Blue Demons Ready for Start Wednesday Night

Wednesday, December 23

Chicago, Ill.

8:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Western Illinois

12/22/2020 4:22:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL

Virtual Gameday DePaul Game Notes Western Illinois Game Notes Live Video Live Audio Live Stats

DePaul hosts Western Illinois in first game of 2020-21 campaign

CHICAGO – Originally scheduled to open season against Western Illinois on Nov. 25, DePaul begins the 2020-21 campaign against the Leathernecks on Wednesday night. The start to the season was delayed for the Blue Demons following a pause in activities announced on Nov. 19. The pause canceled the first three games of the regular season and the fourth game was postponed against Northern Illinois. Another pause in activities occurred prior to the start of the Iowa State game on Dec. 6 pushing the first game of the season to Dec. 23.

Wednesday's game can be seen on FS1 starting at 8 p.m. with Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and Nick Bahe (analyst) handling the broadcast duties. The game can also be seen online at foxsports.com/live and via the FOX Sports app. DePaul's radio tandem of Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Dave Corzine (analyst) can be heard on WIND (560 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.

Western Illinois enters the game at 2-4 after an 81-63 win at UT Martin on Sunday. The Leathernecks have won two of their last three games after starting the season with three consecutive defeats.

Season-Opening Notes: DePaul is 84-13 all-time in the first game of the season... Wednesday's game is the start of the 98th recognized season of DePaul basketball (since 1923-24)... DePaul competed in basketball prior to the 1923-24 season, but season records and results are incomplete... DePaul has won 12 of its last 13 season openers.

Home Openers: The Blue Demons are 89-8 all-time in the first home game of the season... the Blue Demons have won 13 of the last 14 home openers and posted victories in 52 of the last 55 first games on their home floor... at Wintrust Arena, DePaul is 2-1 in the first game of the season.

It Could Happen: A win marks DePaul's third straight at Wintrust Arena to start the season... a win would also be the third straight in season openers and 13th in the last 14 first games... Javon Freeman-Liberty needs eight points for 1,000 in his collegiate career... he scored 992 points in 66 games over his first two seasons at Valparaiso... Charlie Moore needs four assists for 200 in his career at DePaul in 33 games.

The Opponent – Western Illinois Leathernecks: Western Illinois is 2-4 this season... the Leathernecks posted an 81-63 win at UT Martin on Sunday and have two of their last three games... Tamell Pearson and Justin Brookens lead the team with identical scoring averages of 12.3 points per game... Will Carius adds 11.3 points per game... Pearson is the top rebound with 8.7 boards per outing followed by Carius with a rebounding average of 6.3... head coach Rob Jeter is in his first season leading the Leathernecks.

The Series: Wednesday is just the second all-time meeting between the two programs... Western Illinois claimed the first meeting on Dec. 9, 1989 in Chicago by a score of 72-69.

Against the Summit League: DePaul is 16-4 all-time against the current lineup of Summit League programs... the 1989 meeting with Western Illinois was DePaul's last game against a Summit League opponent... the Blue Demons are 8-3 all-time against North Dakota... DePaul is also 2-0 against Denver, Omaha and Oral Roberts and hold a win over South Dakota and South Dakota State.

Moore Closed 2019-20 with Milestone: Charlie Moore concluded the shortened 2019-20 campaign by eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau for his collegiate career in what ended up as the final game of the season. His 18 points in the 71-67 win over Xavier on March 11 pushed his career scoring total to 1,013 points. Over the 101 games in his collegiate career, Moore scored 414 points at California (2016-17), 102 points at Kansas (2018-19) and 497 points at DePaul (2019-present).

Non-Conference Notebook: Over the last two seasons, the Blue Demons are 24-6 against non-BIG EAST opponents... a season ago, DePaul's 12-1 non-conference record was the best regular-season mark since DePaul joined the Great Midwest Conference... prior to the 1991-92 season, the Blue Demons were an independent before competing in the Great Midwest (1991-95), Conference USA (1995-05) and now the BIG EAST since the 2005-06 season... DePaul's 9-0 record to begin the 2019-20 season was one of eight streaks of at least nine consecutive wins to open a season... it was the longest streak since the 1986-87 squad started with a 16-0 record... the 1979-80 team won its first 25 games for the longest season-opening streak in program history.