2021–22 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team represented the University of Denver in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pioneers, led by first-year head coach Jeff Wulbrun, played their home games at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colorado, as members of the Summit League.

2021–22 Denver Pioneers men's basketball
Conference	Summit League
Record	11–21 (7–11 The Summit)
Head coach	Jeff Wulbrun (1st season)
Associate head coach	Brandon Dunson
Assistant coaches	Rob Zewe Rob Williams
Home arena	Hamilton Gymnasium
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Summit League men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
South Dakota State †	18	–	0		1.000			30	–	5		.857
North Dakota State	13	–	5		.722			23	–	10		.697
Kansas City	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
Oral Roberts	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
South Dakota	11	–	7		.611			19	–	12		.613
Western Illinois	7	–	11		.389			16	–	16		.500
Denver	7	–	11		.389			11	–	21		.344
St. Thomas*	4	–	14		.222			10	–	20		.333
Omaha	4	–	14		.222			5	–	25		.167
North Dakota	2	–	16		.111			6	–	25		.194
* Ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III
† 2022 Summit League tournament winner

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Pioneers finished the 2020–21 season 2–19, 1–13 in Summit League play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the Summit League tournament.^[1]

On March 1, 2021, the school announced that there would be a "change in leadership," ending Rodney Billups' five-year tenure with the team.^[2] On March 29, it was announced that Stanford associate head coach Jeff Wulbrun would be the Pioneers' new head coach.^[3]

Roster

2021–22 Denver Pioneers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Payton Moore 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Los Angeles, CA G 1 Tevin Smith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Danville, IL G 2 KJ Hunt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Little Rock, AR G 3 Korey Hess 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Centennial, CO G 4 Taelyr Gatlin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Jackson, MS G 5 Coban Porter 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Columbia, MO G 10 Drake Muller 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Cedar Hill, TX G 11 Jordan Johnson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Memphis, TN F 13 Felipe Motta 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Fr Brindisi, Italy F 15 Pedro Lopez-Sanvicente 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Canary Islands, Spain F 22 Tristan Green 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Boerne, TX F 23 James Sanders IV 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Fountain, CO F 24 Michael Henn 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Bellevue, WA F 25 Touko Tainamo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Helsinki, Finland F 42 JaVonni Bickham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Minneapolis, MN	Head coach Jeff Wulbrun (Cal State Fullerton) Assistant coach(es) Brandon Dunson (Arizona State) Rob Zewe (Pittsburgh) Rob Williams (UAB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 18, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm		Regis	W 68–65	1–0	Hamilton Gymnasium (1,607) Denver, CO
November 12, 2021* 6:00 pm		Ottawa (AZ)	L 71–72	1–1	Hamilton Gymnasium (981) Denver, CO
November 15, 2021* 4:00 pm		vs. IUPUI UTSA Invitational	W 63–47	2–1	Convocation Center (197) San Antonio, TX
November 16, 2021* 6:30 pm, CUSA TV		at UTSA UTSA Invitational	L 64–78	2–2	Convocation Center (848) San Antonio, TX
November 17, 2021* 12:00 pm		vs. Texas A&M–Corpus Christi UTSA Invitational	L 67–69	2–3	Convocation Center (124) San Antonio, TX
November 21, 2021* 2:00 pm		Houston Baptist	W 74–61	3–3	Hamilton Gymnasium (550) Denver, CO
November 24, 2021* 2:00 pm, MWN		at Air Force	L 65–66	3–4	Clune Arena (1,076) Colorado Springs, CO
November 27, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Utah Valley	L 68–77 OT	3–5	UCCU Center (1,386) Orem, UT
December 2, 2021* 7:00 pm, MWN		at Wyoming	L 64–77	3–6	Arena-Auditorium (4,030) Laramie, WY
December 5, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN+		at Texas State	L 58–71	3–7	Strahan Arena  San Marcos, TX
December 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, MWN		at New Mexico	L 67–87	3–8	The Pit (8,046) Albuquerque, NM
December 11, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Dixie State	L 62–82	3–9	Burns Arena (1,276) St. George, UT
December 15, 2021* 7:00 pm, Altitude 2		UC San Diego	W 64–56	4–9	Hamilton Gymnasium (318) Denver, CO
Summit League regular season
December 20, 2021 7:00 pm, Altitude		Western Illinois	L 80–84 OT	4–10 (0–1)	Hamilton Gymnasium (682) Denver, CO
December 22, 2021 2:00 pm		St. Thomas	W 75–74	5–10 (1–1)	Hamilton Gymnasium (910) Denver, CO
December 30, 2021 6:00 pm, ORSN		at Oral Roberts	L 66–83	5–11 (1–2)	Mabee Center (2,896) Tulsa, OK
January 8, 2022 2:00 pm, Altitude 2		North Dakota	L 69–87	5–12 (1–3)	Hamilton Gymnasium (526) Denver, CO
January 10, 2022 7:00 pm, Altitude 2		North Dakota State	W 93–74	6–12 (2–3)	Hamilton Gymnasium (727) Denver, CO
January 13, 2022 6:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+		at South Dakota	L 71–80	6–13 (2–4)	Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,090) Vermillion, SD
January 15, 2022 1:00 pm		at South Dakota State	L 62–80	6–14 (2–5)	Frost Arena (1,595) Brookings, SD
January 17, 2022 6:00 pm		at Kansas City Rescheduled from January 1	W 63–55	7–14 (3–5)	Swinney Recreation Center (495) Kansas City, MO
January 22, 2022 2:00 pm		Omaha	W 94–63	8–14 (4–5)	Hamilton Gymnasium (695) Denver, CO
January 27, 2022 7:00 pm, Altitude		Kansas City	L 61–72	8–15 (4–6)	Hamilton Gymnasium (474) Denver, CO
January 29, 2022 2:00 pm		Oral Roberts	L 80–89	8–16 (4–7)	Hamilton Gymnasium (839) Denver, CO
February 3, 2022 6:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+		at North Dakota	W 81–79 OT	9–16 (5–7)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,296) Grand Forks, ND
February 5, 2022 12:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Dakota State	L 65–73	9–17 (5–8)	Scheels Center (1,860) Fargo, ND
February 10, 2022 7:00 pm, Altitude 2		South Dakota State	L 61–84	9–18 (5–9)	Hamilton Gymnasium (767) Denver, CO
February 12, 2022 2:00 pm		South Dakota	L 76–84	9–19 (5–10)	Hamilton Gymnasium (1,229) Denver, CO
February 17, 2022 6:00 pm		at Omaha	L 69–72	9–20 (5–11)	Baxter Arena (1,367) Omaha, NE
February 24, 2022 6:00 pm		at St. Thomas	W 91–80	10–20 (6–11)	Schoenecker Arena (770) St. Paul, MN
February 26, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at Western Illinois	W 83–77	11–20 (7–11)	Western Hall (0) Macomb, IL
Summit League tournament
March 5, 2022 6:30 pm, ESPN+	(7)	vs. (2) North Dakota State Quarterfinals	L 62–82	11–21	Denny Sanford Premier Center (9,336) Sioux Falls, SD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain.

Sources^[4][5]

References

1. "2021 #SummitMBB Championship Bracket Released". The Summit League. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
2. "Denver Men's Basketball to Undergo Change in Leadership". University of Denver Athletics. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
3. "Jeff Wulbrun new men's basketball coach at University of Denver". ESPN. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
4. "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Denver Athletics. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
5. "2021-22 Denver Pioneers Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 18, 2021.