DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Faces Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers
12/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Demons are 7-4 overall and 2-3 in the last five games. 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 3-3 with wins over Alabama State and UIC sandwiching losses to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State before falling to American and defeating Texas State.
Florida Gulf Coast is 3-6 overall and looking for its fourth straight victory. The Eagles opened the season with six straight defeats before winning their last three. Tuesday is the second meeting between DePaul and Florida Gulf Coast and the seventh all-time game for the Blue Demons against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Tuesday's game is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. ET start at Alico Arena and can be heard on Blue Tube at www.depaulbluedemons.com. Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Stephen Howard (analyst) call all the action live from Fort Myers beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. In-game scoring updates and notes can also be found at www.twitter.com/depaulsid.
Following the Florida Gulf Coast game, the Blue Demons open BIG EAST play at Pittsburgh on Dec. 28. That game can be seen live on ESPNU and heard live on WIND (560 AM) in Chicago.
Noting the Blue Demons: The men's basketball program is 1,364-817 (.625) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 501 straight games... DePaul's last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena... Will Walker has started 44 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. 12 - Florida Gulf Coast Eagles: Florida Gulf Coast stands at 3-6 entering Tuesday's action... the Eagles have won three straight since opening the season with six straight defeats... among the three wins was a victory over at USC Upstate to open Atlantic Sun play... Reed Baker leads the team with 12.2 points per game while Reggie Chambers adds 11.7 points per contest... the duo combines for 27 of FGCU's 39 three-pointers this season... head coach Dave Balza is in his eighth season at Florida Gulf Coast.
The Series: Tuesday's game is the second meeting between the two programs... DePaul won the inaugural game, 92-60, on Jan. 21, 2008 at Allstate Arena.
The Last Meeting: DePaul posted a 92-60 win at Allstate Arena in the first meeting between the two program... Will Walker and Draelon Burns led five players in double-figures with 19 points each... DePaul used a 13-2 run late in the first half and a 13-0 run early in the second half to pull away... Karron Clarke added 15 points and Dar Tucker scored 14... Mac Koshwal finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Against the Atlantic Sun: DePaul is 6-0 all-time against the current lineup of Atlantic Sun Conference programs... Florida Gulf Coast is lone team on the 2009-10 schedule from the Atlantic Sun... DePaul has posted wins over East Tennessee State, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville (twice) and Stetson (twice).
It Could Happen: Will Walker's next three-pointer moves him into sole possession of fourth all-time... he's currently tied with Draelon Burns (150 3pt. FG, 2004-08) for fourth in program history... a win will be No. 1,365 in program history... Mac Koshwal needs two rebounds for 600 in his career.
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 86-69 win against Texas State on Dec. 19:
- DePaul is 5-1 at home and 6-1 when leading at the half.
- The Blue Demons scored a season-high 86 points... most points in a game since a 90-67 win over Alcorn State on Dec. 28, 2008... the 52 second-half points are most in a half since scoring 60 against Notre Dame in the second half on Mar. 2, 2008... DePaul lost that game, 98-91.
- DePaul also committed a season-high 16 turnovers.
- Mike Stovall scored a career-high 19 points... it was also his first career game in double-figures... he also recorded career bests with nine rebounds, six assists and six steals in just under 40 minutes.
- Devin Hill reached double-figures for the third straight game... first time in his career with three consecutive games in double-figures... the 19 points marked a career best.
- Will Walker moved into a tie with Draelon Burns (2004-08) for fourth on DePaul's all-time career three-point list... Walker has 150 three's in 103 career games... with four steals, he's now
- Walker registered his ninth career game of 20 or more points and the fourth of the season.
- Saturday was the first meeting between the two programs... DePaul is 8-0 all-time against teams from the Southland Conference.
Koshwal Cleared: DePaul junior Mac Koshwal has been medically cleared to play starting with Tuesday night's game at Florida Gulf Coast. The 6-10 forward/center has been out of the lineup over the last eight games with a left foot injury.
Koshwal posted a pair of double-doubles in the first three games this season and is averaging 15.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per outing. He put together a 19-rebound effort against Northern Iowa in the first game of the Paradise Jam to go along with 12 points after a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double in the opener against Columbia.
It was determined on Dec. 1 that Koshwal would miss up to three-to-four weeks with a left foot injury. He missed the Saint Joseph's and Detroit games in November followed by the Alabama State, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, UIC, American and Texas State games in December.
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. 20, the Blue Demons are ranked 39th in the NCAA rankings by allowing just 59.9 points per game.
Swiper No Swiping: In addition to the stingy defense, the Blue Demons are averaging just 10.2 turnovers per game through 11 games this season. Sophomores Jeremiah Kelly and Michael Bizoukas have combined for 54 assists to 22 turnovers this season. The Blue Demons lead the BIG EAST entering this week's action and in the latest NCAA rankings of Dec. 20, DePaul is ranked fourth nationally.
Starting Where He Left Off: One of the keys to the 2009-10 season for the DePaul basketball team in the continued production of Will Walker. The senior guard closed the 2008-09 campaign strong by averaging 24.8 points per game over the final four games. He shot .463 (38-82) from the field and .405 (15-37) from behind the arc in the final two regular-season games at West Virginia and Georgetown and in BIG EAST Championship games against Cincinnati and Providence.
In BIG EAST play, he averaged 16.4 points per game while ranking second with a .443 (54-122) percentage from three-point range. He was also ranked among league leaders in conference games only in three-point field goals per game (t3rd - 3.00/game), steals (t8th - 1.78 spg) and scoring (t11th - 16.4 ppg).
He posted a career-high 30 points against Marquette only to top that with 31 points at West Virginia and against Providence in the BIG EAST Championship second round. Walker reached double-figures in 15 league games and in addition to the 30-point outings, he's also registered a pair of 23-point games at Rutgers and against Villanova. In eight conference contests, Walker has knocked down at least four three-pointers including a the career-high six trifectas against Villanova on Feb. 25 before a bettering that effort with seven trifectas at West Virginia on Mar. 4.
Through 11 games in the 2009-10 campaign, Walker leads the Blue Demons with 17.0 points per game. He has already posted four games of at least 20 points including a season-high 25 points against Saint Joseph's in the Paradise Jam consolation game. Walker followed that effort with a 20-point outing against Detroit and 21 points against Alabama State. Dating back to last season, Walker has scored at least 20 points in eight of the last 17 games.
On the Rebound: Junior forward/center Mac Koshwal became just one of 14 players in DePaul history to grab at least 300 rebounds when he totaled 308 boards last season. His sophomore-year totals put him in a tie for 12th on DePaul season list and he is on pace to enter DePaul's top 10 in career rebounds this season after totaling 559 rebounds.
He put together one of the top rebounding performances in program history with a career-high 22 boards against Creighton on Dec. 23 in the championship game of the Las Vegas Classic. He nearly outrebounded the Bluejays individually as Creighton managed just a combined 28 total rebounds. Koshwal racked up 15 games last season with double-figure rebounds, including four games of at least 15 boards.
In his three games this season, Koshwal is averaging 15.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. He pulled down 19 rebounds against Northern Iowa in the Paradise Jam and has two double-doubles this season. Koshwal missed eight games from Nov. 23-Dec. 19 with a left foot injury and is scheduled to return to action at Florida Gulf Coast.