DePaul University Athletics
Saturday, December 29
Wintrust Arena
1:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
Xavier
Men's Basketball Starts BIG EAST Schedule Saturday Against Xavier
12/27/2018 4:10:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Blue Demons and Musketeers set for 1 p.m. start at Wintrust Arena
CHICAGO – DePaul opens the BIG EAST schedule against the Xavier Musketeers on Saturday at Wintrust Arena. The two sides also met in Chicago to conclude last season's conference schedule with the Musketeers escaping with a 65-62 decision over the Blue Demons. Start time on Saturday between the Blue Demons and Musketeers is set for 1 p.m.
Saturday'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 at foxsportsgo.com or the FOX Sports Go app. DePaul's radio tandem of Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Dave Corzine (analyst) can be heard on WYLL 1160 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.
Xavier is 8-5 overall this season and enters Saturday's contest following a 69-55 win over Detroit Mercy on Dec. 21. The Blue Demons are 8-3 after a 65-62 loss against Boston College last Saturday. 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 2018-19 campaign is Leitao's 13th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Xavier is led by Travis Steele who is in his first season leading the Musketeers and first season overall as a head coach at the collegiate level.
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 65-62 loss against Boston College on Dec. 22:
Trendy: In three games prior to the Boston College game, DePaul averaged 91.7 points per game while shooting .561 (97-173) from the field overall and .423 (30-71) from three-point range... against the Eagles, the Blue Demons scored 62 points on .366 (26-71) shooting overall and .167 (4-24) from behind the arc... DePaul is 8-0 combined on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but 0-3 on Saturday... Jaylen Butz is shooting .659 (27-41) from the field over the last nine games... Devin Gage is averaging 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists over the last six games... Femi Olujobi is shooting .689 (31-45) over the last seven games... Max Strus is averaging 23.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.5 three-pointers per game over the last four games.
The Opponent - Xavier Musketeers: Xavier is 8-5 overall entering the start of BIG EAST play... the Musketeers split their last four non-conference games with wins over Eastern Kentucky and Detroit Mercy along with losses against Cincinnati and Missouri... Quentin Goodin leads the team with 14.3 points per game and 60 assists... Naji Marshall adds 12.5 points per game with 7.6 rebounds per conest... Paul Scruggs averages 11.9 points and Tyrique Jones leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game along with a scoring average of 10.4... head coach Travis Steele is in his first season leading the Musketeers.
The Series: Saturday is the 23rd all-time meeting between the two programs and the 12th since Xavier joined the BIG EAST... Xavier leads the series, 13-9, with wins in 10 of the 11 conference meetings... the Musketeers claimed both meetings last season by a combined eight points... DePaul's last win in the series was a 71-68 decision on Jan. 3, 2015 at Allstate Arena... the first meeting was on Jan. 16, 1939 with DePaul taking a 38-30 decision on its home floor.
Up Next: Jan. 2 at Villanova
Saturday'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 at foxsportsgo.com or the FOX Sports Go app. DePaul's radio tandem of Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Dave Corzine (analyst) can be heard on WYLL 1160 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.
Xavier is 8-5 overall this season and enters Saturday's contest following a 69-55 win over Detroit Mercy on Dec. 21. The Blue Demons are 8-3 after a 65-62 loss against Boston College last Saturday. 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 2018-19 campaign is Leitao's 13th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Xavier is led by Travis Steele who is in his first season leading the Musketeers and first season overall as a head coach at the collegiate level.
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 65-62 loss against Boston College on Dec. 22:
- The 65-62 loss drops DePaul to 8-3… the loss was the first of the season for the Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena.
- The Blue Demons are 1-1 this season in games decided by five points or less.
- Eli Cain reached double figures for the 68th time in his career and eight time this season.
- Paul Reed totaled at least 10 rebounds for the second time this season.
- Max Strus grabbed nine rebounds for the fourth time this season… he has scored in double figures in 34 of 41 games at DePaul.
- Cain passed Draelon Burns (2004-08, 1,329 pts.) and Terence Greene (1985-89, 1,334 pts.) on DePaul's all-time scoring list… Cain is now 21st on the list.
- Cain also passed Billy Garrett Jr. (2013-17, 141 3FG) for seventh on the all-time three-point field goal list.
- Boston College holds a 2-1 advantage in the series... the game was the first between the schools since March 1982.
Trendy: In three games prior to the Boston College game, DePaul averaged 91.7 points per game while shooting .561 (97-173) from the field overall and .423 (30-71) from three-point range... against the Eagles, the Blue Demons scored 62 points on .366 (26-71) shooting overall and .167 (4-24) from behind the arc... DePaul is 8-0 combined on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but 0-3 on Saturday... Jaylen Butz is shooting .659 (27-41) from the field over the last nine games... Devin Gage is averaging 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists over the last six games... Femi Olujobi is shooting .689 (31-45) over the last seven games... Max Strus is averaging 23.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.5 three-pointers per game over the last four games.
The Opponent - Xavier Musketeers: Xavier is 8-5 overall entering the start of BIG EAST play... the Musketeers split their last four non-conference games with wins over Eastern Kentucky and Detroit Mercy along with losses against Cincinnati and Missouri... Quentin Goodin leads the team with 14.3 points per game and 60 assists... Naji Marshall adds 12.5 points per game with 7.6 rebounds per conest... Paul Scruggs averages 11.9 points and Tyrique Jones leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game along with a scoring average of 10.4... head coach Travis Steele is in his first season leading the Musketeers.
The Series: Saturday is the 23rd all-time meeting between the two programs and the 12th since Xavier joined the BIG EAST... Xavier leads the series, 13-9, with wins in 10 of the 11 conference meetings... the Musketeers claimed both meetings last season by a combined eight points... DePaul's last win in the series was a 71-68 decision on Jan. 3, 2015 at Allstate Arena... the first meeting was on Jan. 16, 1939 with DePaul taking a 38-30 decision on its home floor.
Up Next: Jan. 2 at Villanova
- The game will be televised nationally on FS1 and can be heard in Chicago on WIND (560 AM).
- Villanova is 9-4 overall this season and DePaul is the first BIG EAST opponent for the Wildcats.
- The Jan. 2 game is the 35th all-time meeting between the programs... the Wildcats hold a 26-8 advantage in the series.
- Villanova won both games last season... the Wildcats won at Wintrust Arena, 103-85, on Dec. 27 and in Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center, 93-62, on Feb. 21.
Players Mentioned
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