Although the University of Denver men’s basketball team was 2-12 on the road this season, the Pioneers can take solace that their only conference road win was against Middle Tennessee.
DU, which is the third seed out of the West Division, opens the Sun Belt Conference Tournament today against the Blue Raiders on their home court in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The Pioneers (15-14, 7-8) shot 62 percent from the field in their 72-62 victory Feb. 11. Middle Tennessee, which did not play at Denver this season, is the East Division’s No. 2 seed.
“An added benefit of knowing we’ve won here not too long ago is that we’ll have a lot of parents and relatives in the stands, and the women’s team is here, too, so we’ll have some people on our side in the stands,” DU coach Terry Carroll said. “We’ve done it before, and I would think our chances should be improved.”
Today’s winner will play Monday night against the winner of South Alabama/Arkansas-Little Rock game. The winner of Tuesday’s tournament championship game will receive an NCAA Tournament automatic bid. The Pioneers lost in last year’s title game to Louisiana-Lafayette.
“I think we’re really looking forward to (today), and really optimistic about the tournament,” Carroll said. “Everybody here has a shot at this thing, and we know we have as good a chance as anybody.”
The Blue Raiders, 8-3 at home, are riding a three-game winning streak and have won eight of their past 10 games. Denver is 3-4 all-time against Middle Tennessee but 2-2 at the Murphy Center.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
