Coming off an upset win over previously unbeaten Colorado State on Friday night, Denver now has its sights on No. 4 Arizona on Monday night in Tucson, Ariz.
The Pioneers (2-3) beat Colorado State 83-81 on the road 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 7 of 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-conference opponent earlier this season, 84-70 to Washington on Nov. 6.
Carson Johnson, a sophomore guard who followed Bergstraser from Minnesota State-Morehead to Denver, leads the Pioneers at 18.6 points per 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 Florida and UCLA.
Arizona is the third team since 1995-96 to win three of its first five games of a season away from home against top-15 opponents. The others were Arizona’s 2001-02 team and the 2020-21 Gonzaga team.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd tempered his enthusiasm of the victories over each of the ranked teams. UConn played without leading scorer and rebounder Tarris Reed Jr., 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, but we’re having a lot of incredible experiences.
“We have a new team, a young team, with some great veteran leadership.”
Jaden Bradley had a game-high 21 points in the win over UConn. The fifth-year senior point guard is averaging 16.8 points and 3.8 assists. He is shooting 58.3% from the field and 50% from 3-point range.
Freshman forward Koa Peat achieved his first collegiate double-double against UConn with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He is averaging 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds.
Tobe Awaka has adjusted to his role coming off the bench through the first five games, leading Arizona with 9.8 rebounds per game.
“We’re really, really going to double down on getting better the next couple of weeks,” Lloyd said.
