Denver Opens Final Weekend of Regular Season at Home vs. Kansas City - University of Denver Athletics (2024)

Men's Basketball 2/27/2024 9:00:00 AM Niko Blankenship

The Pioneers will honor seniors Tommy Bruner, Jaxon Brenchley, Drake Muller and Carlos Fuentes following the game on Thursday

DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball team will open the final weekend of the regular season on Thursday when the Pioneers welcome Kansas City to Hamilton Gymnasium for Senior Night. Tip on Altitude and 104.3 The Fan HD3 is set for 7 p.m. MT.

SENIOR DAY:
Following the Pioneers and Roos clash in Denver's regular season home finale, DU will honor seniors Tommy Bruner, Jaxon Brenchley, Drake Muller and Carlos Fuentes for their contributions to the program.

SUMMIT LEAGUE NETWORK:
New this year, fans can subscribe to the Summit League Network, the exclusive streaming home of all Denver men's and women's basketball home games and conference away games. For more information on the Summit League Network,click here.

SERIES HISTORY:
Kansas City holds a 6-4 advantage in the Division I series history and a 9-4 edge in the all-time series that dates back to the 1988-89 season. The two programs split the season series last year, with the home team winning both games, and Kansas City defended its home court again earlier this month.

LAST TIME OUT:
Touko Tainamo (22), Tommy Bruner (21) and Jaxon Brenchley (17) all finished with 17+ points, but the Pioneers fell behind early and couldn't complete another historic comeback in a 97-70 loss last Thursday to South Dakota State.

BRUNER LEADS DENVER IN NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS

• Tommy Bruner ranks first in the country in points per game (25.1), seventh in free-throws made (188), first in field goals made (235), 65th in assists (127) and 74th in three-point field goals made (71).
• Touko Tainamo ranks 49th in rebounds (241), 70th in free-throw attempts (154), 79th in free-throws made (115) and 63rd in field goals made (173). Tainamo is also tied for 62nd nationally in double-doubles with eight.
• Isaiah Carr ranks 31st in the country in blocked shots (56)
• Denver entered the week 12th in the country in free-throw attempts per game (24.3) and 8th in free-throw makes per game (18.1) and 73rd in three-point field goal percentage (36.0).
• As a team, the Pioneers are also 12th in scoring offense (83.9) and 43rd in turnovers per game (10.2).

DENVER'S OFFENSIVE PACE:

• Denver's 83.9 points per game this season is the top scoring average in a season in the program's Division I history, and trails only the 1968-69 (89.8), 1990-91 (89.1) and 1975-76 (86.7) in DU's entire history.
• The Pioneers scored 80+ points in seven-straight games from Dec. 18-Jan. 13, the first 7+ games stretch over 80 points in the program's Division I history, and its first overall since the 1992-93 season (9-straight).
• Denver has scored 80+ points in 16 different contests this season, up from eight last season and seven the year before.
• 2023-24 is the first season with 16+ since the Pioneers had 16 80+ point games in the 1996-97 season.
• Denver has finished with 90+ points 10 times this season, tied for the fourth most games in the country in 2023-24 (as of 2/11).

RECORD WATCH

• CAREER RECORDS: POINTS: Bruner 11th (1237), 14 behind Ade Murkey for 10th. Tainamo 15th (1071), 1 behind Jase Townsend for 14th. FREE THROWS: Bruner is T-2nd with 334, 45 behind Nate Rohnert for the record. REBOUNDS: Tainamo is 4th (609), 17 behind Wahhab Carter for 3rd.
• SINGLE SEASON: POINTS: Tommy Bruner passed Yemi Nicholson (2005-06) for the modern DI record in a season on Feb. 8 at South Dakota. On Feb. 16 vs. North Dakota, Bruner passed Matt Teahan (1978-79) for the all-time record. Bruner sits at 729. FIELD GOALS: Bruner is T-2nd (235), tied with Nicholson's 2004-05 season for 2nd and 3 behind Nicholson's 05-06 season for the record. FREE THROWS: Bruner broke Nate Rohnert's record on Feb. 1 and currently sits at 188 (Rohnert - 09-10, 157). Bruner is 12 FTMs behind Vince Boryla (1948-49) for the all-time record. REBOUNDS: Tainamo has 241 boards for 5th-most, 3 behind Steve Simmons (2000-01) for 4th. ASSISTS: Bruner has 127 dimes for 7th, 4 behind Jake Pemberton (2016-17) for 6th. BLOCKS: Isaiah Carr became the fourth different Pio to record 50 blocks in a season, currently sitting at 56, good for seventh-highest in a season, 10 blocks behind Eric Dow (1998-99) for 6th.

UP NEXT:
Denver will round out the regular season on the road on Saturday with a trip to St. Thomas. The Pioneers won the meeting in Denver by a count of 94-77 on February 10. Tip is set for 6 p.m. MT Saturday on the Summit League Network.

Denver Tickets:
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