Blue Demons Meet Connecticut in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

NEW YORK – DePaul continues its BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday night with a quarterfinal game against the Connecticut Huskies. The Blue Demons are the No. 11 seed while Connecticut enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed. Thursday's winner advances to the semifinals to face either No. 10 Butler or No. 2 Creighton on Friday night. DePaul advanced to the quarterfinals with a 70-62 win over sixth-seeded Providence on Wednesday night.

Thursday's game can be seen on FS1 starting at 9 p.m. ET with Gus Johnson (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) handling the broadcast duties. The game can also be seen online at foxsports.com/live. 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.

Connecticut enters the tournament after going 14-6 overall and 11-6 in the BIG EAST during the regular season. The Huskies are playing for the first time since a 98-82 win against Georgetown on March 5.

UConn Garden Success with Leitao: DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is making his sixth appearance at the BIG EAST Tournament as a head coach, but 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.

Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 70-62 win against Providence on Wednesday in the first round.

DePaul has won two straight in the BIG EAST Tournament... a year ago, the Blue Demons defeated Xavier in the first round before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic... DePaul is 4-12 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament.
Two players scored at least 20 points for the first time this season... Javon Freeman-Liberty and Charlie Moore each scored 21 against the Friars.
The Blue Demons used their ninth different starting lineup of the season.
Freeman-Liberty scored at least 20 for the third time this season (18th career) and posted eight game in double figures this season (56th career).
David Jones made his first career start.
Courvoisier McCauley surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for his career… he totaled 946 points in two seasons at Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.).
Moore recorded his sixth 20-point game of the season (19th career) and ninth game in double figures (57th career).
DePaul set a program record in the BIG EAST Tournament with 46 rebounds.
Wednesday was the 47th all-time meeting between the two programs… the Friars hold a 34-13 advantage in the series.

The Opponent – Connecticut Huskies: Connecticut finished the regular season at 14-6 overall and 11-6 in BIG EAST play... the Huskies have won four straight and six of their last seven since back-to-back losses in early February against Seton Hall and Providence... James Bouknight leads the team with 20.2 points per game... R.J. Cole adds a scoring average of 12.6 with a team-high 85 assists... Tyrese Martin adds 11.0 points per game and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game... head coach Dan Hurley is in his third season leading the Huskies.

The Series: Thursday is the 14th all-time meeting between the two programs... Connecticut holds an 12-1 lead in the series... Connecticut has won the last 11 meetings... the Huskies have won both previous meetings in the BIG EAST Tournament... a 97-71 win in the 2011 first round and an 81-67 decision in the 2012 first round.

Blue Demons Meet Connecticut in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Javon Freeman-Liberty

David Jones

Courvoisier McCauley

Charlie Moore

DePaul University Athletics

Blue Demons Meet Connecticut in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Javon Freeman-Liberty

David Jones

Courvoisier McCauley

Charlie Moore

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