DePaul Hosts Morgan State Monday Night

Monday, November 12

Wintrust Arena

7:30 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Morgan State

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11/11/2018 6:50:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL

Ticket Information DePaul Game Notes Morgan State Game Notes Live Video Live Audio Live Stats

Blue Demons and Bears meet at 7:30 p.m. inside Wintrust Arena

CHICAGO - DePaul continues its season-opening three-game homestand with a Monday night game against Morgan State. The Blue Demons opened the 2018-19 season and the second year of the Wintrust Arena era with an 80-58 win over Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday night. The Blue Demons and Bears are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start at Wintrust Arena.

Monday's game will be televised on FS1 with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Stephen Howard (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 Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Jeff Blanzy (analyst) can be heard on WIND 560 AM as well as online on DePaul All-Access at www.depaulbluedemons.com. Live stats can also be found at www.depaulbluedemons.com while in-game scoring updates can be followed on Twitter at @DePaulHoops.

Morgan State is 0-2 early in the season with losses at Villanova and Saint Francis (Pa.). A year ago, the Bears posted a 13-19 overall record and 7-9 mark in the MEAC. Former DePaul assistant coach Brian Ellerbe is assistant coach for the Bears. DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is in his seventh season at DePaul and his fourth 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 13th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Morgan State is led by Todd Bozeman who is in his 13th season leading the Bears.

Need to Know

The Blue Demons host the Morgan State Bears on Monday night at Wintrust Arena. The contest is the second all-time between the programs. The Bears claimed the lone previous meeting with a 79-75 decision at Allstate Arena on Dec. 10, 2008.
DePaul's opened its second season at Wintrust Arena last Wednesday with an 80-58 win against Bethune-Cookman. The Blue Demons led by as many as 28 points in the second half.
Senior guard Max Strus was named second team preseason All-BIG EAST in a vote of the league's head coaches. He was one of 10 players named to the first and second teams.
The DePaul roster features nine newcomers including two graduate transfers, one now-eligible transfer, five freshmen and a transfer sitting out this season.
Two starters return among the nine players back from a year ago. Overall, the Blue Demons return just under 50 percent of the scoring and rebounding from last season.
DePaul is playing its second season at Wintrust Arena in Chicago's South Loop. The award-winning facility features 10,387 seats including 22 suites and 479 premium club seats. The state-of-art facility also holds NBA-level locker rooms and training facilities for the DePaul men's and women's basketball programs.
Head coach Dave Leitao begins his fourth season of his second stint at DePaul. He led the program from 2002-05 before returning in March 2015.

Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 80-58 win over Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 7:

DePaul is 83-13 all-time in the first game of the season... in home openers, the Blue Demons hold an 88-8 record... DePaul has won 51 of its last 54 first home games.
Jaylen Butz scored a career-high 12 points... it was his fourth career game in double-figures.
Paul Reed matched his career high (third time) with 11 points in his third career game in double-figures.
Max Strus recorded his 13th career game of at least 20 points with 25 points tonight... he has scored in double-figures in 27 of 32 career games at DePaul.
Wednesday was the first meeting between the two programs.

It Could Happen: A win would make DePaul 2-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2014-15 season... the Blue Demons opened that season with a 6-1 record... Eli Cain needs eight points to reach 1,200 for his career... Max Strus needs 14 three-pointers for 100 in his career.

Noting the Blue Demons: The men's basketball program is 1,449-1,006 (.590) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 771 straight games... DePaul's last game without a three was over 25 years ago on Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena... the current streak started against Notre Dame on Feb. 21, 1993... DePaul played every home game under the same roof in 2017-18 for the first time since the 2009-10 season... over the last eight-plus seasons (since start of 2010-11 season), DePaul is 17-5 against Chicagoland opponents (Chicago State, UIC, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern)... in the last 18-plus seasons (since the start of 2000-01 season), the record against locals is 31-11... the Blue Demons will play three local opponents in 2018-19 marking the seventh time in the last nine seasons with three locals on the schedule.

Strus Named Preseason All-BIG EAST: DePaul senior Max Strus was named second team preseason All-BIG EAST as the league convened at Madison Square Garden for its annual media day on Oct. 25. A total of 10 players were selected to the preseason first and second teams.

Shamorie Ponds from St. John's was the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year and the league's Preseason Freshmen of the Year were David Duke of Providence and Jahvon Quinerly from Villanova.

The preseason first team All-BIG EAST selections included Butler's Kamar Baldwin, Georgetown's Jessie Govan, Markus Howard of Marquette, Alpha Diallo from Providence and Villanova's Eric Paschall. Strus was joined on the second team by Sam Hauser from Marquette, Justin Simon of St. John's, Seton Hall's Myles Powell and Villanova's Phil Booth. Martin Krampelj from Creighton and Xavier's Naji Marshall picked up honorable mention honors.

Wintrust Arena Set for Year Two: The new home of DePaul basketball opened its doors in the 2017-18 in Chicago's McCormick Square neighborhood. The 10,387-seat facility near McCormick Place in the South Loop area of the city is a joint project between the City of Chicago, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, and DePaul University. It features state-of-art amenities for the DePaul men's and women's basketball programs as well as fans in attendance with over 400 club seats and 22 suites.

The arena was honored with the prestigious American Architecture Award that also included U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. In December 2017, the facility hosted both the No. 1-ranked women's and men's teams in the country as the Connecticut women visited Wintrust Arena on Dec. 8 followed by the Villanova men's team on Dec. 27. Upcoming major basketball events at the facility include the 2019 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament, the 2019 NCAA Women's Basketball Regional and when the 2020 NBA All-Star Game visits Chicago, Wintrust Arena will host the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game along with practices for the Rising Stars and All-Star Game squads.