Nonconference Home Schedule - 8/6/10

DENVER - Head coach Joe Scott released Denver's 2010-11 schedule last week, and it's clearly the most challenging since Scott's arrival.

For this blog, we'll break down the nonconference home games, and then we'll do the same for the road games in the next blog.

Colorado State (Nov. 18) has really improved under head coach Tim Miles, who was hired within a few weeks of Joe Scott arriving at Denver. The Pioneers won the last meeting between the teams at Magness Arena 66-55 in 2008-09. The Rams have been to the NCAA Tournament eight times, including 2003.

Alcorn State (Nov. 24) struggled last season but has made the NCAA Tournament six times, including 2002. This will be the first ever matchup with the Pioneers and Braves.

Utah State (Dec. 1) has been among the best, most consistent teams in college basketball for more than a decade. The Aggies won 27 games last season en route to their third-straight Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship, sending them to their 19^th NCAA Tournament. Utah State has not had a losing record in 17 years and has played in the postseason in each of the past 11 seasons. Although the Pioneers hold a 35-31 advantage in the all-time series, the teams have not met since 1978.

Cal State Northridge (Dec. 4) nearly upset No. 2 seed Memphis in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, the team's second this decade. The Pioneers beat the Matadors 89-82 at Magness Arena last season, marking the highest point total for a Joe Scott-coached team during his nine years as a head coach.

Portland (Dec. 11) rattled off 21 victories last season and played in the postseason in the CIT. The Pilots finished just behind powerhouses Gonzaga and St. Mary's in the West Coast Conference last year. The Pioneers battled the Pilots last year in Portland, but UP pulled away late for a 72-62 win.

Northern Colorado (Dec. 18) enters this season under first-year head coach B.J. Hill, who was promoted after previous head coach Tad Boyle left for Colorado. The Bears went an impressive 25-8 last season, went to the postseason in the CIT and finished the season ranked No. 12 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Pioneers will look to avenge losses to UNC in each of the past two seasons, including one of just four losses at Magness Arena in the past two years.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Dec. 21) won the play-in game of last year's NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual NCAA champion Duke in the first round. The Golden Lions rebounded last year after opening the season with 14-straight road games, including a 75-56 loss to the Pioneers at Magness Arena, to capture the SWAC Tournament title and UAPB's first NCAA Tournament bid.

Overall, six of Denver's nine nonconference home games are against teams that were at least .500 last year, and four won at least 20 games. The teams went a combined 150-144 (.510) in 2009-10, and five played in the postseason.

The Princeton Connection Continues: Since both men's basketball head coach Joe Scott and men's lacrosse head coach Bill Tierney came from Princeton, it's not uncommon to see a Tiger stopping in for a visit.

Last week, Matt Eastwick stopped in while traveling through Denver and even joined in a few games of lunchtime hoops, immediately improving the quality of play at noonball.

Eastwick is the only player in Princeton's storied history to start an NCAA Tournament game in four different years, when he led the Tigers to the Ivy League title each year from 1989-92 (between when Scott played for the Tigers and served as an assistant coach).

Along with some of the noonball regulars, former Pioneers David Kummer and Tom Chott have made multiple visits this summer. Kummer remained on campus after receiving his Master's degree in higher education, working at the Daniels College of Business.