DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Head East to Rutgers
1/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - DePaul travels eastward for a BIG EAST game Saturday night at Rutgers. The Blue Demons and Scarlet Knights square off at the Louis Brown Athletic Center at 8 p.m. ET. DePaul is coming off a 71-49 loss to No. 2/2 Connecticut on Wednesday while Rutgers fell, 70-67, at Seton Hall on Thursday night. The Scarlet Knights and Blue Demons enter the game with identical 0-8 records in BIG EAST action. Following Saturday’s game at the RAC, the Blue Demons open the month of February with three straight home games at Allstate Arena. The Blue Demons enter Saturday’s action at 8-13 overall and 0-8 in BIG EAST play while Rutgers is 9-12 and 0-8 in league action.
Saturday’s game can be seen live nationally on ESPNU at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT with Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and John Celestand (analyst) handling the television duties in Piscataway. DePaul’s radio duo of Zach Zaidman and Laurence Holmes are calling the game on WSCR (670 AM) in Chicago.
Following the Rutgers game, the Blue Demons open a three-game homestand against No. 8/8 Marquette on Tuesday night. That game can be seen on WWME-TV in Chicago as part of the BIG EAST Network starting at 8 p.m. CT. The homestand continues with No. 3/3 Pittsburgh visiting on Feb. 7 and Seton Hall traveling to Chicago on Feb. 10.
Walk This Way: The DePaul coaching staff is sporting adidas tennis shoes for the Rutgers game as part of the NABC’s 2009 Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend. The National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) has selected the weekend of Jan. 30-Feb. 1 to show support for the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
Noting the Blue Demons: The men’s basketball program is 1,356-802 (.628) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 479 straight games... DePaul’s last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena... DePaul has attempted more free throws then its opponent in 16 of 21 games this season... only Notre Dame (Dec. 31), Cincinnati (Jan. 17), Marquette (Jan. 24) and Connecticut (Jan. 28) have attempted more free shots than DePaul while Syracuse shot the same amount on Jan. 7... when knocking down at least seven three’s this season, DePaul is 5-2... during the current eight-game skid, the Blue Demons are averaging 4.3 three’s per game (34 total in the eight games)... in games decided by five points or less, the Blue Demons are 4-2... in each of Jerry Wainwright’s three full seasons at DePaul, the Blue Demons have defeated at least one top 25 opponent... DePaul has used seven different starting line-ups this season... the Blue Demons have donned the black uniforms twice this season in a win over UIC on Nov. 22 and a loss at Providence on Jan. 3... only four times in program history have the Blue Demons sported the alternate jersey/shorts combination... they are 1-3 in those games.
The Opponent: Rutgers enters Saturday’s game at 9-12 overall and 0-8 in BIG EAST play... the Scarlet Knights are searching for their first league win along with the Blue Demons... Rutgers dropped a 70-67 decision at Seton Hall on Thursday night... overall the Scarlet Knights have lost nine straight games after a season-high four-game winning streak from Dec. 10-28... Mike Rosario is the lone player averaging in double-figures with 17.6 points per game... he also leads the team with 55 three-pointers... Gregory Echenique is adding 9.5 points per game and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per contest... as a team, Rutgers holds a +1.9 rebounding margin... head coach Fred Hill is in his third season as head coach at Rutgers and overall... he is 30-51 with the Scarlet Knights.
The Series: Saturday is the fourth meeting between the two programs... DePaul holds a 2-1 advantage in the series with two straight victories... all three meetings have occured in BIG EAST play... the Blue Demons claimed the lone meeting in Piscataway, 60-37, on Jan. 13, 2007.
Last Meeting: DePaul came from behind for a 75-73 win at Allstate Arena on Jan. 19, 2008... Rutgers used a 16-2 run miday through the first half to build a 34-20 lead... the Blue Demons trimmed the deficit to 45-32 at halftime... Dar Tucker knocked down a three-pointer with just under three minutes left to give the Blue Demons the lead for good after trailing 69-66 with 3:35 left in the game... Tucker finished with 12 points while Draelon Burns scored 20 for DePaul... JR Inman led all scorers with 22 points along with eight rebounds... Mac Koshwal added 18 points and Matija Poscic scored 10 for the Blue Demons.
Career Statistics vs. Rutgers
| Player | G-GS | FG-A | Pct. | 3P-A | Pct. | FT-A | Pct. | Reb. | Avg. | A | TO | Blk. | Stl. | Pts. | Avg. |
| Currie | 3-1 | 4-10 | .400 | 1-4 | .250 | 0-2 | .000 | 3 | 1.0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3.0 |
| Koshwal | 1-1 | 8-12 | .667 | 0-0 | .000 | 2-2 | 1.00 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 18.0 |
| Poscic | 1-0 | 5-10 | .500 | 0-0 | .000 | 0-1 | .000 | 5 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10.0 |
| Tucker | 1-0 | 4-10 | .400 | 2-7 | .286 | 2-4 | .500 | 4 | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 |
| Walker | 2-0 | 2-6 | .333 | 0-2 | .000 | 1-2 | .500 | 4 | 2.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2.5 |
It Could Happen: A win would end DePaul’s season-high eight-game losing streak... a loss would give DePaul its first 0-9 start to conference play since the 1995-96 season... that team went 0-12 to start the Conference USA schedule... Dar Tucker needs two three-pointers to move into a tie for 14th all-time (Rashon Burno - 92 3pt. FG, 1998-02)... Will Walker needs three three-pointers to move into a tie for 16th all-time (84 3pt. FG - Terry Davis, 1989-93 and Quemont Greer, 2001-05)... Jabari Currie needs two assists to move into a tie for 17th all-time (Mark Aguirre - 294 assists, 1978-81).
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul’s 71-49 loss to No. 2/2 Connecticut on Jan. 28:
- DePaul used its eight different starting line-up this season... freshman guard Michael Bizoukas started his second straight game.
- The Blue Demons extended their streak to 479 straight games with a three-pointer.
- Mac Koshwal and Dar Tucker each played in their 50th career game at DePaul.
- In the last four games, the Blue Demons are a combined 45-of-65 (.792) from the free throw line... in DePaul’s first 17 games, the team was a combined 229-375 (.611) from the line.
- The Blue Demons are 0-8 to start conference play for the first time since the 1995-96 season... that squad started the Conference USA schedule at 0-12.
- With 20 points, Dar Tucker becomes the first Blue Demon to score 20 or more since Dec. 31 against Notre Dame... this is Tucker’s 15th career and 10th time this season he has scored at least 20 points.
- Keni Obi’s six points are a career-high... his three rebounds tied a career-high.
- Connecticut has won eight straight games since a league-opening loss to Georgetown on Dec. 29... the Huskies have won all six of their away games... since the 1989-90 season Connecticut is 104-63 in BIG EAST road games.
- With 18 points, Jerome Dyson reached the 1,000 point milestone, ending the game with 1,003... has scored in double figures in 16 games this season.
- With 12 points and 13 rebounds Jeff Adrien registered his 43rd career double-double.
- Connecticut leads the series, 3-1... the win was the first for the Huskies at Allstate Arena... Connecticut has won two straight in the series.
Up Next: DePaul hosts Marquette on Feb. 3 for a game at Allstate Arena. The 8 p.m. CT game can be seen on WWME-TV in Chicago and will also be on the radio at WSCR (670 AM).
