DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Face Providence in Round Two
3/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
NEW YORK - DePaul ended its 18-game losing streak with a 67-57 win over Cincinnati to advance to the second round of the 2009 BIG EAST Championship. DePaul faces eighth-seeded Providence at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday afternoon. The Blue Demons are the No. 16 seed while the Friars picked up a first-round bye with the No. 8 seed. Wednesday’s winner advances to the quarterfinals to face top-seeded Louisville on Thursday.
DePaul enters the second round of the BIG EAST Tournament at 9-23 overall while Providence is 18-12 this season. Wednesday’s game is scheduled for a Noon ET/11 a.m. CT start and can be seen on ESPN with Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Len Elmore (analyst) and Allen Hopkins (sideline) handling the television duties. DePaul’s radio duo of Zach Zaidman and Laurence Holmes are calling the game on WSCR (670 AM) in Chicago.
BIG EAST Championship Notebook: The Blue Demons are making their second appearance at Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Championship... DePaul is 1-1 in the two appearances... the Blue Demons dropped a 75-67 to Villanova in the first round on Mar. 7, 2007... DePaul’s active roster featured a total of zero minutes of conference tournament action entering this week’s BIG EAST Championship... Will Walker did not play in the 2007 game against Villanova and Jabari Currie, who did play 20 minutes against the Wildcats, is injured and out for the remainder of the 2008-09 campaign... the BIG EAST Championship is the third conference tournament for the men’s basketball program at DePaul University... previously, the Blue Demons competed in postseason events for the Great Midwest Conference (1992-95) and Conference USA (1996-05). DePaul holds a 9-14 all-time record in conference tourney action with two appearances in conference tournament championship games in 2000 and 2004.
Noting the Blue Demons: The men’s basketball program is 1,357-812 (.626) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 490 straight games... DePaul’s last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena.
The Opponent: Providence picked up a first-round bye with the eighth seed in the BIG EAST Championship... the Friars are 18-12 overall and finished 10-8 in league action... Providence enters the tournament with four wins in its last 10 outings... the Friars concluded the regular season with a 97-80 loss at Villanova on Mar. 5... Weyinmi Efejuku leads the team with 15.4 points per game... the roster features four players in double-figures... Sharaud Curry holds an 11.6 scoring average while Marshon Brooks is third with 11.2 points per game and Jonathan Kale averages 10.2 points per contest... Geoff McDermott leads the team with 8.6 rebounds per game to go along with 8.2 points per game... as a team, the Friars are averaging 6.9 three-pointers per game while allowing 7.1 three’s per game... head coach Keno Davis in his first season at Providence with an 18-12 record... in two career seasons, Davis is 46-17... he was head coach at Drake during the 2007-08 campaign.
The Series: Wednesday is the 26th meeting between the two programs... Providence holds a 19-6 advantage in the series with four wins in five all-time BIG EAST matchups... the Friars won the only neutral floor meeting in Mar. 1961... Providence defeated DePaul, 73-67, in the NIT at Madison Square Garden... the two teams played 20 times from 1961-79 before the first BIG EAST meeting on Jan. 21, 2006... three of the five meetings in BIG EAST play have been decided by five points or less.
Conference Tournament History: Wednesday’s second-round game is the first between Providence and DePaul on conference tournament play.
Last Meeting: Weyinmi Efejuku scored 18 points to lead Providence to a 62-54 win over DePaul at Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Jan. 3... Efejuku knocked down four of the nine Friar three-pointers as Providence led from start to finish... DePaul pulled to within a point midway through the second half... with 5:29 left, Providence pushed the lead back to double-figures before DePaul cut the deficit to four with three minutes left... the Friars put the game with just under a minute left for the 62-54 final... Dar Tucker put together a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double while Will Walker led the Blue Demons with 14 points... Krys Faber added 11 points off the bench and Mac Koshwal grabbed 10 rebounds with seven points.
It Could Happen: Will Walker needs one three-pointer to move into a tie for eighth all-time (Joe Tulley - 119 3pt. FG, 1999-03)... with two three’s, Walker moves into a tie for seventh (Tom Kleinschmidt - 120 3pt. FG, 1991-95) and he needs three for a tie for sixth (Bobby Simmons - 121 3pt. FG, 1998-01)... Dar Tucker needs one point to move into a tie for 48th (Jesse Nash - 940 pts., 1961-65) on DePaul’s all-time scoring list... with 16 points, he will be tied for 47th (Mike Gillespie - 955 pts., 1971-74).
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul’s 67-57 win against Cincinnati on Mar. 10:
- DePaul ended its 18-game losing streak... the slide was the longest in program history.
- The win was the first this season for DePaul when trailing at halftime... DePaul is 1-21 when trailing at halftime... the Blue Demons are 8-1 when leading with 5:00 left.
- The win was DePaul’s first in the BIG EAST Championship... it was the first victory in a conference tournament since an 81-71 win over Tulane in the 2005 Conference USA Tournament... DePaul is 9-14 all-time in conference tournament play and 1-1 in the BIG EAST postseason tourney.
- Dar Tucker moved into 47th on DePaul’s all-time scoring list... he has 956 career points.
- Jeremiah Kelly set career highs with 12 points and four three-point field goals.
- The Bearcats are 0-3 in their three BIG EAST Championship appearances.
- The 10-point loss was their largest margin of defeat in the league tournament.
- Cincinnati leads the series, 30-15... DePaul has won three of the last four meetings and four of the last six.
- The two teams split the two meetings this season... Cincinnati claimed a 59-55 decision at Allstate Arena on Jan. 17.
Updated Individual Notes: Player updates following the Cincinnati game... Devin Hill: Recorded 37th blocked shot this season to take sole possession of 18th on the season chart... Jeremiah Kelly: Set career highs with 12 points, four three-point field goals and 39 minutes... Mac Koshwal: Just missed 12th double-double of the season... has 11 double-doubles with five other games of double-figure scoring and nine rebounds... dished out a career-high five assists (fourth time)... career-high 40 minutes (second time)... moved into 13th on the season rebounding list with 303 boards... Matija Poscic: Played a career-high 33 minutes... Dar Tucker: Led DePaul in scoring for the 20th time... 49th career game in double-figures... moved into 10th on the season scoring chart with 562 points... moved into 47th on DePaul’s all-time scoring list with 956 career points... Will Walker: Didn’t make a three-pointer for the first time since Jan. 28 against Connecticut... played a career-high 40 minutes.
Walker Big in BIG EAST Play: Junior guard Will Walker averaged 16.4 points per game in BIG EAST play while ranking second with a .443 (54-122) from three-point range. He’s ranked among league leaders in conference games only in three-point percentage (2nd - .443), 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 on Feb. 3 only to top that with 31 points at West Virginia on Mar. 4. 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.
Up Next: With a win over Providence, DePaul would advance to the quarterfinals to face top-seeded Louisville. The quarterfinal contest is scheduled for Noon ET/11 a.m. CT on ESPN and can be heard live on WSCR (670 AM) in Chicago or online at www.depaulbluedemons.com.
DePaul dropped a 99-54 decision at No. 5/7 Louisville on Feb. 15, 2009. A potential second round game would be the first meeting between the two programs in BIG EAST Championship play. It would be the first conference tournament meeting between the two programs despite the fact that they were both members of Conference USA from 1995-2005.
