Game of the week: Men’s basketball vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

The men’s basketball team returns home for its final three regular-season games, beginning with Louisiana-Lafayette (ULL) on Thursday. The Pioneers, who have compiled an 18–8 record overall and are 8–5 in the Sun Belt Conference, were edged 72–71 in overtime by ULL at the Cajundome on Feb. 2, when Elfrid Payton hit a free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining for the win. DU currently sits in third place in the SBC West Division but would move ahead of the Ragin’ Cajuns with a win on Thursday at Magness Arena, where the Pioneers are 11-2 this season.

DU’s 18 wins this season are tied for the most in Denver’s 89-year Division I history. Sophomore forward Chris Udofia leads the Sun Belt in scoring with 15.0 points per game, and he ranks 28th in the nation with 2.4 blocked shots per game. On Thursday, senior guard Brian Stafford will play in his 120th career game; he has started in all of them. Stafford’s 1,504 career points make him the fourth leading scorer in DU history, and his 251 career three-pointers are sixth best in Sun Belt history. As a team, the Pioneers are 10th in the nation in free throw percentage (.764), 12th in field goal percentage (.489) and three-point field goal percentage (.401), 21st in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.28) and 25th in assists (15.7 per game). The Pioneers have recorded an assist on 67.2 percent of their field goals this season, the highest mark in the country.

Men’s basketball individual game tickets range from $9–$15. Single-game tickets may be purchased in person at the Ritchie Center Box Office, by phone at 303-871-2336 or online at DenverPioneers.com. DU students are admitted to all Denver men’s and women’s basketball games free with their Pioneer Card.

For more information, please visit www.DenverPioneers.com/Tickets.

This Week’s Pioneer home schedule