DePaul University Athletics
Wednesday, March 11
New York, N.Y.
8:30 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
Xavier
DePaul Opens BIG EAST Tournament Against Xavier
3/10/2020 4:08:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
DePaul Game NotesDePaul BIG EAST Tournament History and RecordsXavier Game NotesLive VideoLive AudioLive Stats
Blue Demons and Musketeers meet at Madison Square Garden Wednesday Night
NEW YORK – DePaul opens the BIG EAST Tournament on Wednesday night with a first-round matchup against the Xavier Musketeers. The Blue Demons are the No. 10 seed in the tournament while Xavier is slotted as the No. 7 seed. The winner of Wednesday's game advances to the quarterfinals to face No. 2 seed Villanova.
Wednesday's game can be seen on FS1 starting at 9:30 p.m. ET with Tim Brando (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst) and Lisa Byington (reporter) 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 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.
Xavier enters the league tournament at 19-12 overall and 8-10 in the BIG EAST following a 72-71 loss against Butler on Saturday. DePaul is at 15-16 and 3-15 in league play after a 93-55 loss at Providence on Saturday.
Reed, Weems Earn BIG EAST Postseason Honors: DePaul junior forward Paul Reed and freshman forward Romeo Weems earned league honors following a vote of the league's 10 head coaches. Reed was placed on the All-BIG EAST Second Team while Weems was named to the league's All-Freshman Team.
Reed averaged 14.9 points and 10.6 rebounds during the regular season while blocking 74 shots. He recorded 17 double-doubles while reaching double figures in 25 games. Reed was ranked among league leaders throughout the season and finished with a league-best 7.4 defensive rebounds per game along with being ranked second in rebounding, blocks (2.6 bpg) and steals (1.9 spg). His 74 blocked shots are ranked third on DePaul's season chart and he earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition five times this season.
Weems started every game this season and averaged 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He is the ninth DePaul player to be named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team and the first since Eli Cain in 2016. The Detroit native recorded 12 games in double figures during the regular season that included a pair of double-doubles. He was ranked among league leaders in steals and blocked shots throughout the season.
Manhattan Madness: The DePaul Blue Demons make their 13th appearance at Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Tournament. DePaul is 2-12 all-time in BIG EAST postseason play with a second-round appearance in 2009 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2014.
The eighth-seeded Blue Demons dropped a 75-67 decision to ninth-seeded Villanova on March 7, 2007 in their first BIG EAST Tournament game. In 2009 as the 16th seed, DePaul topped ninth-seeded Cincinnati, 67-57, before falling in the second round to No. 8 seed Providence by a score of 83-74. In 2011, the first round saw ninth-seeded Connecticut defeat the 16th-seeded Blue Demons, 97-71, as the Huskies won five games in five days to claim the tournament title. Six years ago as the No. 10 seed, DePaul knocked off seventh-seeded Georgetown, 60-56, before losing against second-seeded Creighton by a score of 84-62 in the quarterfinals.
Conference Tournament History: The BIG EAST Championship is the third conference tournament for the men's basketball program at DePaul University. Previously, the Blue Demons competed in postseason events in the Great Midwest Conference (1992-95) and Conference USA (1996-05).
DePaul holds a 10-25 all-time record in conference tourney action with two appearances in conference tournament championship games in 2000 and 2004. The Blue Demons dropped a 56-49 decision to Saint Louis in the 2000 Conference USA title game before a 55-50 defeat against Cincinnati in the 2004 Conference USA finals. In addition to those to championship game appearances, the Blue Demons also reached the semifinals in the 1992 and 1993 Great Midwest Tournaments.
The Blue Demons went 1-4 in four Great Midwest Conference tournaments before playing 16 tournament games in Conference USA from 1995-05. The Blue Demons were the top seed in the 2004 Conference USA tournament before falling to Cincinnati.
Since 2014 when the BIG EAST moved to a 10-school lineup, DePaul is 1-6 in the event with a win over Georgetown in the 2014 first round followed by six straight losses.
Notables: Since the BIG EAST reformatted to 10 teams, DePaul has faced Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette and Xavier in the conference tournament... DePaul played Creighton in 2014 and 2015... the Blue Demons and Hoyas met in 2014 and 2016... DePaul played Xavier in 2017 and 2020 and Marquette in 2018... Marquette is DePaul's most common opponent of all-time with 127 games, but the Blue Demon and Golden Eagles have played just three games in conference tournaments... DePaul's most common all-time conference tournament opponent is Cincinnati... the Blue Demons are 1-4 all-time against the Bearcats in conference tournament action... DePaul is also 2-2 all-time against UAB, 1-2 against Marquette and Memphis and 0-3 against USF in league tournaments... the upset over ninth-seeded Cincinnati as the No. 16 seed in the 2009 BIG EAST Tournament marked the first time in conference tournament play of such an occurrence... Will Walker's 31 points and Dar Tucker's 30 in the second round of the 2009 second-round game against Providence was the first time that two players from the same team had scored at least 30 points in a BIG EAST Tournament game... in three tournament games, the Blue Demons have combined to shoot at least .833 from the free throw line... DePaul shot .867 (13-15) against Connecticut in 2012, .842 (16-19) against Villanova in 2007 and .833 (10-12) in 2013 against Rutgers.
BIG EAST Tournament Experience: The Blue Demons enter the 2020 tournament with six total games of BIG EAST Tournament experience on the active roster... Jaylen Butz and Paul Reed have played in two tournament games... Butz and Reed account for 65 of the 84 total minutes of BIG EAST Tournament experience for DePaul... a year ago, Butz set a program record in a BIG EAST Tournament game with 14 rebounds agianst St. John's... the Blue Demons also tied a team tournament record with 74 points against the Red Storm... DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is making his fifth appearance at the BIG EAST Tournament as a head coach... he has been a part of four tournament titles while serving as an assistant coach (1986-94) and associate head coach (1996-02) at Connecticut... Leitao and Connecticut won the event in 1990, 1998, 1999 and 2002 while those teams combined for a 17-10 record during his time on the bench for the Huskies.
The Opponent – Xavier Musketeers: Xavier is 19-12 overall and 8-10 in BIG EAST play... the Musketeers are the No. 7 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament after finishing in a tie for sixth with Marquette... Naji Marshall leads the team with 16.9 points per game and 116 assists... Tyrique Jones adds 13.7 points per game with 11.2 rebounds per contest... Paul Scruggs averages 12.7 points... head coach Travis Steele is in his second season leading the Musketeers.
The Series: Wednesday is the 27th meeting between the two programs and second in the BIG EAST Tournament... Xavier leads the series, 16-10... the Musketeers won earlier this season, 67-59, at Wintrust Arena on Feb. 4 and 78-67 on Feb. 25 at Cintas Center... the Musketeers posted a 75-64 win over the Blue Demons in the BIG EAST First Round on March 8, 2017... the first meeting was on Jan. 16, 1939 with DePaul taking a 38-30 decision on its home floor.
Up Next with a Win - March 12 vs. Villanova: The winner of the DePaul-Xavier game advances to the quarterfinals on Thursday against Villanova.
Wednesday's game can be seen on FS1 starting at 9:30 p.m. ET with Tim Brando (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst) and Lisa Byington (reporter) 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 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.
Xavier enters the league tournament at 19-12 overall and 8-10 in the BIG EAST following a 72-71 loss against Butler on Saturday. DePaul is at 15-16 and 3-15 in league play after a 93-55 loss at Providence on Saturday.
Reed, Weems Earn BIG EAST Postseason Honors: DePaul junior forward Paul Reed and freshman forward Romeo Weems earned league honors following a vote of the league's 10 head coaches. Reed was placed on the All-BIG EAST Second Team while Weems was named to the league's All-Freshman Team.
Reed averaged 14.9 points and 10.6 rebounds during the regular season while blocking 74 shots. He recorded 17 double-doubles while reaching double figures in 25 games. Reed was ranked among league leaders throughout the season and finished with a league-best 7.4 defensive rebounds per game along with being ranked second in rebounding, blocks (2.6 bpg) and steals (1.9 spg). His 74 blocked shots are ranked third on DePaul's season chart and he earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition five times this season.
Weems started every game this season and averaged 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He is the ninth DePaul player to be named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team and the first since Eli Cain in 2016. The Detroit native recorded 12 games in double figures during the regular season that included a pair of double-doubles. He was ranked among league leaders in steals and blocked shots throughout the season.
Manhattan Madness: The DePaul Blue Demons make their 13th appearance at Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Tournament. DePaul is 2-12 all-time in BIG EAST postseason play with a second-round appearance in 2009 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2014.
The eighth-seeded Blue Demons dropped a 75-67 decision to ninth-seeded Villanova on March 7, 2007 in their first BIG EAST Tournament game. In 2009 as the 16th seed, DePaul topped ninth-seeded Cincinnati, 67-57, before falling in the second round to No. 8 seed Providence by a score of 83-74. In 2011, the first round saw ninth-seeded Connecticut defeat the 16th-seeded Blue Demons, 97-71, as the Huskies won five games in five days to claim the tournament title. Six years ago as the No. 10 seed, DePaul knocked off seventh-seeded Georgetown, 60-56, before losing against second-seeded Creighton by a score of 84-62 in the quarterfinals.
Conference Tournament History: The BIG EAST Championship is the third conference tournament for the men's basketball program at DePaul University. Previously, the Blue Demons competed in postseason events in the Great Midwest Conference (1992-95) and Conference USA (1996-05).
DePaul holds a 10-25 all-time record in conference tourney action with two appearances in conference tournament championship games in 2000 and 2004. The Blue Demons dropped a 56-49 decision to Saint Louis in the 2000 Conference USA title game before a 55-50 defeat against Cincinnati in the 2004 Conference USA finals. In addition to those to championship game appearances, the Blue Demons also reached the semifinals in the 1992 and 1993 Great Midwest Tournaments.
The Blue Demons went 1-4 in four Great Midwest Conference tournaments before playing 16 tournament games in Conference USA from 1995-05. The Blue Demons were the top seed in the 2004 Conference USA tournament before falling to Cincinnati.
Since 2014 when the BIG EAST moved to a 10-school lineup, DePaul is 1-6 in the event with a win over Georgetown in the 2014 first round followed by six straight losses.
Notables: Since the BIG EAST reformatted to 10 teams, DePaul has faced Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette and Xavier in the conference tournament... DePaul played Creighton in 2014 and 2015... the Blue Demons and Hoyas met in 2014 and 2016... DePaul played Xavier in 2017 and 2020 and Marquette in 2018... Marquette is DePaul's most common opponent of all-time with 127 games, but the Blue Demon and Golden Eagles have played just three games in conference tournaments... DePaul's most common all-time conference tournament opponent is Cincinnati... the Blue Demons are 1-4 all-time against the Bearcats in conference tournament action... DePaul is also 2-2 all-time against UAB, 1-2 against Marquette and Memphis and 0-3 against USF in league tournaments... the upset over ninth-seeded Cincinnati as the No. 16 seed in the 2009 BIG EAST Tournament marked the first time in conference tournament play of such an occurrence... Will Walker's 31 points and Dar Tucker's 30 in the second round of the 2009 second-round game against Providence was the first time that two players from the same team had scored at least 30 points in a BIG EAST Tournament game... in three tournament games, the Blue Demons have combined to shoot at least .833 from the free throw line... DePaul shot .867 (13-15) against Connecticut in 2012, .842 (16-19) against Villanova in 2007 and .833 (10-12) in 2013 against Rutgers.
BIG EAST Tournament Experience: The Blue Demons enter the 2020 tournament with six total games of BIG EAST Tournament experience on the active roster... Jaylen Butz and Paul Reed have played in two tournament games... Butz and Reed account for 65 of the 84 total minutes of BIG EAST Tournament experience for DePaul... a year ago, Butz set a program record in a BIG EAST Tournament game with 14 rebounds agianst St. John's... the Blue Demons also tied a team tournament record with 74 points against the Red Storm... DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is making his fifth appearance at the BIG EAST Tournament as a head coach... he has been a part of four tournament titles while serving as an assistant coach (1986-94) and associate head coach (1996-02) at Connecticut... Leitao and Connecticut won the event in 1990, 1998, 1999 and 2002 while those teams combined for a 17-10 record during his time on the bench for the Huskies.
The Opponent – Xavier Musketeers: Xavier is 19-12 overall and 8-10 in BIG EAST play... the Musketeers are the No. 7 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament after finishing in a tie for sixth with Marquette... Naji Marshall leads the team with 16.9 points per game and 116 assists... Tyrique Jones adds 13.7 points per game with 11.2 rebounds per contest... Paul Scruggs averages 12.7 points... head coach Travis Steele is in his second season leading the Musketeers.
The Series: Wednesday is the 27th meeting between the two programs and second in the BIG EAST Tournament... Xavier leads the series, 16-10... the Musketeers won earlier this season, 67-59, at Wintrust Arena on Feb. 4 and 78-67 on Feb. 25 at Cintas Center... the Musketeers posted a 75-64 win over the Blue Demons in the BIG EAST First Round on March 8, 2017... the first meeting was on Jan. 16, 1939 with DePaul taking a 38-30 decision on its home floor.
Up Next with a Win - March 12 vs. Villanova: The winner of the DePaul-Xavier game advances to the quarterfinals on Thursday against Villanova.
- The quarterfinal game will be televised on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET... radio coverage will be on WIND (560 AM) in Chicago.
- Villanova is the No. 2 seed in the tournament... the Wildcats finshed the regular season with a 24-7 overall record and 13-5 BIG EAST mark.
- The Wildcats won both regular-season meetings... a 79-75 overtime decision on Jan. 14 at Finneran Pavilion and a 91-71 game on Feb. 19 at Wintrust Arena.
Players Mentioned
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