2019–20 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team represented the University of Denver in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pioneers, led by fourth-year head coach Rodney Billups, played their home games at Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado, with two games at Hamilton Gymnasium, as members of the Summit League. They finished the season 7–24, 3–13 in Summit League play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament to North Dakota State.

2019–20 Denver Pioneers men's basketball
Conference	Summit League
Record	7–24 (3–13 The Summit)
Head coach	Rodney Billups (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Bacari Alexander Raman Sposato Dwight Thorne II
Home arena	Magness Arena
Seasons ← 2018–19 2020–21 →

2019–20 Summit League men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
North Dakota State †	13	–	3		.813			25	–	8		.758
South Dakota State	13	–	3		.813			22	–	10		.688
South Dakota	10	–	6		.625			20	–	12		.625
Oral Roberts	9	–	7		.563			17	–	14		.548
Omaha	9	–	7		.563			16	–	16		.500
North Dakota	7	–	9		.438			15	–	18		.455
Purdue Fort Wayne	6	–	10		.375			14	–	19		.424
Denver	3	–	13		.188			7	–	24		.226
Western Illinois	2	–	14		.125			5	–	21		.192
† 2020 Summit League Tournament winner

Previous season

The Pioneers finished the 2018–19 season 8–22, 3–13 in Summit League play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the 2019 Summit League tournament.^[1]

Roster

2019–20 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) Sr Minneapolis, Minnesota F 1 David Nzekwesi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So The Hague, Netherlands G 2 Roscoe Eastmond 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Marietta, Georgia G 3 Jase Townsend 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Dallas, Texas G 4 Taelyr Gatlin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Atoka, Tennessee G 5 Ray Kowalski 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Concord, North Carolina G 10 Joseph Lanzi 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Birmingham, Alabama G/F 11 Owen McGlashan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Marlton, New Jersey F 12 Alperen Kurnaz 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Istanbul, Turkey G 13 Khalil Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Long Island, New York G 14 Ryan Heath 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Lansing, Michigan F 21 Robert Jones 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Prior Lake, Minnesota F 22 Tristan Green 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Boerne, Texas F 34 James Sanders IV 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Fountain, Colorado F 42 JaVonni Bickham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Fr Minneapolis, Minnesota	Head coach Rodney Billups (Denver) Assistant coach(es) Bacari Alexander (Detroit Mercy) Raman Sposato (Oregon) Dwight Thorne II (Colorado) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 17, 2019

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2019* 6:00 pm		Johnson & Wales (Denver)	W 85–51		Hamilton Gymnasium (701) Denver, CO
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, Mountain West Network		at Colorado State	L 63–74	0–1	Moby Arena (2,322) Fort Collins, CO
November 9, 2019* 1:00 pm, Altitude		Utah Valley	W 74–62	1–1	Magness Arena (921) Denver, CO
November 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, Mountain West Network		at No. 17 Utah State	L 56–97	1–2	Smith Spectrum (6,504) Logan, UT
November 16, 2019* 1:00 pm		Western Colorado	W 72–55	2–2	Hamilton Gymnasium (772) Denver, CO
November 23, 2019* 4:00 pm		at UC Riverside	L 49–73	2–3	SRC Arena (702) Riverside, CA
November 27, 2019* 5:30 pm		at Santa Clara Cable Car Classic	L 64–81	2–4	Leavey Center (912) Santa Clara, CA
November 29, 2019* 5:30 pm		vs. Cal State Fullerton Cable Car Classic	W 65–62	3–4	Leavey Center (1,009) Santa Clara, CA
November 30, 2019* 2:00 pm		vs. Southeast Missouri State Cable Car Classic	L 51–66	3–5	Leavey Center (993) Santa Clara, CA
December 3, 2019* 7:00 pm		Jackson State	W 67–58	4–5	Magness Arena (497) Denver, CO
December 8, 2019* 3:00 pm, P12N		at UCLA	L 62–81	4–6	Pauley Pavilion (5,243) Los Angeles, CA
December 10, 2019* 7:00 pm, Altitude 2		New Mexico State Summit League/WAC Challenge	L 67–72	4–7	Magness Arena (910) Denver, CO
December 14, 2019* 1:00 pm, Altitude		Air Force	L 75–79	4–8	Magness Arena (1,170) Denver, CO
December 17, 2019* 7:00 pm, Pluto TV		at Northern Colorado	L 64–86	4–9	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,460) Greeley, CO
December 21, 2019* 1:00 pm, Altitude		Wyoming	L 66–72 ^OT	4–10	Magness Arena (1,543) Denver, CO
Summit League regular season
December 29, 2019 3:30 pm, Altitude 2		North Dakota State	L 55–66	4–11 (0–1)	Magness Arena (1,059) Denver, CO
January 2, 2020 7:00 pm, Altitude 2		North Dakota	L 71–82	4–12 (0–2)	Magness Arena (742) Denver, CO
January 5, 2020 2:30 pm		at South Dakota	L 78–80	4–13 (0–3)	Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,014) Vermillion, SD
January 8, 2020 7:00 pm, Altitude 2		South Dakota State	L 68–80	4–14 (0–4)	Magness Arena (774) Denver, CO
January 11, 2020 1:00 pm		at Western Illinois	L 80–86	4–15 (0–5)	Western Hall (347) Macomb, IL
January 18, 2020 1:00 pm		Omaha	W 91–76	5–15 (1–5)	Hamilton Gymnasium (1,322) Denver, CO
January 23, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Dakota	L 71–78	5–16 (1–6)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,388) Grand Forks, ND
January 25, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at North Dakota State	L 70–82	5–17 (1–7)	Scheels Center (3,006) Fargo, ND
January 30, 2020 7:00 pm, Altitude		South Dakota	L 87–93	5–18 (1–8)	Magness Arena (805) Denver, CO
February 1, 2020 6:00 pm		at Oral Roberts	L 77–86	5–19 (1–9)	Mabee Center (2,163) Tulsa, OK
February 8, 2020 3:30 pm		Purdue Fort Wayne	L 63–70	5–20 (1–10)	Magness Arena (1,080) Denver, CO
February 14, 2020 6:00 pm		at South Dakota State	L 78–90	5–21 (1–11)	Frost Arena (2,242) Brookings, SD
February 16, 2020 3:30 pm		at Omaha	L 62–85	5–22 (1–12)	Baxter Arena (1,958) Omaha, NE
February 20, 2020 7:00 pm, Altitude		Oral Roberts	W 100–96 ^OT	6–22 (2–12)	Magness Arena (875) Denver, CO
February 26, 2020 5:00 pm		at Purdue Fort Wayne	L 51–58	6–23 (2–13)	Gates Sports Center (756) Fort Wayne, IN
February 29, 2020 1:00 pm, Altitude		Western Illinois	W 69–63	7–23 (3–13)	Magness Arena (1,390) Denver, CO
Summit League tournament
March 7, 2020 5:00 pm, MidcoSN	(8)	vs. (1) North Dakota State Quarterfinals	L 69–71	7–24	Premier Center (8,614) Sioux Falls, SD
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain.

Source^[2][3]

References

1. "Pioneers' season comes to a close in loss to Mavericks". University of Denver Athletics. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
2. "2019-20 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Denver Athletics. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
3. "2019-20 Denver Pioneers Schedule Stats". ESPN. Retrieved December 17, 2019.