2017–18 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team represented the University of Denver during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pioneers, led by second-year head coach Rodney Billups, played their home games at Magness Arena, with one home game at Hamilton Gymnasium, and are members of The Summit League. They finished the season 15–15, 8–6 in Summit League play to finish in third place. In the Summit League tournament, they defeated Oral Roberts in the quarterfinals before losing to South Dakota State in the semifinals.

2017–18 Denver Pioneers men's basketball
ConferenceThe Summit League
Record15–15 (8–6 The Summit)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMagness Arena
Hamilton Gymnasium
Seasons
2017–18 Summit League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
South Dakota State  13 1   .929 28 7   .800
South Dakota 11 3   .786 26 9   .743
Denver 8 6   .571 15 15   .500
Fort Wayne 7 7   .500 18 15   .545
North Dakota State 5 9   .357 15 17   .469
Oral Roberts 5 9   .357 11 21   .344
Omaha 4 10   .286 9 22   .290
Western Illinois 3 11   .214 12 16   .429
2018 Summit League Tournament winner

Previous season

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The Pioneers finished the season 16–14, 8–8 in Summit League play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament to South Dakota State.

Preseason

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In a poll of league coaches, media, and sports information directors, the Pioneers were picked to finish in fifth place.[1] Senior center Daniel Amigo was named to the preseason All-Summit First Team and senior guard Joe Rosga was named to the Second Team.[1]

Roster

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2017–18 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Ade Murkey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Minneapolis, Minnesota
G 1 Elijah Blake 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Denver, Colorado
G 2 Joe Rosga 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Saint Paul, Minnesota
G 3 Elvin Rodriguez 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Harlem, New York
G 5 Jake Pemberton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Highlands Ranch, Colorado
G 10 Jake Holtzmann 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Parker, Colorado
F 11 Jake Krafka 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Austin, Texas
G 12 Luke Neff 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Arvada, Colorado
G 14 Drew Joiner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Centennial, Colorado
G 15 Thomas Neff 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Arvada, Colorado
C 24 Christian Mackey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Sr Kirtland, New Mexico
F 25 Emil Knighton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Parker, Colorado
F 30 Donoven Carlisle 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Indianapolis, Indiana
F 32 Abiola Akintola 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Melbourne, Australia
C 44 Daniel Amigo 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr El Paso, Texas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 26, 2017

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 12, 2017*
4:00 pm, ALT
UC Irvine L 69–83  0–1
Magness Arena (1,202)
Denver, CO
Nov 14, 2017*
7:00 pm, P12N
at Colorado L 62–89  0–2
Coors Events Center (6,451)
Boulder, CO
Nov 16, 2017*
5:00 pm
Johnson & Wales (CO) W 91–59  1–2
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
Nov 24, 2017*
5:00 pm
at Florida Gulf Coast
FGCU Shootout
L 71–79  1–3
Alico Arena (3,517)
Fort Myers, FL
Nov 25, 2017*
2:00 pm
vs. St. Francis Brooklyn
FGCU Shootout
W 60–50  2–3
Alico Arena (202)
Fort Myers, FL
Nov 26, 2017*
10:00 am
vs. Navy
FGCU Shootout
L 71–79  2–4
Alico Arena (167)
Fort Myers, FL
Nov 29, 2017*
7:00 pm, ALT2
Wyoming W 88–78  3–4
Magness Arena (1,662)
Denver, CO
Dec 2, 2017*
1:00 pm, ALT2
Air Force L 59–61  3–5
Magness Arena (1,401)
Denver, CO
Dec 5, 2017*
7:00 pm, ALT2
San Jose State W 58–56  4–5
Magness Arena (1,028)
Denver, CO
Dec 9, 2017*
1:00 pm, ALT
USC Upstate W 84–69  5–5
Magness Arena (951)
Denver, CO
Dec 13, 2017*
7:00 pm, CET
at Northern Colorado L 63–83  5–6
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,153)
Greeley, CO
Dec 15, 2017*
8:00 pm, P12N
at Stanford L 62–75  5–7
Maples Pavilion (3,303)
Stanford, CA
Dec 18, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Montana State L 65–79  5–8
Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,200)
Bozeman, MT
Dec 28, 2017*
7:00 pm
Colorado Mesa W 106–60  6–8
Magness Arena (1,567)
Denver, CO
The Summit League regular season
Dec 30, 2017
2:30 pm
at South Dakota L 71–82  6–9
(0–1)
Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,334)
Vermillion, SD
Jan 6, 2018
1:00 pm, ALT
Fort Wayne L 63–82  6–10
(0–2)
Magness Arena (1,570)
Denver, CO
Jan 11, 2018
6:00 pm
at North Dakota State W 67–61  7–10
(1–2)
Scheels Center (2,543)
Fargo, ND
Jan 13, 2018
1:00 pm
at South Dakota State L 72–94  7–11
(1–3)
Frost Arena (2,793)
Brookings, SD
Jan 18, 2018
6:30 pm
at Omaha L 80–86 2OT 7–12
(1–4)
Baxter Arena (1,916)
Omaha, NE
Jan 20, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Oral Roberts W 73–64  8–12
(2–4)
Mabee Center (5,023)
Tulsa, OK
Jan 25, 2018
7:00 pm
Western Illinois W 70–58  9–12
(3–4)
Magness Arena (935)
Denver, CO
Jan 27, 2018
4:00 pm, ALT2
South Dakota W 84–68  10–12
(4–4)
Magness Arena (432)
Denver, CO
Feb 3, 2018
12:00 pm
at Fort Wayne L 63–91  10–13
(4–5)
Memorial Coliseum (2,010)
Fort Wayne, IN
Feb 8, 2018
7:00 pm, ALT2
South Dakota State L 77–81  10–14
(4–6)
Magness Arena (1,555)
Denver, CO
Feb 10, 2018
1:00 pm, ALT
North Dakota State W 66–63  11–14
(5–6)
Magness Arena (1,568)
Denver, CO
Feb 14, 2018
7:00 pm, ALT2
Omaha W 94–78  12–14
(6–6)
Magness Arena (1,020)
Denver, CO
Feb 18, 2018
4:00 pm, ALT2
Oral Roberts W 66–65  13–14
(7–6)
Magness Arena (1,247)
Denver, CO
Feb 24, 2018
6:00 pm
at Western Illinois W 89–52  14–14
(8–6)
Western Hall (614)
Macomb, IL
The Summit League tournament
Mar 4, 2018
7:30 pm, ESPN3
(3) vs. (6) Oral Roberts
Quarterfinals
W 90–88 2OT 15–14
Premier Center (5,692)
Sioux Falls, SD
Mar 5, 2018
7:30 pm, ESPN3
(3) vs. (2) South Dakota
Semifinals
L 58–76  15–15
Premier Center (8,835)
Sioux Falls, SD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Source[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "South Dakota State Tabbed #SummitMBB Preseason Favorite". The Summit League. October 5, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "University of University of Denver Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball". www.denverpioneers.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2017.