2020–21 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team represented the University of Denver in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pioneers, led by fifth-year head coach Rodney Billups, played their home games at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colorado, as members of the Summit League. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Pioneers finished the season 2–19, 1–13 in Summit League play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the Summit League tournament.

2020–21 Denver Pioneers men's basketball
ConferenceSummit League
Record2–19 (1–13 The Summit)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaHamilton Gymnasium
Seasons
2020–21 Summit League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
South Dakota State 9 3   .750 16 7   .696
South Dakota 11 4   .733 14 11   .560
North Dakota State 11 5   .688 15 12   .556
Oral Roberts 10 5   .667 18 11   .621
North Dakota 8 8   .500 9 17   .346
Kansas City 7 7   .500 11 13   .458
Western Illinois 5 9   .357 7 15   .318
Omaha 3 11   .214 5 20   .200
Denver 1 13   .071 2 19   .095
2021 Summit League Tournament winner

On March 1, 2021, the school fired Billups after five seasons as head coach.[1] On March 29, the school named former Stanford associate head coach Jeff Wulbrun the team's new head coach.[2]

Previous season

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The Pioneers finished the 2019–20 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.[3]

Roster

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2020–21 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Kobey Lam 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Williston State College Vaughan, Ontario
G 1 Korey Hess 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Arapahoe High School Centennial, Colorado
G 2 Roscoe Eastmond 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) So Wheeler High School Marietta, Georgia
G 3 Jase Townsend 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Skyline High School Dallas, Texas
G 4 Taelyr Gatlin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Brighton High School Jackson, Mississippi
G 5 Drake Muller 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Greenhill School Cedar Hill, Texas
G 11 Noah Baylis 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Flint Powers Catholic High School Flint, Michigan
G 12 Iseri Palacio 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Fort Collins High School Fort Collins, Colorado
G 13 Khalil Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Three Rivers Community College Long Island, New York
G 14 Ryan Heath 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So DeWitt High School Lansing, Michigan
F 15 James Sanders IV 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Fountain-Fort Carson High School Fountain, Colorado
F 20 Sam Hines Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Wheeler High School Marietta, Georgia
F 21 Robert Jones 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Prior Lake High School Prior Lake, Minnesota
F 22 Tristan Green 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Ranger College Boerne, Texas
F 24 Frank Ryder 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Colorado Boulder, Colorado
G 30 Eric Moenkhaus 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Lincoln Trail College Greenwood, Indiana
F 42 JaVonni Bickham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Minnehaha Academy Minneapolis, Minnesota
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: December 4, 2020

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020*
6:00 pm
Colorado Christian Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
November 28, 2020*
1:00 pm
Regis W 82–66  1–0
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
December 2, 2020*
at Air Force Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols Clune Arena 
Colorado Springs, CO
December 6, 2020*
1:00 pm
UC Riverside L 63–83  1–1
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
December 9, 2020*
7:00 pm, MWN
at Wyoming L 61–83  1–2
Arena-Auditorium 
Laramie, WY
December 12, 2020*
1:00 pm
Dixie State L 70–73  1–3
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
December 16, 2020*
6:00 pm, Altitude 2
Northern Colorado L 75–83  1–4
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
December 19, 2020*
12:00 pm, Altitude
Texas State L 68–70  1–5
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
December 22, 2021*
1:00 pm, Altitude
Northern Arizona L 65–68  1–6
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
December 29, 2021*
7:00 pm
at Grand Canyon Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols GCU Arena 
Phoenix, AZ
Summit League regular season
January 2, 2021
3:00 pm, MidcoSN
at South Dakota L 54–93  1–7
(0–1)
Sanford Coyote Sports Center (559)
Vermillion, SD
January 3, 2021
3:00 pm, MidcoSN
at South Dakota L 57–79  1–8
(0–2)
Sanford Coyote Sports Center (420)
Vermillion, SD
January 15, 2021
1:00 pm
Oral Roberts L 84–88  1–9
(0–3)
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
January 16, 2021
1:00 pm
Oral Roberts L 82–91  1–10
(0–4)
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
January 22, 2021
6:30 pm
at North Dakota State L 58–70  1–11
(0–5)
Scheels Center (1,277)
Fargo, ND
January 23, 2021
6:30 pm, MidcoSN
at North Dakota State L 58–84  1–12
(0–6)
Scheels Center (1,568)
Fargo, ND
January 29, 2021
7:00 pm, Altitude 2
South Dakota State Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
January 30, 2021
7:00 pm, Altitude 2
South Dakota State Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
February 5, 2021
1:00 pm
North Dakota L 82–85 OT 1–13
(0–7)
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
February 6, 2021
1:00 pm
North Dakota W 85–81 OT 2–13
(1–7)
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
February 12, 2021
6:00 pm
at Western Illinois L 69–75  2–14
(1–8)
Western Hall 
Macomb, IL
February 13, 2021
6:00 pm
at Western Illinois L 75–82  2–15
(1–9)
Western Hall 
Macomb, IL
February 19, 2021
6:00 pm
at Kansas City L 57–68  2–16
(1–10)
Swinney Recreation Center 
Kansas City, MO
February 20, 2021
6:00 pm
at Kansas City L 69–80  2–17
(1–11)
Swinney Recreation Center 
Kansas City, MO
February 26, 2021
1:00 pm
Omaha L 76–80  2–18
(1–12)
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
February 27, 2021
6:00 pm
Omaha L 76–80  2–19
(1–13)
Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain.

Source[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ "University Of Denver Fires Men's Basketball Coach Rodney Billups". March 1, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Jeff Wulbrun named DU Pioneers' new men's basketball head coach, replacing Rodney Billups". The Denver Post. March 29, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  3. ^ "Denver Falls in Heartbreaker to No. 1 NDSU, 71-69". University of Denver Athletics. March 7, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  4. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Denver Athletics. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  5. ^ "2020-21 Denver Pioneers Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 19, 2022.