MMR: Denver's Rocky Mountain High

When Denver's Brian Stafford reflects on his four years with the program, some of the bad times he recalls involve his team's rigorous travel schedule.

The Pioneers hail from an area that's known for its ski slopes and high elevation, but they compete in a league that includes two schools from Florida and nine others scattered all across the South.

Their move to the Western Athletic Conference next season will dramatically reduce the frequent flyer miles, but for now -- as they crisscross the country to compete in the Sun Belt -- they rarely fly into major cities, so multiple bus trips and flights are sometimes necessary to reach their destinations.

Two seasons ago, a trip back to Denver that followed a road loss at Florida Atlantic took nearly seven hours, Stafford said, because their "old propeller plane" had to stop multiple times for gas.

"It was hot in there and no one could sleep and we were bummed from the tough loss and got home around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m.," said Stafford, who leads the Pioneers with 15.4 points per game. "Stuff like that can be tough, but when you go out and win on the road, it makes it so much better."

And that's just what they're doing. Through those hectic road trips, this group matured and learned how to deal with adversity.

That trait has contributed to the Pioneers' early success. Denver (6-1), which was not expected to contend in its final season in the Sun Belt, have already defeated Saint Mary's and Southern Miss at home, and last week the Pioneers snapped Utah State's 33-game home winning streak with a victory at USU's intimidating Spectrum.

Denver's Chris Udofia said the vociferous chants of Utah State's students during pregame warm-ups temporarily rattled him.

But the "I believe that we will win!" cheers weren't enough to stop the Pioneers from ending the Aggies' impressive run.

"We had our minds set that we were going to get a 'W' in there," said Udofia, who's second on the team with 13.6 points per game.

Unlike last season, when the team finished 13-17, DU has avoided major injuries so far. Rob Lewis, who missed all of last season due to injury, is averaging 10.4 points per game. Denver is also getting help from newcomers. Freshman Royce O'Neale is averaging 7.6 points per game.

"That depth of having a bunch of players who are able to contribute in different ways allows everyone to do less but be better at what they're doing," Stafford said. "That's good to have that depth in that way as well."

The Pioneers' early success makes a Wednesday home matchup against MAAC favorite Iona, possessors of the nation's No.1 scoring offense (91.0 ppg), one of most intriguing games this week. The Gaels already own a 26-point over Maryland.

Denver coach Joe Scott said he hopes it's an attractive game not only because of whom his team is hosting but also as a result of his squad's potential. But it's also a major test. He said the Pioneers have to continuously prove that their big wins in recent weeks weren't flukes.

"Most importantly, it's a little bit of a name-recognition game because of how we're playing," Scott said. "No matter what, that's really where you want to get to. You want the games to be big because of you, not because of who you're playing. I think it's two good basketball teams. People know it."

Five individual performances you might have missed

• Weber State's Damian Lillard scored 36 at Saint Mary's and 41 against San Jose State. On the week, he shot 62 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3 and 84 percent from the free throw line.

• Central Connecticut State's Ken Horton combined for 62 points and 19 boards in two CCSU victories.

• UC Santa Barbara's Orlando Johnson scored 36 and also grabbed 10 rebounds in his team's double-OT loss to UNLV.

• Creighton's Doug McDermott finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in a win at San Diego State and 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win versus Nebraska.

• Wichita State's Joe Ragland was on fire from 3 against UNLV, connecting on 8 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc while piling up 31 points in his team's victory over the 18th-ranked Rebels.

Five scores you might have missed

Oakland 89, Tennessee 81 (Monday): For the Golden Grizzlies, there is life after Keith Benson. They went 28-for-31 from the free throw line in this matchup and beat the Vols for the second straight season. Reggie Hamilton contributed 35 points to the winning cause.

Saint Mary's 87, Weber State 70 (Monday): Damian Lillard's 36 points weren't enough for Weber to avoid the double-digit loss. Matthew Dellavedova led the Gaels with 25 points and a career-high 11 assists.

Northern Iowa 69, Iowa State 62 (Wednesday): The Panthers held the Cyclones to a 22 percent shooting clip from the 3-point line and have now beaten ISU six of the past seven times they've met.

Creighton 85, San Diego State 83 (Wednesday): The Bluejays had 18 assists and seven turnovers in the road victory -- a game in which they trailed by 17 at one point.

Wichita State 89, UNLV 70 (Sunday): Led by Joe Ragland, the Shockers hit 52 percent of their 3-point attempts and dominated the Rebels from start to finish at a raucous Koch Arena.

Five games you don't want to miss

George Mason at Virginia (Tuesday): Paul Hewitt's squad takes a four-game winning streak into its toughest nonconference test to date. Michigan couldn't win on this court. Can the Patriots?

Vanderbilt at Davidson (Wednesday): It's a prime opportunity for the SoCon favorites to upset a vulnerable SEC squad that has lost back-to-back overtime games against Xavier and Louisville.

Weber State at BYU (Wednesday): The Cougars will have a tough time containing Damian Lillard, the No. 1 scorer in the country (28.2 ppg). Weber would love nothing more than to knock off the state's current hoops giant.

Harvard at Connecticut (Thursday): The Crimson have cracked the Top 25, and now Tommy Amaker's group has the chance to make another national splash with this matchup against the defending national champs.

Michigan State at Gonzaga (Saturday): Robert Sacre was limited in the second half of Saturday's loss at Illinois, and his plight won't get any easier with Draymond Green patrolling the paint for the Spartans.

Editor's note: Please keep in mind that we do not consider the Atlantic 10, Mountain West and Conference USA to be mid-major conferences, thus they are not included in this report.

The Mid-Major Power 15

1. Creighton (7-0) -- Doug McDermott is the real deal, folks. And so are the Bluejays.
2. Harvard (8-0) -- Followed a win over nationally ranked Florida State with victories over UCF and at Vermont.
3. Wichita State (5-2) -- Blowout of UNLV proof that Missouri Valley isn't a one-team race.
4. Gonzaga (5-1) -- Suffered first loss of the season to Illinois over the weekend.
5. Cleveland State (8-1) -- The team to beat in the Horizon League. The Vikings' 5-0 road record includes wins at Vandy, Kent State and Detroit.
6. Iona (6-1) -- The Gaels have the No. 1 scoring offense in the country (91.0 ppg) and the best mid-major trio in America.
7. Denver (6-1) -- The Pioneers snapped Utah State's 33-game home winning streak last week.
8. Northern Iowa (7-1) -- Another team that will make the Missouri Valley race very interesting.
9. Saint Mary's (5-1) -- Hitting 50.6 percent of its field goal attempts. The beat goes on in Moraga.
10. BYU (6-2) -- The Cougars' 18.4 assists per game are ninth in the nation. Saturday's win over Oregon was a big one.
11. Murray State (9-0) -- So much for that coaching transition. The undefeated Racers are the real deal.
12. Belmont (5-2) -- Since early losses at Duke (by one) and Memphis, Bruins have won five straight. Expect another 30-win season.
13. Middle Tennessee State (7-1) -- Have a 20-point win at UCLA, and the only blemish is a double-overtime loss against Belmont.
14. Ohio (5-1) -- Five-point loss to Louisville came down to the final minute. So did last week's impressive win at Marshall.
15. Long Beach State (4-3) -- The 49ers have struggled since road win at Pitt, but they're still dangerous. Watch out, Kansas.

Myron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He can be reached at mmedcalf3030@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MedcalfbyESPN

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print