Denver Pioneers
Sun Belt Conference (22-9, 11-5)
Denver was in the shadows all year. Middle Tennessee dominated the Sun Belt in the regular season, posting a 14-2 conference record yet they failed to even reach the conference tournament semifinals. The team that finished first in Denver’s division, the west, was Arkansas-Little Rock. The Trojans managed to defeat Denver twice on their way to a 12-4 conference record. Their overall record, however, was a putrid 15-16, meaning Arkansas-Little Rock went 3-12 in non-conference games. They only managed two wins all year long against a team in the RPI top 150. Those two wins both were against the same opponent, the Denver Pioneers. So here sits Denver. They couldn’t win their own division; they were overshadowed in the regular season by the east’s division winner; they also just might be the best team in the Sun Belt conference.
Big Wins: 11/17 Southern Miss (59-52), 11/23 Saint Mary’s (70-58), 2/4 Middle Tennessee (75-60)
Bad Losses: 12/31 Arkansas-Little Rock (59-66), 2/9 at Florida Atlantic (71-72), 3/5 vs Western Kentucky (63-67)
Coach: Joe Scott (5 seasons at Denver)
Why They Can Surprise:
Denver has a lot of strengths. They are one of the very best shooting teams in the country both from the floor and from the line. They rank 10th nationally in field goal percentage at nearly 49%. The Pioneers are also in the top 10 in the country in free throw percentage. Denver’s top four scorers all shoot at least 48.8%: a simply remarkable statistic considering the volume of shots taken. Three of the four also shoot above 80% from the foul line. True shooting percentage is a metric that takes into account all three types of shots: field goals, threes and free throws. Denver’s true shooting percentage for the regular season was 60.8%: tied for second in the country with Missouri and trailing only the Creighton Bluejays. In addition to the shooting, the Pioneers are also a great passing team, having led the conference in assists per game and assist to turnover ratio. To top it all off, Denver has perhaps the best shot-blocker under 6’7” in the nation in Chris Udofia. The sophomore forward, at just 6 feet 6 inches, blocked 2.3 shots per contest this season.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Although many of the Pioneers’ season stats are good, they were not all good. Denver was one of the worst rebounding teams in the entire country. Whether offensive rebounds or defensive rebounds, Denver routinely got crushed on the glass. With Head Coach Joe Scott often playing a pretty small lineup, this is perhaps to be expected. And if Denver makes half of all their field goal attempts, rebounding is less of a concern, but it is still a red flag come tournament time when they will be facing longer and faster defenses that will be able to alter more of their shots. After all, the Sun Belt was a pretty weak conference this year, as evidenced by Denver’s strength of schedule. The Pioneers accumulated a 10-1 record against teams outside of the RPI top 200.
Probable Starters:
Brian Stafford, Senior, Guard, 14.5 ppg, 2.1 apg
Brett Olson, Freshman, Guard, 7.6 ppg, 2.0 apg
Chase Hallam, Junior, Forward, 7.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Rob Lewis, Senior, Forward, 7.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Chris Udofia, Sophomore, Forward, 14.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.3 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Travis Hallam, Senior, Guard, 2.2 ppg, 1.7 apg
Royce O’Neale, Freshman, Forward, 9.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.3 (173rd in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 60.3 (25, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.9 (10, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.4 (184, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.3 (20, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.8 (12, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 76.3 (10, 1)
Rebound Margin: -4.1 (302, 11)
Assists Per Game: 15.8 (19, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.1 (52, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
Denver 2005 NIT First Round loss to San Francisco
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
