Pregame Read: DePaul at Creighton

OMAHA, Neb. - Playing in their last regular season game of the 2018-19 season, DePaul looks to make it three wins in a row as they travel to Nebraska for a 7 p.m. tip with Creighton this evening. Here are three stats and storylines to get you ready for the game.

What Happened Last Time Out? This past Wednesday against the visiting Georgetown Hoyas, DePaul turned in their most dominant effort of BIG EAST play all season as the Blue Demons led from start to finish, growing their advantage to as much as 38 points in the second half. For the second straight tilt Max Strus led the way with 30 points, as the senior matched his DePaul career high and school record with eight three-pointers. Following the game, Coach Leitao talked about the rhythm his team had from the opening tip, singling out sophomore Devin Gage for the role he played with his ball distribution and defense.

"I thought start to finish that we played our most complete game of the season, [on] both ends of the floor. And I said to the team, obviously Max [Strus] and Eli [Cain] because of their scoring will get the lion's share of the conversation and publicity, but Devin Gage was fantastic today. And defensively to get through ball screens and guard [James] Akinjo, and then 10 assists, one turnover and he [Gage] took one shot late in the shot clock and made it, but he just managed the game as well as he has all season long and that means that he was distributing the ball and so Paul [Reed] with his 19 [points] and Femi [Olujobi] with his 13 [points], and obviously Eli and Max with 24 and 30 respectively as a result of him finding them.

"You know, we thought if we defended we could push the ball better then we have, and we did," Leitao continued. "We got open shots early in the possession, and then when we didn't I thought our execution was really good."

Seniors Bid Farewell to Wintrust Arena in Style: With Wednesday's nearly perfect 101-69 performance, it is hard to imagine a way in which seniors Max Strus, Eli Cain and Femi Olujobi's final home game could have gone any better. On the evening Strus led all scorers with 30 points and nine rebounds, while Cain added 24 points and 5 assists and Olujobi finished with 13 points and six boards. In the closing minutes, with the result safely in hand, each senior was subbed out individually to give the Wintrust Arena crowd an opportunity to stand and recognize the player. After the game, Cain, who with this evening's tilt will have played in every regular season contest the Blue Demons have had since he arrived on campus four years ago, talked about being able to come out with such a dominant win in his last regular season home game as a Blue Demon.

"It's special obviously. It's always special to get a win in general, but a win like this with the atmosphere and all of the sides notes means a lot for us as seniors at home," Cain said. "I think it's just special, but we're not done, it's just another game. It was a good game but we've got to just build on it and keep moving forward."

What's On The Line Tonight?: With this evening's game, the Blue Demons have an opportunity to finish their BIG EAST season at 8-10 with a win and possibly earn a first-round bye in next week's BIG EAST Tournament. If Xavier beats St. John's and DePaul wins, the Blue Demons are the No. 6 seed and play its first game in the quarterfinals next Thursday at Madison Square Garden. A St. John's win over Xavier and a DePaul win makes the Blue Demons the No. 8 seed and they will play in the first round on Wednesday night. A DePaul loss at Creighton and the Blue Demons are the No. 10 seed.

DePaul University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Eli Cain

Devin Gage

Femi Olujobi

Max Strus

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