DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Take On American Wednesday Night
12/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - The DePaul Blue Demons continue their full week in Rosemont with the second of three home games in a seven-day span. DePaul opened the homestand with a 77-56 win over UIC and host American University on Wednesday night. The three-game run ends on Saturday afternoon against Texas State before DePaul closes the non-conference portion of the regular season at Florida Gulf Coast next Tuesday.
The Blue Demons are 6-3 and snapped a two-game losing streak with the win over the Flames on Sunday. DePaul posted a 4-1 record in November with wins over Columbia, Northern Iowa, Saint Joseph's and Detroit. In December, the Blue Demons are 2-2 with wins over Alabama State and UIC sandwiching losses to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
The Eagles are 1-8 overall and are playing for the first time since a 73-46 loss at Georgetown on Dec. 5. Wednesday is the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs with the Blue Demons holding a 3-0 advantage.
Wednesday's game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start at Allstate Arena and can be seen and heard on Blue Tube at www.depaulbluedemons.com. Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Laurence Holmes (analyst) call all the action courtside at Allstate Arena. In-game scoring updates and notes can also be found at www.twitter.com/depaulsid.
Following the American game, the Texas State Bobcats venture to Rosemont on Saturday at 1 p.m. DePaul closes the non-conference schedule at Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 22 before opening BIG EAST play at Pittsburgh on Dec. 28.
Noting the Blue Demons: The men's basketball program is 1,363-816 (.626) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 499 straight games... DePaul's last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena... Will Walker has started 42 straight games... the win over Columbia in the season opener ended an 18-game losing streak in regular-season games... the Blue Demons have won four of their first five games in two straight seasons... in three of Jerry Wainwright's four seasons at DePaul, the Blue Demons have defeated at least one top 25 opponent... DePaul has played its first home game on Nov. 17 in each of the last four seasons... the four turnovers against Alabama State on Dec. 2 were the fewest in a game since four miscues against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 21, 2006.
Opponent No. 10 - American Eagles: American plays its first game since a Dec. 5 on Wednesday night... the Eagles stand at 1-8 entering the DePaul game... Stephen Lumpkins leads the team with 12.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game... he is followed by Riley Grafft at 9.8 points per game... Nick Hendra and Mike Bersch both have a team-high 12 three-pointers this season... the Eagles faced BIG EAST member Georgetown in their last game... the Hoyas posted a 73-46 win over American... head coach Jeff Jones is in his 10th season at American.
The Series: Wednesday's game is the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs... DePaul has won the three previous matchups... this season's meetings is the first since a 106-80 win for the Blue Demons on Dec. 11, 1991 at Alumni Hall.
Against the Patriot League: DePaul is 6-3 all-time against the current lineup of Patriot League programs... the Blue Demons have not faced Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh... American is the most common opponent with three previous meetings... DePaul last meeting with a Patriot League school was on Dec. 3, 2005... the Blue Demons dropped a 57-52 decision to Bucknell at Allstate Arena.
It Could Happen: A three-pointer would extend DePaul's streak to 500 straight games with a three-pointer... Will Walker needs five three-pointers to move into a tie with Draelon Burns (150 3pt. FG, 2004-08) for fourth in DePaul history... he also needs four points to move into a tie with Tony Jackson (1,015 pts., 1982-86) for 43rd on the scoring list and two steals to move into a tie for 20th with Melvon Foster (119 steals, 1988-91) and Terence Greene (1985-89).
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 77-56 win against UIC on Dec. 13:
- Will Walker's three-pointer with just over 18 minutes left in the second half moved him into DePaul's, 1,000-point club... Walker is the 45th player in DePaul history with 1,000 career points... he finished the game with 1,011 and is now ranked 44th all-time.
- The win was the 300th for DePaul at Allstate Arena... the Blue Demons are 300-113 (.726) in their 30th season in Rosemont.
- DePaul is now 4-0 at home... the Blue Demons are also 5-1 when leading at halftime and 5-0 when leading with 5:00 left.
- The Blue Demons knocked down a season-high 10 three-pointers... the 18 assists are the most in a game since 19 against Southern on Dec. 19, 2008... the 10 blocked shots are the most since 12 rejections in the Southern game last season.
- The starting lineup of Mike Stovall, Will Walker, Michael Bizoukas, Eric Wallace and Devin Hill are 4-1 this season.
- UIC is now 0-5 when trailing at the half and 0-5 on the road.
- The Flames totaled a season-high 16 assists.
- DePaul leads the series, 4-1... the Blue Demons have won two straight... the Blue Demons are now 103-36 all-time against teams from the Horizon League.
Walker Moves into 1K Club: With a three-pointer early in the second half against UIC, senior guard Will Walker became the 45th player in program history to score 1,000 points. He finished the game against the Flames with 1,011 points in 101 career games and currently sits in 44th place in DePaul history.
Walker is the first DePaul player to reach 1,000 points since Draelon Burns reached the milestone. Burns finished his career ranked No. 18 over his four seasons from 2004-08 with 1,329 points.
Drew Granted Transfer Waiver: DePaul junior guard Jimmy Drew was granted a transfer waiver by the NCAA on Dec. 14 and is immediately eligible to play for the Blue Demons. Drew, a walk-on from Anna, Ill., played his first two collegiate seasons at Southeast Missouri State before transferring to DePaul. With the waiver, he doesn't have to sit out a season after making the transfer.
The NCAA granted Drew the immediate waiver of the transfer rule based on extenuating circumstances at Southeast Missouri State prior to and leading to his transfer. The men's basketball program at Southeast Missouri State was put on a two-year probation in June 2008. As a walk-on at DePaul, Drew will have the remainder of the 2009-10 season with the Blue Demons and the entire 2010-11 campaign.
A 6-4 junior, Drew played as a freshman and sophomore at Southeast Missouri State. He totaled 51 career games with 16 starts. As a sophomore in 2007-08, he averaged 4.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game while being ranked eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a team-best .403 three-point percentage. Drew missed the 2008-09 season with an injury prior to the start of the season. As a prep standout at Anna-Jonesboro High School, Drew averaged 23.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while totaling 94 three-pointers as a senior.
The Defense Rests: Through the first four games of the season, the DePaul defense held each opponent to less than 60 points. The last team to accomplish the feat was in Ray Meyer's last season as head coach of the Blue Demons. Meyer's squad posted four straight sub-60 games from Mar. 1-10, 1984.
In the overtime win over Detroit on Nov. 28, the Blue Demons held the Titans to 58 points through 40 minutes before winning the game, 68-66, in overtime. DePaul followed that effort up by limiting Alabama State to just 50 points in the win on Dec. 2.
Through games of Dec. 13, the Blue Demons are ranked 25th in the NCAA rankings by allowing just 58.7 points per game. Over the last 45 seasons, only the 1982-83 squad posted better defensive numbers than the 2009-10 Blue Demons. In the first nine games of the 1982-83 season, DePaul's held opponents to 58.6 points per game.
Swiper No Swiping: In addition to the stingy defense, the Blue Demons are averaging just 10.1 turnovers per game through nine games this season. Sophomore Jeremiah Kelly has totaled 23 assists to just nine turnovers in 32.0 minutes per game this season. The Blue Demons lead the BIG EAST with the fewest turnovers per game and are ranked sixth nationally in the Dec. 13 NCAA statistical rankings.
Three Decades in Rosemont: DePaul is in its 30th season in 2009-10 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. The Blue Demons are 300-113 (.726) all-time in Rosemont. DePaul University played its first season in 1980-81 at the then-named Rosemont Horizon. The Blue Demons debuted in Rosemont with a 74-56 win over Gonzaga and John Stockton on Dec. 1, 1980.