Denver, CO
NCAA Tournament returns to Denver: A look at the eight teams at Ball Arena
March Madness returns to Denver for a second straight year, with eight teams coming to compete at Ball Arena across four first-round games and a pair of second-round games.
The opening-round games are Thursday, and the second-round games are Saturday.
In the East Region, Ball Arena drew a No. 3 seed in Wisconsin and a No. 6 seed in BYU. Plus, in the South Region, Denver will host a No. 4 seed in Texas A&M and a No. 5 seed in Michigan.
Wisconsin takes on No. 14 Montana, while BYU plays No. 11 VCU. Texas A&M takes on No. 13 Yale, while Michigan plays No. 13 UC San Diego. This week marks the 11th NCAA Tournament in Denver. Last year, there were no upsets in the games at Ball Arena.
Both Wisconsin and Michigan have played for the national title in the last decade. The Badgers lost to Duke in 2015, while Michigan lost to Villanova in 2018. The Wolverines have played in eight Final Fours and were national champions in 1989, while the Badgers have played in four Final Fours and were national champions in 1941.
VCU made the Final Four as a Cinderella in 2011, when it was a No. 11 seed and lost to Butler. The Atlantic-10 champions could be a Cinderella again this year, plus there are a few others capable of pulling upsets in Denver. Ivy League champion Yale has the depth to potentially make some noise, while UC San Diego enters March Madness on a 15-game winning streak, tied for the nation’s longest.
Unfortunately for local hoop heads, there isn’t a single Colorado high school basketball product on any of the teams coming to Denver.
Here’s everything to know about the eight teams coming to Ball Arena. As of Sunday, tickets to the games were still available. Last year, the games sold out.
East Region
No. 3 Wisconsin (26-9) vs. No. 14 Montana (25-9)
Wisconsin
Overall/Conference Record: 26-8, 13-7
Coach: Greg Gard
Ranking: No. 3 in East Region
Best win: 103-88 vs. No. 9 Arizona
Worst loss: 86-75 vs. Penn State
About the Badgers: Wisconsin is led by a one-two guard punch of John Tonje and John Blackwell, who are averaging 19.5 and 15.4 points per game, respectively. They also have two solid post players in Nolan Winter and Steven Crowl.
Montana
Overall/Conference Record: 25-9, 15-3
Coach: Travis DeCuire
Ranking: No. 14 in East Region
Best win: 83-75 vs. Cal State Northridge
Worst loss: 79-76 at Portland State, OT
About the Bobcats: The Big Sky champions, who denied UNC a tournament bid by beating them in the conference title game, have balanced with four scorers averaging double digits. Guard Money Williams is the top threat at 13.3 points.
No. 6 BYU (24-9) vs. No. 11 VCU (28-6)
BYU
Overall/Conference Record: 24-9, 14-6
Coach: Kevin Young
Ranking: No. 6 in East Region
Best win: 88-85 at No. 10 Iowa State, 2OT
Worst loss: 84-64 at Providence
About the Cougars: Led by their first-year coach Young, BYU is highlighted by guards Richie Saunders (16.0 points per game) and Egor Demin (10.3). Center Keba Keita is also impactful, averaging 7.1 points and 7.9 rebounds.
VCU
Overall/Conference Record: 28-6, 15-3
Coach: Ryan Odom
Ranking: No. 11 in East Region
Best win: 76-68 vs. Colorado State
Worst loss: 69-66 vs. Seton Hall, OT
About the Rams: After missing the tournament last year, the Rams are back in the dance. They feature four scorers averaging double digits: guards Max Shulga (15.0), Joseph Bamisile (15.0), Phillip Russell (10.7) and Zeb Jackson (10.6).
South Region
No. 4 Texas A&M (22-10) vs. No. 13 Yale (22-7)
Texas A&M
Overall/Conference Record: 22-10, 11-7
Coach: Buzz Williams
Ranking: No. 4 in South Region
Best win: 83-72 vs. No. 1 Auburn
Worst loss: 64-61 at UCF
About the Aggies: Texas A&M makes its third straight tourney appearance and is led by guards Wade Taylor IV (15.7) and Zhuric Phelps (14.1). Plus, they have two forwards capable of heaters in Pharrel Payne (9.4) and Henry Coleman III (7.8).
Yale
Overall/Conference Record: 22-7, 13-1
Coach: James Jones
Ranking: No. 13 in South Region
Best win: 74-58 vs. Akron
Worst loss: 100-94 vs. Delaware
About the Bulldogs: Yale is making its eighth tourney appearance after losing in the second round last year. The Bulldogs are headlined by the Ivy League’s top scorer John Poulakidas, who averages 19.0 points and shoots 40.2% from 3.
No. 5 Michigan (25-9) vs. No. 12 UC San Diego (30-4)
Michigan
Overall/Conference Record: 25-9, 14-6
Coach: Dusty May
Ranking: No. 5 in South Region
Best win: 67-64 at No. 11 Wisconsin
Worst loss: 84-81 at Minnesota, OT
About the Wolverines: Under first-year boss May, Michigan is back in the dance following a two-year absence. A pair of potent forwards lead the way in Vladislav Goldin (16.9 points on 63.4% from the field) and Danny Wolf (9.9 rebounds).
UC San Diego
Overall/Conference Record: 30-4, 18-2
Coach: Eric Olen
Ranking: No. 12 in South Region
Best win: 75-73 at Utah State
Worst loss: 85-81 at UC Riverside
About the Tritons: Making their tourney debut in just the fifth year of the program, the Big West champions feature four scorers averaging double figures. Forward Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds) is the Tritons’ star.
Denver police arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of first-degree murder in a fatal shooting near East Colfax Avenue and North Dahlia Street.
Joseph York was arrested Thursday after detectives identified him as a suspect through interviews and surveillance video, the Denver Police Department said in a news release Friday.
Detectives believe York was arguing with the victim, 25-year-old Elijah Barr, before the shooting in the early hours of June 7, the Denver Police Department said in a news release Friday. The intersection is between the city’s South Park Hill and Hale neighborhoods.
Barr was found with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
York is being held without bail in the Downtown Detention Center and is set to appear in Denver County Court on Saturday, jail records show.
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Denver, CO
Claimed by Christ, Free in Him: Archbishop Golka Celebrates First Juneteenth Mass in Denver
The annual archdiocesan celebration highlighted human dignity, Black Catholic faith and the healing power of Christ’s love.
“This is my first Juneteenth celebration as a priest or a bishop. I’m honored that this could be my first, right here,” Denver Archbishop James Golka said during the Mass commemorating Juneteenth at Curé d’Ars Parish in Denver on Sunday, June 14.
Celebrating the day the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, Juneteenth marks the end of slavery in the United States. This year’s annual archdiocesan Mass, organized by the Office of Black Catholic Ministry and bringing together parishes and groups from across Northern Colorado, also served to welcome the recently arrived archbishop, who was warmly greeted with processions by the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary, liturgical participation by the Curé d’Ars youth group and choir, and additional music by the Queen of Peace African Catholic Society.
“You have a very beautiful church here. The building is okay, also,” Archbishop Golka remarked, noting the beauty of the people of God, the Church, amid laughter and applause.
Carolyne Richardson, member of the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary at St. Ignatius of Loyola, was particularly touched by Golka’s quiet enthusiasm.
“The church was overflowing with diverse ethnicities joining in this celebration. Everyone was elated to meet Archbishop Golka. He seemed to look each parishioner in the eye with genuine care and concern,” she noted. “It was sheer jubilation watching him sing the gospel songs along with the choir.”
Recalling his time with fellow bishops at their annual spring meeting in Florida, the archbishop reflected on Pope Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, and its discussion on the reality of slavery.
“Although there was not always consistency in practice — slavery was long tolerated before being unequivocally condemned — there has been a continuous affirmation throughout history of the dignity of every human being created in the image of God, even if it took eighteen centuries for the full incompatibility with slavery to be explicitly recognized,” the Holy Father wrote. “This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one for which we cannot consider ourselves detached. It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord” (Magnifica Humanitas 176).
“Finally, Pope Leo says this to you, to all of us,” the archbishop noted as he finished quoting the Holy Father’s encyclical. “‘For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
(Photos by Matt Walker/Denver Catholic)
In his characteristically deeply pastoral way, Archbishop Golka offered the deep, personal love of Christ as a spiritual foundation and antidote to any and all attacks against humanity, be they in the form of slavery or the lurking dangers of artificial intelligence.
“At your Baptism, you were claimed by Jesus Christ. That’s our identity. The evil one tries to make us forget that. We forget that we are beloved children of God. We begin to think that maybe we are worthless, that there’s no reason why we’re here. That is a lie,” the archbishop emphasized. “When God created the universe, he had you in mind, to be here at this time, and this place for his purposes. And he wants to use you in everything. That means, he can use your weakness and your mistakes if you let him.”
The call to surrender more completely to the Lord of love, whose Sacred Heart burns in love for souls, resonated deeply with those in attendance.
“The Mass was more beautiful than I could have imagined,” said Kateri Williams, director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministry. “Archbishop Golka’s homily deeply touched those in attendance, and many were moved to tears as he spoke of the Father’s unconditional love and as he reminded us that each of us has a unique purpose and calling in God’s plan.”
Osahon “Osi” Ogbeide, one of several members of the Youth Ministry at Curé d’Ars who read the Prayers of the Faithful, was also taken by the seeming contradiction in Archbishop Golka’s homily.
“The homily focusing on being a slave and surrendering to the lord was very impactful because it reminded me that God wants the best for us. And that can only be achieved in surrendering to him,” he said.
As we continue to surrender to God and follow his plan, even when it surprises and confounds us, we participate in the Kingdom of God, the archbishop concluded.
“God’s purposes are much more immense than my plan. My plan is pretty puny,” Archbishop Golka said. “God’s purposes began with creation, and they’re going to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Reign of God. We get to participate in the Reign of God coming, if you use God’s gifts for God and God’s purposes.”
Factors such as declining birth rates and families moving out of the city are contributing to declining enrollment at Denver Public Schools. In turn, it’s reshaping the district’s future.
“I think we’re in a good position, but it’s responsible for us to always be looking in the future and knowing we have to make some adjustments,” said Chuck Carpenter, the district’s CFO.
In a two-year span between this past school year and next, DPS expects a decline in enrollment of around 1,700 students.
“We haven’t really seen anything like this,” said Carpenter in response to the consistent decline.
Because of this trend, the district is facing a $28 million structural deficit over the next five years.
“We have a balanced budget now, and we’re not predicting that we’ll have an unbalanced budget in three years,” said Carpenter. “We’re saying we need to make adjustments over the next three, four years, so that our budgets are balanced.”
DPS’s Director of Campus Planning, Andrew Huber, told CBS Colorado in an interview last month that those adjustments will likely include closing down more schools.
“Additional school closures will be necessary in the upcoming years. When exactly that would be is hard to forecast right now,” said Huber.
The district’s CFO says his biggest takeaway from a recent round of closures is to make sure to give families options for what’s next.
“No one wants their school closed, but the second-best option isn’t going to be the same for every family,” said Carpenter.
This issue could be one Denver faces for years to come.
“We sort of say, how many kids are born here? Because in five years, those kids will be kindergartners,” Carpenter added.
The city’s birth rate peaked in 2005, meaning those babies have already graduated high school. And, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, more young families move out of Denver and into surrounding counties than move into the city.
“I think school consolidation is very — I understand why people want to talk about it, but I think it’s more about, like, how do we make sure that the programs that are offered are rich programs,” said Carpenter.
Carpenter also says the district is closely monitoring some potential cuts to federal grants for students of poverty and language learners. He says those decisions will be made by October for the start of the new fiscal year, and cuts would have a “terrible” impact.
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