Watch CBS News

Pioneers Need 3 Conference Tourney Wins And They're In The Big Dance

DENVER (CBS4) - The University of Denver basketball team didn't play as well this season as coach Joe Scott would have liked, but they still have an outside chance to make the NCAA Tournament.

With March Madness right round the corner, Scott's Pioneers need to buckle down and put on a winning streak for any chance to make the Big Dance. He said it's easy to see that college basketball is getting on the minds of sports fans.

"We still have four games coming up before we get to it, but you can definitely feel it, you can definitely see it on the TVs," Scott said on Xfinity Monday Live. "During the week college basketball takes front and center this time of year. Every game gets more and more important and everybody's jockeying for position in their conference tournaments and standings.

"Hopefully your team starts to get the sense of urgency that's required this time of year."

Overall the Pioneers are 10-15 with a conference record of 4-8. The have only one home game remaining and then close the season with three on the road, which leads into conference tournament play. DU will have to win three in a row in the conference tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.

Joe Scott1
DU basketball coach Joe Scott with CBS4's Vic Lombardi on Xfinity Monday Live (credit: CBS)

"It all kind of depends if you can with three in a row in our conference tournament. So right now is kind of a good test for us to see if we can go out and get three in a row," DU senior guard Brett Olson said. "We've just got to go out one by one and take it one game at a time and hopefully it will take care of itself."

The Pioneers hope to begin a win streak when they host Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne on Thursday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Watch more of the video with Joe Scott in the Xfinity Monday Live! section.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.