DePaul University Athletics
DePaul and Notre Dame Tangle in BIG EAST Opener
12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - DePaul starts its fourth season of BIG EAST play with a New Year’s Eve date against Notre Dame. The Blue Demons enter the game at 8-5 while Notre Dame - ranked No. 7 in this week’s AP poll and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches top 25 - stands at 9-2. The game is the 99th all-time meeting between the two sides with Notre Dame holding a 55-44 advantage.
The Blue Demons concluded the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 90-67 win over Alcorn State on Sunday. The Blue Demons and Fighting Irish tangle at 7 p.m. in Rosemont with ESPN2 televising all of the action. Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla handle the call from the sidelines of Allstate Arena. Sitting across Ray and Marge Meyer Court from the TV crew is DePaul’s radio team of Zach Zaidman and Laurence Holmes on WSCR (670 AM) in Chicago.
The ESPN2 broadcast is also available online at ESPN360.com. ESPN360.com is available for free to DePaul students, facutly and staff on any campus computer. The broadband channel is available for free to aproximately 18 million students and military personnel via any computer on a U.S. campus or military base computer network. Additionally, it has tripled its residential distribution in the past 20 months, and is available in 24 million households nationwide via more than 20 internet service providers around the country including AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and more.
Following Wednesday’s action, DePaul travels to Providence for a Saturday night game against the Friars before a Jan. 7 contest at Syracuse. The Blue Demons return to Allstate Arena on Jan. 10 against the USF Bulls.
BIG EAST Openers: The Blue Demons are 1-2 in BIG EAST first games with last season’s 84-76 win over Villanova serving as the single victory. DePaul’s league-opening win over the 17th-ranked Wildcats sparked a 3-1 BIG EAST start for DePaul to set the best conference start in program history.
Wednesday’s game also marks the second straight BIG EAST opener at home as the Blue Demons dropped an 82-60 decision at Cincinnati on Jan. 4, 2006 and suffered a 64-53 loss at St. John’s on Jan. 3, 2007.
DePaul has been a member of a conference since the 1991-92 season starting with membership in the Great Midwest Conference followed by a 10-year run in Conference USA. The Blue Demons joined the BIG EAST in July 2005 and are 5-12 all-time in conference openers.
Busy Start to League Play: DePaul will be busy with three BIG EAST games in an eight-day span. Following Wednesday’s game against Notre Dame, the Blue Demons travel to Providence for a Saturday night contest before traveling to Syracuse to face the Orange next Wednesday. In addition to the early conference schedule, DePaul’s winter quarter starts on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
Noting the Blue Demons: DePaul has attempted more free throws then their opponent in each game this season... the Blue Demons’ 189 free throws made this season are 15 more than the 174 combined attempts for their opponents... when knocking down at least seven three’s this season, DePaul is 5-1... in each of Jerry Wainwright’s three full seasons at DePaul, the Blue Demons have defeated at least one top 25 opponent.
The Opponent: Notre Dame opens conference play Wednesday after 9-2 start in 11 non-conference games... the Irish conclude the non-BIG EAST schedule on at UCLA on Feb. 7... Notre Dame has won three straight following a 67-62 loss to Ohio State on Dec. 6... during the three-game run, they’ve knocked off Boston University, Delaware State and Savannah State... Luke Harangody leads the team and league with 22.7 points per game... he ranks second in the BIG EAST with a team-best 12.0 rebounds per contest... Kyle McAlarney checks in with 17.9 points per game and a team-high 49 three-pointers... as a team, the Irish rank among national leaders with 110 trifectas... others averaging in double-figures include Ryan Ayers with a 12.9 scoring average and Tory Jackson’s 11.2 points per outing... head coach Mike Brey is in his ninth season at Notre Dame... he has claimed BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors in each of the last two seasons... he holds a 176-88 record with the Irish and is 7-3 all-time against DePaul... prior to Notre Dame, he was head coach at Delware from 1995-2000... in his 14th season overall as a head coach, Brey has a 275-140 record.
The Series: Wednesday is the 99th meeting between the two programs... Notre Dame holds a 54-44 advantage in the series with three straight victories over DePaul... since joining the BIG EAST in 2005, the Blue Demons are 2-4 against the Fighting Irish... Notre Dame has won three straight meetings and four of the last five... DePaul holds a 30-18 advantage on its home floor... at Allstate Arena/Rosemont Horizon, the Blue Demons are 11-3 all-time against Notre Dame.
Last Meeting: Notre Dame knocked off DePaul, 98-91, at Allstate Arena on Mar. 2, 2008... the Irish took a 47-31 lead at halftime and opened the second half with a 13-2 run for a 60-32 advantage... the Blue Demons pulled to within seven points with under four minutes left as they outscored Notre Dame, 60-51, in the second half... Dar Tucker led DePaul with 28 points on six three-pointers while Mac Koshwal added a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double... Luke Harangody led Notre Dame with 24 points and nine rebounds while Rob Kurz added 21 points with four three’s.
Career Statistics vs. Notre Dame
| Player | G-GS | FG-A | Pct. | 3P-A | Pct. | FT-A | Pct. | Reb. | Avg. | A | TO | Blk. | Stl. | Pts. | Avg. |
| Currie | 6-4 | 14-28 | .500 | 5-12 | .417 | 7-10 | .700 | 11 | 1.8 | 21 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 40 | 6.7 |
| Koshwal | 2-1 | 17-29 | .586 | 0-0 | .000 | 7-9 | .778 | 19 | 9.5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 20.5 |
| Poscic | 2-0 | 0-2 | .000 | 0-0 | .000 | 1-2 | .500 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Tucker | 2-1 | 17-29 | .586 | 11-17 | .647 | 2-4 | .500 | 11 | 5.5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 23.5 |
| Walker | 3-0 | 7-14 | .500 | 2-6 | .333 | 0-0 | .000 | 3 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 5.3 |
It Could Happen: A win would be DePaul’s first over a top 10 opponent at Allstate Arena since a 64-57 win over fifth-ranked Kansas on Dec. 2, 2006... Mac Koshwal needs 12 points for 500 and 13 rebounds for 400 in his career.
30 + 20 x 2 = 1: The 32 points by Dar Tucker and 22 rebounds by Mac Koshwal against Creighton on Dec. 23 marked the first game in DePaul history with one player scoring at least 30 points and another grabbing at least 20 rebounds. Stanley Brundy accomplished the feat individually with 41 points and 23 rebounds against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 14, 1989.
Young Demons: The 2008-09 DePaul roster has 11 scholarship players who are eligible to see action (sophomore Eric Wallace will sit out after transferring from Ohio State) and eight of those players are freshmen and sophomores (72.7 percent). This is the youngest DePaul team since the 1996-97 squad had 66.7 percent of its roster as underclassmen. DePaul is the third-youngest team in the BIG EAST this season based on underclassmen. Only St. John’s and Pittsburgh have more freshman and sophomores by percentage on their rosters.
Glassius Maximus: Sophomore center Mac Koshwal put together one of the top rebounding performances in program history with a career-high 22 boards against Creighton on Dec. 23. He nearly outrebounded the Bluejays individually as Creighton managed just a combined 28 total rebounds. Koswal has racked up six games this season with double-figure rebounds, including three games of at least 15 boards.
Koshwal added a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double against Alcorn State and was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Over his last four games, he’s posted four double-doubles with averages of 15.8 points and 14.0 rebounds per contest.
Dar Scores: Sophomore forward Dar Tucker is riding a 17-game streak of games in double-figures dating back to last season. His most recent double-digit games saw 25 points against Alcorn State and a career-high 32 points against Creighton in the Las Vegas Classic finale. The 32-point outburst marked his first career 30-point game and was the seventh game this season with at least 20 points for Tucker. Dating back to last season, he has put up at least 20 points in 10 of his last 16 games.
He enters the Notre Dame game ranked fourth in the BIG EAST with a 19.8 scoring average. Following games of 22 points, seven rebounds against Detroit and a 26-point, nine-rebound effort against Indiana State, he was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Up Next: DePaul travels to Providence on Jan. 3 for a game at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The 7 p.m. ET game will be televised on the BIG EAST Network (ESPN+) and will also be on the radio at WSCR (670 AM). In Chicago, the game can be seen on WWME-TV (Comcast Digital Ch. 223).