DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Hosts Little Rock at McGrath-Phillips Arena Saturday Night
12/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - DePaul hosts undefeated Little Rock in a Saturday night showdown at McGrath-Phillips Arena. The Blue Demons are looking for their fifth straight win while the Trojans enter the game as one of 10 teams in the nation without a loss this season.
Saturday's game will be televised FS1 with Steve Physioc (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) handling the television duties. The broadcast can be seen on mobile devices with the FOX Sports Go app and online at www.foxsportsgo.com. DePaul's radio tandem of Laurence Holmes (play-by-play) and Jeff Blanzy (analyst) can be heard on WSCR 670 AM and online on BlueTube at www.depaulbluedemons.com. Live stats can be found on GameTracker at www.depaulbluedemons.com while in-game scoring updates and notes can be followed at www.twitter.com/depaulsid.
DePaul is at 5-3 while Little Rock stands at 7-0 this season. The Blue Demons have won four straight with wins over Norfolk State, UIC, Chicago State and Drake. Of the 10 undefeated teams in the nation, DePaul will have faced two of them with Little Rock and South Carolina. The Blue Demons dropped a 76-61 decision to the Gamecocks to open the Paradise Jam on Nov. 20.
Head coach Dave Leitao is in his fourth season at DePaul and his first since returning to the program after leading the Blue Demons to three postseasons in three years from 2002-05. Overall, the 2015-16 campaign is Leitao's 10th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Little Rock is led by Chris Beard who is in his first season leading the Trojans.
Following the Little Rock game, the Blue Demons travel to Stanford for a Tuesday night game at Maples Pavilion. The contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. PT/9 p.m. CT start on FS1 and WSCR 670 AM.
Noting the Blue Demons: The men's basketball program is 1,424-945 (.601) all-time... the 81-70 win over Florida Atlantic on Dec. 12, 2013 was win No. 1,400 since start of 1923-24 season... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 684 straight games... DePaul's last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena... the Blue Demons set school records in 2014-15 with 248 three's and 705 attempts... the Blue Demons are 333-167 (.666) all-time at Allstate Arena... DePaul is 10-1 (.909) all-time in games at McGrath-Phillips Arena... over the last five-plus seasons, DePaul is 15-1 against Chicagoland opponents (Chicago State, UIC, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern)... in the last 10-plus seasons, the record against locals is 20-5... DePaul faces UIC (Dec. 2 - W, 82-55), Chicago State (Dec. 5 - W, 92-76) and Northwestern (Dec. 19) this season.
The Opponent: Little Rock enters Saturday's game at 7-0 following a 64-54 win at Idaho on Dec. 5... the Trojans are just one of 10 undefated teams in the nation... as a team, Little Rock is holding opponents to a nation-best 54.6 points per game... Marcus Johnson Jr. leads the team with 15.1 points per game while Josh Hagins averages 11.1 points per game... head coach Chris Beard is in his first season at Little Rock... DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is facing Little Rock for the first time.
The Series: Saturday is the first meeting between the two programs.
Against the Sun Belt Conference: DePaul is 6-0 all-time against the current membership of the Sun Belt Conference... the Blue Demons have faced only Arkansas State and Texas State... DePaul is 5-0 all-time against Arkansas State and 1-0 against Texas State... DePaul's last game against a Sun Belt opponent was an 86-69 win over Texas State on Dec. 19, 2009 at Allstate Arena.
It Could Happen: A win gives DePaul its longest win streak since a seven-game run from Nov. 27-Dec. 22, 2012... the Blue Demons enter the Little Rock game with four straight victories matching the longest streak of last season... Billy Garrett Jr. (338 free throws) enters the game tied for ninth on DePaul's all-time free throw list... with one free throw, Garrett takes sole possession of ninth... on the all-time assists chart, Garrett (247 assists) needs nine assists to pass Terry Davis (255 assists, 1989-93) for 24th place... Tommy Hamilton IV is playing in his 70th career game... he needs one three-pointer for 50 career.
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 74-71 win at Drake on Dec. 9:
- The Blue Demons opened the game with a 14-2 run, but Reed Timmer led Drake back with 20 first-half points... Drake briefly took the lead in the second half as the two teams traded baskets over the first three minutes... a Hamilton layup gave the Blue Demons the lead for good... Billy Garrett Jr. converted a three-point play to make the score 56-47 with 12 minutes left on the clock... the lead remained between five and eight points over the next nine minutes of the game until the Bulldogs moved to within three with 2:41 to go... the final minute saw Henry step to the free throw line and seal the win by going 3-of-4 in the final 15 seconds... his last two free shots gave DePaul a 74-68 lead before the Bulldogs made a three-pointer at the buzzer.
- DePaul won its season-high fourth straight game... last season saw the Blue Demons put together one four-game win streak.
- Tommy Hamilton IV recorded his 30th career game in double-figures.
- Billy Garrett Jr. moved into the top 10 all-time in free throws... he finished the game tied for ninth with 338 free throws (Ron Feiereisel, 1950-53).
- DePaul leads the series, 6-2... the Blue Demons are 122-46 against the current membership of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Trendy: Over the last five games, DePaul is shooting .425 (37-87) from three-point range... in the first three games of the season, the Blue Demons went just 7-for-40 (.175) from behind the arc... in wins, DePaul is averaging 16.0 assists compared to 7.3 per game in losses... the team has combined for 21 blocked shots in the last three games... in two of the last three games, the Blue Demons have held the opposition to a season-low field goal percentage... DePaul held UIC to .364 (20-55) before lowering the mark to .352 (25-71) against Chicago State... the DePaul bench has outscore the opposition in seven of eight games.
On Deck: DePaul travels to Stanford for a Tuesday night game... the Blue Demons and Cardinal meet at 7 p.m. PT at Maples Pavilion on FS1 and WSCR 670 AM... the series is tied at 2-2... DePaul posted an 87-72 win over Stanford last season on Nov. 30 at Allstate Arena... the game is DePaul's first trip to Stanford since the first all-time meeting on Dec. 27, 1966.
