12. Johnson is tied for ninth in the country in most 20+ point games this season (stathead).
Seven different Pioneers have scored 20+ in a game this season.
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).
The Pioneers achieved that feat again in a 98-79 win over North Dakota on February 7, 2026 when Johnson (22), Burke (20) and Logan Kinsey (20) all finished with 20+ apiece.
The Feb. 7 occurrence was the first time Denver had three players score 20+ on the road since Marcus Byrd, Nate Engesser and Thomas Neff scored 20+ at Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 13, 2016.
Denver has had three players finish with 20+ in a game five times in its Division I history.
As a team, Denver has 40, 20+ performances this year, ranking second in the country behind only BYU (45).
 
DENVER IN LEAGUE PLAY
Denver finished the regular season 8-8 in league play.
Denver last finished .500 or better in the league in 2017-18 (8-6).
The Pioneers' finish is their first top-4 finish since 2017-18.
 
HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME
Denver has won five of its last seven to improve to 15-16 on the year and 8-8 in Summit League play.
Prior to the regular season finale, Denver won five of six, a run capped off by Denver's Senior Night win over St. Thomas.
The last time Denver won 5-of-6 is when the Pioneers won 8-of-9 to start the 2022-23 campaign.
The last time Denver won 5-of-6 in conference play was in February, 2014, Denver's first season in the Summit League.
 
HOT-SHOOTING PIOS
Denver is currently ranked 41st in the country and second in the Summit League in effective field-goal percentage, entering the game at 55.5%.
The Pioneers are also 18th in the country and first in the league in free-throw percentage (77.8) and 17th in the country and first in the Summit League in three-point percentage (38.3).
Denver is first in the league and is 37th in the country in scoring offense at 83.3 points per game.
Denver's scoring average is its highest in its modern DI era and its most at the top level of college hoops since 1975-76 (88.9).
 
DI MODERN ERA RECORD BOOK WATCH
Sophomore guard Carson Johnson has scored 625 points this season, moving him to second in Denver's DI single season record book, behind only Tommy Bruner's 2023-24 campaign (816).
Carson Johnson became the 12th Pioneer in the program's DI era to make 70 three-pointers in a season. He currently has 85 triples, sitting third in DU's DI history.
Carson Johnson has made 126 free-throws this season, ranking seventh in Denver's single-season record book, one behind Nicholas Shogbonyo (2024-25) for sixth.
Logan Kinsey is shooting 55.7% from the field this season, ranking sixth in Denver's single-season record book.
In Denver's entire DI history, Johnson is 6th on Denver's scoring chart, one point behind Harry Hollines for fifth (626).
 
JOHNSON REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS IN 51 GAMES
In Denver's game at Omaha on February 15, Carson Johnson reached 1,000 career points in just 51 games combined between his time at Minnesota State Moorhead (23 games) and Denver (28 games).
Had all 51 games been played at Denver, Johnson would hold Denver's DI record for the fastest to 1,000 DU career points, reaching the milestone one game faster than Tommy Bruner reached 1,000 Denver points (52 - 2022-24).
Prior to Bruner, B.J. Pratt held Denver's record at 67 games.
Johnson is on pace to reach 1,000 career Denver points in 50 games, two games faster than Bruner's output.
 
OLDHAM FOURTH IN THE COUNTRY IN EFFECTIVE FG%
Gabe Oldham entered the weekend as the fourth-ranked player in the country in effective FG% at 70.4% (Ken Pom), 3.4 points behind Miami's (Fla) Ernest Udeh.
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 35.7 minutes per game this season, ranking 18th in the country in percentage of minutes played (90.5 - KenPom).
Johnson is leading the Summit League in points per game in conference match-ups at 22.5 per tilt and in minutes played at 37.1 per game.
 
#PROPIOS
Denver has 11 former student-athletes currently playing professionally in the United States and abroad.
Ade Murkey - BC Vienna (Austria)
Isaiah Addo-Ankrah - Iverioni (Georgia)
Jaxon Brenchley - Cheshire Phoenix (England)
Marko Lukic - Union SF (Argentina)
Pedro Lopez-San Vicente - Huesca (Spain)
Ronnie Harrell Jr - Aris (Greece)
Royce O'Neale - Phoenix Suns (NBA)
Tevin Smith - Lucenec (Slovakia)
Touko Tainamo - USK Praha (Czech Republic)
Tymoteusz Sternicki - Slask Wroclaw (Poland)
Tyree Corbett - Al Arabi Club Doha (Qatar)
 
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