What: Denver (2-3) at No. 4 Arizona (5-0)
Where: McKale Center
When: Monday at 8:30 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network (Jordan Kent and Mike O’Donnell). Radio: Wildcat Radio 1290-AM (Brian Jeffries and Ryan Hansen).
Coming off an upset win over previously unbeaten Colorado State on Friday night, Denver now has its sights on No. 4 Arizona at McKale Center on Monday night.
The Pioneers (2-3) beat Colorado State 83-81 on the road at Fort Collins, Colo., behind graduate student Zane Nelson’s 22 points off the bench.
The Rams were 4-0 entering the game.
Nelson, a transfer from Missouri Western State, made 6 of 10 shots from the field, 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and was 7 for-8 from the free-throw line.
First-year coach Tim Bergstraser, 34, took over a program that is moving from the Summit League to the West Coast Conference next season.
He coached NCAA Division II program Minnesota State-Morehead to the Sweet 16 last season.
“We’re just gonna stick our heads down and work, and I think it’s gonna attract the right kinds of people,” Bergstraser said after the win over Colorado State. “I like to believe we play the game the right way, and we play really, really tough. Our vision, moving forward, is to put DU men’s basketball on the map on a bigger scale.”
Denver lost on the road against another Power 4 opponent earlier this season, against Washington 84-70 on Nov. 6.
Carson Johnson, a sophomore guard who followed Bergstraser from Minnesota State-Morehead to Denver, leads the Pioneers in scoring averaging 18.6 points a game.
Arizona (5-0) enters the game against Pioneers following a 71-67 victory at No. 3 UConn last week.
The Wildcats also have victories over top 15 teams Florida and UCLA.
Arizona is the third team since 1995-96 to win three of its first five games to start a season away from home against Top 15 opponents.
The others were Arizona’s 2001-02 team and the 2021-22 Gonzaga team.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd tempered his enthusiasm of the victories over each of the ranked teams.
Connecticut played without leading scorer and rebounder Tarris Reed, who was out with an ankle injury.
The victories over Florida and UCLA were decided in the last minute of each game.
“We’ve gotten off to a good start this season, but let’s be honest, the Florida game could have went another direction, (and) the UCLA game could have went another direction,” Lloyd said. “So let’s not act like we’ve got all the world’s problems solved. We’re having a lot of incredible experiences, and we have a new team, a young team, with some great veteran leadership.”
Jaden Bradley had a game-high 21 points and finished with seven assists in the win over Connecticut.
The fifth-year senior point guard is averaging 16.8 points and 3.8 assists. He is shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.
Freshman forward Koa Peat achieved his first collegiate double-double against Connecticut with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
He is averaging 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds a game.
His aggressive, yet under control play, has enabled him to lead Arizona with 32 free-throw attempts. He has made 23, giving him a percentage made of 71.9.
Tobe Awaka has adjusted to his role coming off the bench through the first five games, leading Arizona with 9.8 rebounds per game. He played 14 minutes against UConn, and clinched the game in the final six seconds going 4 of 4 at the free throw line. He finished with seven points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Arizona is averaging 27.4 points per game from its bench, and the team’s leading scorer has come off the bench in three of the last four games.
THREE-DOT DATA
Bradley’s 21 points at UConn was his fifth career game of 20-plus points and second this season (27 vs. No. 3 Florida). … The win over No. 3 UConn was the first for Arizona in a game where both teams were ranked in the Top 5 since No. 5 Arizona defeated No. 3 Michigan State on March 31, 2001 at the Final Four in Minneapolis. … 16 of the 24 wins against Top 25 opponents under Lloyd have come away from McKale Center. And they are the second-most wins by a coach to start a career over the last 30 years. …
Llloyd, in his fifth season at Arizona, has a record of 117-33 (.780). Lloyd is also 8-4 against Top 5 opponents, and the eight wins are the most by an coach in their first five seasons since the AP poll started in 1949. … The Wildcats are 24-13 (.649) against AP Top 25 opponents under Lloyd, the best winning percentage in the country. … Junior big man Motiejus Krivas grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to go with nine points in the win at UConn. His previous career-high was nine rebounds. … Arizona and UTSA are the only teams in the country with three true freshmen that have started five or more games this season.
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