Blue Demons Meet Red Storm in Manhattan

CHICAGO - The Blue Demons open a two-game road trip on Saturday afternoon against St. John's at Madison Square Garden. Following Saturday's action, DePaul moves on to Villanova for a Tuesday night game at Finneran Pavilion. Start time at Madison Square Garden is set for Noon ET.

Saturday's game can be seen on FOX Sports Networks with Pat O'Keefe (play-by-play) and Tarik Turner (analyst) handling the broadcast duties. The game can be seen in Chicago on WCIU The U and around the country of FOX Sports regional affiliates. DePaul's radio tandem of Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Dave Corzine (analyst) can be heard on WSCR (670 AM) and online on DePaul All-Access at depaulbluedemons.com/live. In-game updates can be followed on Twitter at @DePaulHoops and live stats are available at depaulbluedemons.com.

St. John's is 11-5 overall and 0-3 in the BIG EAST following an 87-66 loss at Georgetown on Wednesday. DePaul stands at 12-3 and 0-2 in league play after a 66-65 loss against Providence last Saturday.

DePaul-St. John's Share Common Mission: DePaul and St. John's are two of four universities in the world founded by the Vincentians. DePaul, St. John's and Niagara were founded in the 19th century in the United States and Adamson University, located in Manila, Philippines, was acquired by the Vincentians in 1964.

All four schools are based on the Vincentian values of service, justice, charity and advocacy and provide a college education to many first-generation college students.

Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 66-65 loss against Providence last Saturday.

The 66-65 loss drops DePaul's record to 12-3 and 0-2 in the BIG EAST… Providence is now 9-6 and 2-0.
The consecutive losses are the first time this season the Blue Demons have dropped back-to-back games.
Jalen Coleman-Lands has scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games.
Paul Reed recorded his 25th career game with 10 or more rebounds, 20th double-double and ninth 20-point game... Reed moved into 13th place on the single-season blocks list… he has 48 blocked shots this season.
Saturday was the 43rd meeting between the programs... Providence leads the series, 31-12... the two teams meet again on March 7 in the regular-season final at Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence.

Trendy: The Blue Demons have shot 5-for-21 from three-point range in both BIG EAST games... since March 1, 2019, DePaul has won 18 of its last 25 games... the Blue Demons have posted 8-1 records at Wintrust Arena in non-conference games in each of the last two seasons... in three total seasons at the facility, DePaul is 21-4 in non-conference games... the Blue Demons have blocked at least five shots 12 of 15 games including six games with at least seven rejections... over the three previous seasons (2017-19 - 99 games), the team blocked at least seven shots in three total games... in that same period, DePaul blocked at least five shots in a game a total of 23 times... Paul Reed's 11 double-doubles lead the BIG EAST and are third nationally entering Friday's schedule... three players have not missed a shot this season with at least six attempts... Butz went 7-for-7 against Chicago, Reed went 6-of-6 against Alcorn State and Devin Gage went 6-for-6 at Iowa... prior to this season, at least six attempts without a miss occurred just 11 times in program history... Butz is the only player in program history with three games of five or more attempts without a miss.

It Could Happen: Jaylen Butz needs three field goals for 200 in his career... with 200 field goals, he qualifies for DePaul's career field goal percentage list... his current .597 (197-330) career field goal percentage would be ranked third in program history... with 18 points, Butz reaches 500 career and 14 rebounds put him at the 400-rebound plateau... Jalen Coleman-Lands needs 17 points for 900 career (630 at Illinois/253 at DePaul)... Charlie Moore is playing in his 85th career game (34 at California/35 at Kansas/15 at DePaul)... Paul Reed needs 14 points to reach 800 career... Saturday is his 80th career game.

Noting the Blue Demons: The men's basketball program is 1,479-1,027 (.590) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 821 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's eight games from Nov. 5-29 were the most in program history for the month of November... the Blue Demons played seven games in November 2012 and six each in November 2013 and 2006... over the last nine-plus seasons (since start of 2010-11 season), DePaul is 21-6 against Chicagoland opponents (Chicago State, UIC, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern)... in the last 19-plus seasons (since the start of 2000-01 season), the record against locals is 35-12... the Blue Demons defeated UIC and Northwestern this season.

The Opponent - St. John's Red Storm: St. John's stands at 11-5 overall and 0-3 in the BIG EAST following an 87-66 loss at Georgetown on Wednesday... the Red Storm has dropped three straight following a seven-game win streak... LJ Figueroa leads the team with a scoring average of 15.1 points per game along with a team-high 34 three-pointers... Mustapha Heron adds 13.8 points per game... Rasheem Dunn averages 11.7 points per game with a team-best 41 assists... head coach Mike Anderson is in his first season at St. John's... DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is 4-5 all-time against the Red Storm.

The Series: Saturday is the 45th all-time meeting between the two programs... the Red Storm holds a 24-20 advantage in the series... DePaul won both regular season meetings a season ago before St. John's posted a victory in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament... the Blue Demons have won three of the last five meetings.

Among NCAA and BIG EAST Leaders: Entering this weekend's action, DePaul's Charlie Moore and Paul Reed are ranked among the top 20 nationally in a variety of statistical categories while the team is 12th in blocks per game, 15th in steals per game and 17th in turnovers forced per game.

Moore is tied for 12th in total assists and ranked 16th in assists per game. Reed is third in double-doubles, tied for sixth in total blocked shots and blocks per game, tied for seventh in defensive rebounds per game, ranked ninth in rebounds per game and 12th in total rebounds.

In the BIG EAST statistical rankings for all games, a DePaul player leads in five categories. Moore is first in assists per game while Reed leads the league in double-doubles, rebounds per game, blocked shots per game and defensive rebounds per game.

Up Next - Jan. 14 at Villanova: The Blue Demons conclude the two-game road trip on Tuesday night.

The game will be televised on FS1 at 8:30 p.m. ET... radio coverage will be on WSCR (670 AM).
Villanova holds a 11-3 overall record and 2-1 mark in the BIG EAST... the Wildcats host Georgetown on Saturday afternoon before DePaul visits on Tuesday.
The game is the 36th meeting between the programs... Villanova leads the series by a 28-8 margin.
Villanova won both meetings last season... the Wildcats won, 73-68, at Finneran Pavilion in January and, 86-74, at Wintrust Arena in February.

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Players Mentioned

Jaylen Butz

Jalen Coleman-Lands

Devin Gage

Charlie Moore

Paul Reed

DePaul University Athletics