DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Take On Friars at Allstate Arena
2/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - DePaul heads into the home stretch of the regular season with three of its final five games at Allstate Arena. The Blue Demons start the run with a Wednesday night game in Rosemont against the Providence Friars. The game is the first for DePaul since an 86-78 loss at St. John's on Feb. 11.
Wednesday's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Brent Stover (play-by-play), Bob Wenzel (analyst) and Rashan Ali (reporter) handling the television duties. DePaul's radio tandem of Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Jeff Blanzy (analyst) can be heard on WSCR 670 AM, online on BlueTube at www.depaulbluedemons.com and on DePaul's mobile app. 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 stands at 12-14 overall and 6-7 in the BIG EAST this season while Providence enters the game with an 18-8 record overall and 8-5 mark in league play. Head coach Oliver Purnell is in his fifth season at DePaul and his 27th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Providence is led by Ed Cooley who is in his fourth season leading the Friars. Wednesday's game is the 34th meeting between the two programs and the second of two during the regular season. Providence defeated DePaul, 83-72, on Jan. 29 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Following the Providence game, DePaul travels to Georgetown for a Saturday night game at Verizon Center. Start time in Washington, D.C. is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and WSCR 670 AM.
3-Paul Aiming for Program Record: DePaul's 210 three-pointers this season are on pace to set a new program season record. The 2007-08 team holds the current top mark with 231 three's. The Blue Demons enter the Providence game averaging 8.1 three's per game this season.
In three of Oliver Purnell's five seasons at DePaul, the Blue Demons have finished or will finish in the top six on the team season three-point chart. The 2011-12 team is currently second and the 2013-14 squad is tied for fifth.
In addition to the top five ranking in three's made, the 2014-15 team is currently tied for sixth with 582 three-point attempts and seventh with a .361 three-point percentage this season.
Noting the Blue Demons: The men's basketball program is 1,419-936 (.603) 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 670 straight games... DePaul's last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena... DePaul's current roster features eight players that have made at least 14 three-pointers this season... among the eight, six players have at least 20 three's in 2014-15... the Blue Demons are 332-164 (.669) all-time at Allstate Arena... DePaul is 9-1 (.900) all-time in games at McGrath-Phillips Arena... in Oliver Purnell's five seasons at DePaul, the Blue Demons are 13-1 against Chicagoland opponents (Chicago State, UIC, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern)... DePaul posted a 3-0 record this season with wins over UIC, Northern Illinois and Chicago State... in the Purnell era, the Blue Demons are 25-4 (4-0 in 2014-15/6-1 in 2013-14) when scoring 80 or more points... DePaul's 2014-15 roster includes nine players from the Chicagoland area.
The Opponent: Providence is 18-8 overall and 8-5 in BIG EAST action after a 69-62 win against Seton Hall on Feb. 14... that win snapped a two-game losing streak that saw the Friars drop games to Villanova and Xavier... LaDontae Henton leads the team with 20.5 points per game... Kris Dunn adds 15.4 points per game and a team-high 7.6 assists per outing... Dunn and Henton are averaging a team-best 5.8 rebounds per contest... head coach Ed Cooley is in his fourth season leading the Friars... DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell is 2-4 all-time against Providence.
The Series: Wednesday is the 34th all-time meeting between the two programs... the Friars hold a 25-8 advantage in the series... in five of the last seven games, the visiting team has won... a year ago, Providence swept the season series with a 72-77 win at Allstate Arena on Feb. 1 and an 81-64 decision at Dunkin' Donuts Center on Feb. 15... the Friars posted an 83-72 in the first meeting this season in Providence on Jan. 29.
The Last Meeting: Providence posted an 83-72 win at Dunkin' Donuts Center on Jan. 29, 2015... the game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27, but a blizzard postponed the game to Thursday afternoon... Kris Dunn recorded the ninth triple-double in Providence history with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists... DePaul combined to shoot just .320 from the field in the first half and trailed, 41-23, at intermission... DePaul closed to within eight points with four minutes left, but could get no closer... Tommy Hamilton IV led the Blue Demons with 22 points... Billy Garrett added 16, Jamee Crockett scored 14 and Myke Henry added 10 points... LaDontae Henton scored 12 for the Friars... the Blue Demons shot .643 in the second half while outscoring Providence, 49-42, in the second frame.
It Could Happen: A win gives DePaul 10 home wins... it would be the first season with 10 home victories since the 2006-07 team posted a 14-2 home record... a potential seventh BIG EAST win would be the most since the Blue Demons totaled nine BIG EAST wins during the 2006-07 campaign... with 10 points, Tommy Hamilton IV records his 25th career game in double-figures... Jamee Crockett (111 3pt. FG) needs four three-pointers to move into a tie for 13th all-time at DePaul... Sammy Mejia (2003-07) is in 13th place with 115 three-pointers.
Trendy: DePaul is one of two teams in the BIG EAST with St. John's to feature four of the top 25 scorers in the league... Billy Garrett Jr. (13.3 ppg) is 10th, Myke Henry (12.8 ppg) is 13th, Jamee Crockett (11.3 ppg) is 18th and Tommy Hamilton IV (10.8 ppg) is 22nd... in the team BIG EAST rankings for all games, the Blue Demons lead the league in free throw percentage (.741) and are second in three-point field goal percentage (.361) and three-point field goals (8.1 per game)... in conference games only, the Blue Demons are second in three-point field goals (8.1 per game) and three--point field goal percentage defense (.311)... DePaul is third in free throw percentage (.732)... after going 12-for-24 from the free throw line in the season opener, DePaul went 305-of-393 (.776) over the next 18 games... in the following two games, the team free throw percentage totaled just .565 (26-46) before a combined 13-for-16 (.813) effort at Providence... including the Providence game, DePaul is shooting a combined .741 (63-85) from the free throw line over the last five games... the Milwaukee game on Dec. 7 featured a team effort of 21-for-23 (.913) that included 11-of-11 from Billy Garrett Jr. and 7-for-7 from Tommy Hamilton IV... the Blue Demons pulled off an almost identical performance against Colorado by combining to go 20-for-22 (.909) from the line... Garrett duplicated the 11-of-11 performance against Colorado at the Diamond Head Classic... over the last six games, opponents have combined to shoot greater than .500 four times... DePaul's lone win among those six games was over Seton Hall... the Blue Demons held the Pirates to a combined mark of .360 (18-50).
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 86-78 loss at St. John's on Feb. 11:
- DePaul extended its streak to 670 straight games with a three-pointer.
- Jamee Crockett moved into 14th place on DePaul's all-time three-point field goal list.
- St. John's leads the all-time series, 19-16... the two sides split the regular-season series.
On Deck: DePaul travels to Georgetown on Saturday, Feb. 21... the Blue Demons and Hoyas are scheduled for an 8 p.m. ET start on CBS Sports Network and WSCR 670 AM... Georgetown is 16-8 overall and 8-5 in BIG EAST action and host St. John's on Tuesday night... the Hoyas are receiving votes in both national polls this week... Georgetown recorded a 78-72 win over DePaul in the first meeting on Jan. 13 at Allstate Arena... Myke Henry scored 17 and Billy Garrett Jr. added 16 for DePaul... the Hoyas were led by D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera with 25 points (10-13 FT)... Georgetown leads the all-time series, 23-8.
