DePaul University Athletics
Men's Hoops Host Villanova
2/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - DePaul returns to Allstate Arena this week for the final two home games of the regular season. The two-game homestand starts Wednesday night against No. 10/12 Villanova before St. John’s visits Rosemont on Saturday. Over the last nine games, the Blue Demons have faced a top 10 opponent in seven contests. DePaul is in the midst of a season-ending six-game stretch that sees the Blue Demons play four road games. The Blue Demons opened the run with a 99-54 loss at No. 5/7 Louisville on Feb. 15 before an 80-61 defeat at No. 4/4 Pittsburgh on Feb. 21.
DePaul stands at 0-14 in league play while Villanova is 10-4 in BIG EAST action. Entering Tuesday’s BIG EAST slate, the Wildcats are in fifth place in the BIG EAST standings. The Blue Demons are 8-19 overall while Villanova is 22-5 this season.
Wednesday’s game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and can be seen in Chicago on WWME as part of the BIG EAST Network with Lou Canellis (play-by-play) and Mark Adams (analyst) handling the television duties. DePaul’s radio duo of Zach Zaidman and Laurence Holmes are calling the game on WSCR (670 AM) in Chicago.
Following the Villanova game, the Blue Demons play the final home game of the regular season against St. John’s on Saturday at 11 a.m. before road games at West Virginia (Mar. 4) and Georgetown (Mar. 7) round out the 2008-09 slate. The BIG EAST Championship starts on Tuesday, Mar. 10 at Madison Square Garden.
Noting the Blue Demons: The men’s basketball program is 1,356-808 (.627) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 485 straight games... DePaul’s last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena... DePaul has attempted more free throws than its opponent in 20 of 27 games this season... only Notre Dame (Dec. 31), Cincinnati (Jan. 17), Marquette (Jan. 24 and Feb. 3), Connecticut (Jan. 28) and Pittsburgh (Feb. 21) 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 5-3... during the current 14-game skid, the Blue Demons are averaging 4.8 three’s per game (67 total in the 14 games)... the 14-game losing streak is the longest skid in program history... the previous longest streak for consecutive defeats was 13 games that occurred in each of the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons... 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 13 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: Villanova - ranked No. 10 in this week’s AP poll and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches top 25 - enters Wednesday’s game at 22-5 overall and 10-4 in BIG EAST play... the Wildcats have won eight of the last nine straight, including an 89-86 win at Syracuse on Sunday... Dante Cunningham leads three players in double-figures with 16.3 points per game... he is followed by Scottie Reynolds’ 15.3 scoring average and Corey Fisher’s 11.2 points per game... Cunningham grabs a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game while Corey Stokes has knocked down 57 three-pointers while Reynolds has nailed 54 trifectas... as a team, Villanova holds a +10.9 scoring margin over the opponents... head coach Jay Wright is in his sixth season as head coach at Villanova... he is 170-88 with the Wildcats... prior to Villanova, he was head coach at Hofstra from 1994-01 and holds a career record of 292-173.
The Series: Wednesday is the 20th meeting between the two programs... Villanova holds an 11-8 advantage in the series... in BIG EAST play, the Wildcats have won three of five meetings... the two teams have split four regular-season BIG EAST meetings with Villanova claiming a tournament first round win in Mar. 2007... a year ago, the two teams split the season series with each side winning on its home floor.
Last Meeting: Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points to lead Villanova to a 76-69 win over DePaul at The Pavilion on Jan. 16, 2008... the Wildcats used a late 15-0 run to win the game... a Draelon Burns three-pointer gave DePaul a 57-50 advantage with 9:49 left... the Blue Demons didn’t score again over the next 5:36 while the Wildcats went on the run to take a 65-59 advantage with 4:13 to go... Burns scored 27 points and Dar Tucker added 18 for DePaul... the Blue Demons drilled 12 three-pointers and led, 40-31, at halftime... Antonio Pena added 17 points and nine rebounds while Dante Cunningham scored 14 for Villanova.
Last Meeting at Allstate Arena: DePaul opened up an 18-8 lead and led by 12 points at 40-28 at halftime... the Blue Demons used an 11-2 run early in the second half to open up a 53-38 lead with 14:27 left... trailing by 16 points, Villanova ran off a 10-0 run and pulled to within 68-64 with 3:30 left... Draelon Burns put DePaul ahead for good with two free throws followed by a steal and lay-up for a 72-64 lead with 2:57 left... Burns led six players in double-figures with 20 points while Karron Clarke added 14... the victory over the 17th-ranked Wildcats was the last win over a top 25 opponent for the Blue Demons.
Career Statistics vs. Villanova
| Player | G-GS | FG-A | Pct. | 3P-A | Pct. | FT-A | Pct. | Reb. | Avg. | A | TO | Blk. | Stl. | Pts. | Avg. |
| Koshwal | 2-2 | 4-11 | .364 | 0-0 | .000 | 5-5 | 1.00 | 16 | 8.0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 |
| Poscic | 1-0 | 0-0 | .000 | 0-0 | .000 | 0-0 | .000 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Tucker | 2-0 | 8-14 | .571 | 5-10 | .500 | 0-0 | .000 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 10.5 |
| Walker | 3-1 | 5-10 | .500 | 5-10 | .500 | 3-4 | .750 | 3 | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 6.0 |
It Could Happen: A win would end DePaul’s program-high 14-game losing streak... a loss will give DePaul the third season in program history with 20 losses... Dar Tucker needs 28 points for 900 in his career... Will Walker needs one three-pointer to become the 13th player in school history with 100 career three’s... Dar Tucker needs three three-pointers to also join the 100 three-point field goal list.
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul’s 80-61 loss at No. 4/4 Pittsburgh on Feb. 21:
- DePaul knocked down a season-high 11 three-pointers... when making at least seven three’s, the Blue Demons are 5-3 this season.
- Will Walker matched his career highs with five three-pointers (third time) and nine three-point attempts (second time)... he now has 99 career three-pointers and is 13th in school history for three-point field goals... his next three makes him the 13th player in DePaul history with 100 career three’s.
- Dar Tucker tallied a career-high five assists... his 18 points marked his 45th career game in double-figures... he moved into 14th all-time with his 97 career three-pointers.
- The Blue Demons used their 13th different starting line-up of the season.
- The 14th straight loss marked a new program record for consecutive defeats... previously, the 1995-96 and 1996-97 teams held the mark with 13 straight losses.
- DePaul has made a three-pointer in 485 straight games.
- Pittsburgh leads the series, 5-1... the Panthers have won all five BIG EAST meetings.
- With the win, the Panthers swept the regular-season series... Pittsburgh knocked of DePaul, 92-69, at Allstate Arena on Feb. 7.
Up Next: DePaul hosts St. John’s on Saturday, Feb. 28 for a game at Allstate Arena. The 11 a.m. game can be seen on WWME in Chicago as part of the BIG EAST Network and will also be on the radio at WSCR (670 AM). DePaul will also introduce its 2009 Hall of Fame class and recognized seniors Jabari Currie and Matija Poscic.
