Blue Demons Set to Open Season at Iowa State

Sunday, December 6

Ames, Iowa

5:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Iowa State

12/5/2020 11:58:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL

DePaul Game Notes Iowa State Game Notes Live Video Live Audio Live Stats

DePaul travels to Iowa State as part of the Big 12-BIG EAST Battle

CHICAGO – DePaul opens the 2020-21 season with a road trip to Iowa State as part of the Big 12-BIG Battle. 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.

Sunday's game can be seen on ESPNU starting at 5 p.m. with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Kevin Lehman (analyst) handling the broadcast duties. The game can also be seen online at watchespn.com and via the ESPN app. DePaul's radio tandem of Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Dave Corzine (analyst) can be heard on WYLL (1160 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.

Iowa State enters the game at 1-1 after a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and a loss to South Dakota State to start the season.

Season-Opening Notes: DePaul is 84-13 all-time in the first game of the season... Sunday's game was 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.

Late Starts: The Dec. 6 date for the first game of the season is the latest start since the 1979-80 beginning of the season on Dec. 5. That 90-77 win over Wisconsin at Alumni Hall marked Dick Vitale's debut as a college basketball analyst on ESPN.

The last time DePaul opened the season in December was on Dec. 1, 1992 when the Blue Demons defeated Chicago State, 103-68, at Alumni Hall.

Opening on the Road: Sunday's game is the first road opening game to start the season since the first game of the 2007-08 season. The Blue Demons dropped a 74-62 game at Creighton on Nov. 9, 2007.

Second Edition of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle: In a scheduling agreement between the BIG EAST and Big 12 Conferences, 10 games are scheduled from Nov. 29-Dec. 11 between programs from both leagues.

The matchups were jointly determined by the two conferences. The home school will have the right to determine the venue of its game. Broadcast rights of the games will be determined by the conference national television rights agreement of the home team. The Big 12 television rights are controlled by ESPN and the BIG EAST's men's basketball television rights are controlled by FOX Sports.

The four-year agreement will continue through 2022-23 with an equal number of games played in each conference's home market each year.

DePaul opened the four-year event with a 65-60 win in overtime against Texas Tech last season. Overall, the BIG EAST claimed eight of the 10 matchups between the two leagues.

The Opponent – Iowa State Cyclones: Iowa State is 1-1 after two games this season... the Cyclones opened the season with an 80-63 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 29... South Dakota State knocked off Iowa State, 71-68, on Dec. 2... former Blue Demon Jalen Coleman-Lands leads the team with 14.5 points per game... Rasir Bolton adds 13.0 points per game, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists over the first two contests... head coach Steve Prohm is in his sixth season leading the Cyclones.

The Series: Sunday is just the second all-time meeting between the two programs... DePaul claimed the first meeting on Dec. 20, 1967 in Chicago by a score of 67-63.

Against the Big 12 Conference: DePaul is 32-39 all-time against the current lineup of Big 12 programs... the Blue Demons defeated Texas Tech, 65-60, in overtime on Dec. 4, 2019 at Wintrust Arena... that matchup was in the first edition of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle... Oklahoma State is DePaul's most common Big 12 opponent... the Blue Demons are 8-12 against the Cowboys... prior last season's game against the Red Raiders, the last game against a Big 12 member was on Nov. 26, 2013 against Texas at the CBE Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City... the Longhorns won that game, 77-59.

It Could Happen: A win marks DePaul's fifth in-a-row in road non-conference games... the Blue Demons went 4-0 on the road last season in non-conference play with wins at Iowa (93-78), Boston College (72-67), Minnesota (73-68) and Cleveland State (73-65)... a win would 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.

Noting the Blue Demons: DePaul's 35 wins over the last two seasons are the most in back-to-back seasons since 42 total victories in 2003-04 and 2004-05... the men's basketball program is 1,483-1,040 (.588) all-time... the Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 838 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... over the last 10 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 20 seasons (since the start of 2000-01 season), the record against locals is 35-12... the Blue Demons defeated UIC and Northwestern during the 2019-20 season.

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.