DePaul Welcomes Northwestern to Chicago for Saturday Showdown
12/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Game Notes: DePaul
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CHICAGO - DePaul welcomes its suburban neighbors to Chicago for a Saturday afternoon matchup at Wintrust Arena. The Blue Demons enter the game with Northwestern on a five-game win streak and hold a 4-1 record in their new facility in the South Loop.
Saturday's game will be televised on FS1 with Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) handling the television duties. The game can also be seen online and on mobile devices with FOX Sports Go. DePaul's radio tandem of Jordan Bernfield (play-by-play) and Dave Corzine (analyst) can be heard on WSCR 670 AM as well as online on BlueTube at www.depaulbluedemons.com. Live stats can be found on GameTracker at www.depaulbluedemons.com while game updates and notes can be followed on Twitter via @DePaulSID. Start time between the Blue Demons and Wildcats is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Northwestern 7-4 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play with back-to-back wins this week against Chicago State and Valparaiso. The Blue Demons stand at 6-4 with five straight wins following Monday's 83-59 decision over Alabama A&M. DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is in his sixth season at DePaul and his third since returning to the program after leading the Blue Demons three postseasons in three years from 2002-05. Overall, the 2017-18 campaign is Leitao's 12th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Northwestern is led by Chris Collins who is in his fifth season leading the Wildcats.
Game MVP Honored with Waldo Fisher-Frank McGrath Award: Starting in December 1974 with DePaul's Dave Corzine, the most valuable player of each DePaul-Northwestern game has been honored with the Waldo Fisher-Frank McGrath Award. Led by longtime Chicago broadcaster Les Grobstein and started with Hall of Fame coaches Ray Meyer of DePaul and Tex Winter of Northwestern some of the greatest players in Chicago college basketball have been honored with the award. A Northwestern player has claimed the award in each of the last four meetings including Scottie Lindsey last season in Evanston. The last DePaul player to win the honor was Draelon Burns in November 2007.
Noting the Blue Demons: The men's basketball program is 1,443-991 (.593) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 749 straight games... DePaul's last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena... the current streak started against Notre Dame on Feb. 21, 1993... DePaul is playing every home game under the same roof for the first time since the 2009-10 season... the last seven seasons have seen the Blue Demons play home games at Allstate Arena and McGrath-Phillips Arena... DePaul is 40-42 all-time in games that go to overtime... the Oregon game on Nov. 24 was the first overtime game this season.
The Opponent - Northwestern Wildcats: Northwestern is 7-4 following an 84-50 win over Valparaiso on Thursday night... the Wildcats have won two straight over Chicago State and Valparaiso following a 74-69 loss at Purdue on Dec. 3... Scottie Lindsey leads four players averaging in double-figures with 15.5 points per game... Lindsey has also knocked down a team-best 27 three-pointers... Vic Law adds 14.1 points per game while Bryant McIntosh chips in with a scoring average of 13.3 to go with a team-high 63 assists... Dererk Pardon averages 11.5 points with a team-high 6.3 rebounds per outing... head coach Chris Collins is in his fifth season leading the Wildcats... DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is 3-3 all-time against Northwestern.
The Series: Saturday is the 33rd all-time meeting between the two programs... DePaul holds a 20-12 advantage in the series... both sides have claimed five victories over the last 10 games... Northwestern has won the last two meetings... a year ago, the Wildcats posted an 80-64 win over DePaul in Evanston... two seasons ago saw Northwestern record a 78-70 win in overtime at Allstate Arena.
Against the Big Ten: DePaul is 84-80 all-time against the current membership of the Big Ten Conference... Northwestern is DePaul's most common opponent... the Blue Demons lead that series, 20-12... the Wildcats are DePaul's third Big Ten opponent of the season... the Blue Demons lost at Illinois, 82-73, on Nov. 17 as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games... DePaul also dropped a 73-51 decision to Michigan State on Thanksgiving Night in the first game of the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore.
It Could Happen: A three-pointer extends DePaul's streak to 750 consecutive games with a three... a win would be the sixth straight for the Blue Demons... the potential six-game win streak would be the longest since a seven-game winning streak from Nov. 27-Dec. 22, 2012... a win also improves DePaul's record at Wintrust Arena to 5-1... with at least 10 points, Tre'Darius McCallum registers his 25th career game in double-figures.
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 83-59 win against Alabama A&M on Monday:
- The win was the fifth straight for the Blue Demons marking their longest win streak since a seven-game win streak from Nov. 23-Dec. 9, 2012.
- The 48 first-half points are the second-highest total in half this season by the Blue Demons... DePaul scored 49 in the first half against Portland on Nov. 26 in the final game of the PK80 Invitational.
- DePaul scored at least 80 points for the fourth time in the last five games.
- With the win, the Blue Demons improve to 4-1 at Wintrust Arena.
- The Blue Demons totaled a season-high 24 assists on 31 field goals for the game... in the first half alone, 15-of-18 field goals were assisted... the 24 assists are the most in game since totaling 25 against Chicago State on Dec. 10, 2011.
- DePaul recorded its third win of the season with at least a 20-point margin... the Blue Demons also defeated Central Connecticut, 85-57, on Dec. 6 and Delaware State, 81-57, on Nov. 13.
- DePaul extended its streak to 749 straight games with a three-pointer... the 11 three-pointers marked the second game with at least 10 threes this season.
- Monday was the first meeting between the two programs... DePaul is 10-0 all-time against the current membership of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Trendy: The Blue Demons have placed at least four players in double-figures in eight of the first 10 games including back-to-back games with five in double-figures... a year ago, at least four scored in double-figures six times (32 games)... five different players have led DePaul in scoring this season... DePaul has committed less turnovers than the opponent in all 10 games... in the BIG EAST statistical rankings, only Eli Cain and Shamorie Ponds of St. John's are averaging at least 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game... among the league's freshmen, only Jaylen Butz and Villanova's Omari Spellman are ranked in the top 30 rebounders.
Locals Only: Over the last six-plus seasons (since start of 2010-11 season), DePaul is 17-4 against Chicagoland opponents (Chicago State, UIC, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern)... in the last 16-plus seasons (since start of 2000-01 season), the record against locals is 31-10... DePaul faces Northwestern (Dec. 16 at Wintrust Arena) and UIC (W, 65-66 on Dec. 9 at UIC Pavilion) this season... including this season, DePaul has played three local opponents in six of the last eight seasons.
Opponents in the Rankings: The latest top 25s feature six opponents for the Blue Demons. DePaul's first ranked opponent was then-No. 14 Notre Dame on Nov. 11. The Blue Demons opened the PK80 against then-No. 4/5 Michigan State and will face ranked BIG EAST opponents in current No. 1/1 Villanova, No. 10/9 Xavier, No. 15/15 Seton Hall and --/No. 25 Creighton. DePaul's BIG EAST slate opens Dec. 27 with the top-ranked Wildcats at Wintrust Arena followed by a road trip to Xavier on Dec. 30.
Wintrust Arena will hold a unique distinction if Villanova remains at No. 1 entering the BIG EAST opener on Dec. 27. The facility could host both the No. 1 women's team and the No. 1 men's team in a span of just 20 days. No. 1 Connecticut defeated the DePaul women's team, 103-69, on Dec. 8.
Game 12 - Dec. 21 vs. Miami (Ohio): DePaul hosts Miami (Ohio) on Thursday, Dec. 21 in the final non-conference game of the regular season... the Blue Demons and Redhawks meet at 8 p.m. on FS1 and WSCR 670 AM... the 2017-18 meeting is the eighth game between the schools and the first since the 1960-61 season... DePaul leads the series, 4-3... Miami is 6-4 and hosts Rio Grande on Sunday afternoon before next week's game at DePaul.
