Wednesday, March 9
New York, N.Y.
6:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
at
St. John's
DePaul Meets St. John's in First Round of BIG EAST Tournament
3/8/2022 1:30:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Blue Demons and Red Storm split season series
NEW YORK – DePaul opens its BIG EAST Tournament on Wednesday night with a first round game against the St. John's Red Storm. The Blue Demons are the No. 10 seed while St. John's enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed. Wednesday's winner advances to the quarterfinals to face second-seeded Villanova on Thursday night.
Wednesday's game can be seen on FS1 starting at 7 p.m. ET with Tim Brando (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst) and Kristina Pink (reporter) 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.
St. John's enters the tournament after going 16-14 overall and 8-11 in the BIG EAST during the regular season. The Blue Demons are 15-15 overall and finished 6-14 in the BIG EAST. The two sides split the season series with the home team winning each game. St. John's posted an 89-84 win at Carnesecca Arena on Jan. 5 before DePaul recorded a 99-94 decision a week and a half ago on Feb. 27 at Wintrust Arena.
Freeman-Liberty Named All-BIG EAST Second Team: DePaul's Javon Freeman-Liberty earned All-BIG EAST honors as he was picked by the league's head coaches for the second team. The league's head coaches choose the all-conference squads and are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Freeman-Liberty led all BIG EAST players with a 21.9 scoring average in all games. He scored 20 or more points in 16 of the 23 games played. In league play, he was two games short of qualifying for the scoring crown, averaging 22.6 points. During the season, the Chicago native was a three-time BIG EAST Player of the Week and three-time pick for the Weekly Honor Roll.
Throughout the season, Freeman-Liberty has been ranked among the nation's top 10 scorers and in the BIG EAST statistical ranking he's been among the top 10 in scoring, minutes, steals, defensive rebounds, rebounding, field goal percentage, three-pointers per game and free throw percentage.
He is the eighth DePaul player to earn All-BIG EAST recognition and the first since Paul Reed was a second team selection in 2020.
Manhattan Madness: The DePaul Blue Demons make their 15th appearance at Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Tournament. DePaul is 4-13 all-time in BIG EAST postseason play with a second-round appearance in 2009 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2014. The Blue Demons have won first round games in each of the last two tournaments. The 2020 event saw DePaul defeat Xavier before the tournament was canceled while the 2021 tournament featured a win against Providence before falling in the quarterfinals against Connecticut.
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. Eight 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 Tournament 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 an 12-26 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 before adding Connecticut in 2020, DePaul is 3-7 in the event with wins over Georgetown in the 2014 first round followed by six straight losses before the 2020 victory against Xavier.
Notables: Since the BIG EAST reformatted to 10 teams in 2013-14 and later added Connecticut, DePaul has faced Connecticut, Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence 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... DePaul was set to play Villanova in the quarterfinals a year ago before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic... the Blue Demons knocked off Xavier, 71-67, in the first round in what would be the next to last completed game of the college basketball season... Marquette is DePaul's most common opponent of all-time with 131 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 four 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 and in 2020 against Xavier (15-18).
BIG EAST Tournament Experience: The Blue Demons enter the 2020 tournament with 10 total games of BIG EAST Tournament experience on the active roster... Nick Ongenda has played in three tournament games at Madison Square Garden... Javon Freeman-Liberty is averaging 20.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting .517 (15-29) from the field in two games... DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield is making his first appearance at the BIG EAST Tournament as a head coach... as an assistant coach at Cincinnati from 2006-10, he was part of three BIG EAST Tournaments with the Bearcats... Cincinnati reached the quarterfinals in 2010 with wins over Rutgers and Louisville before a loss against eventual champion West Virginia in the quarterfinals.
It Could Happen: A win would mark the third straight year with DePaul recording a win the BIG EAST Tournament... the 2020 win over Xavier in the first round was followed by the cancellation of the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic... a year ago, DePaul defeated Providence before dropping the quarterfinal matchup against Connecticut... Yor Anei is playing in his 105th collegiate game... with 48 blocked shots this season, he needs two blocked shots to post the 14th occurrence in program history of at least 50 blocked shots in a season... Javon Freeman-Liberty needs four points for 1,700 in his career and four steals for 200 career... Brandon Johnson needs 13 rebounds to reach 1,000 boards in his career... Nick Ongenda needs one blocked shot to become the 11th player in program history with 100 career rejections.
The Opponent – St. John's Red Storm: St. John's stands at 16-14 overall and 8-11 in BIG EAST games... the Red Storm are the No. 7 seed in the tournament... St. John's has dropped three of its last four games including a 85-77 decision at Marquette to end the regular season... Julian Champagnie leads the team with a scoring average of 18.9 points per game along with a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game... Posh Alexander adds 14.1 points per game with 147 assists this season... head coach Mike Anderson is in his third season at St. John's.
The Series: Wednesday is the 51st all-time meeting between the two programs... the Red Storm holds a 28-22 advantage in the series... the game is second between the two sides in the BIG EAST Tournament... St. John's defeated DePaul, 82-74, on March 13, 2019... DePaul has won two of the last three meetings... the Red Storm won the first meeting this season, 89-84, on Jan. 5 at Carnesecca Arena... the Blue Demons posted a 99-94 win at Wintrust Arena on Feb. 27.
Wednesday's game can be seen on FS1 starting at 7 p.m. ET with Tim Brando (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst) and Kristina Pink (reporter) 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.
St. John's enters the tournament after going 16-14 overall and 8-11 in the BIG EAST during the regular season. The Blue Demons are 15-15 overall and finished 6-14 in the BIG EAST. The two sides split the season series with the home team winning each game. St. John's posted an 89-84 win at Carnesecca Arena on Jan. 5 before DePaul recorded a 99-94 decision a week and a half ago on Feb. 27 at Wintrust Arena.
Freeman-Liberty Named All-BIG EAST Second Team: DePaul's Javon Freeman-Liberty earned All-BIG EAST honors as he was picked by the league's head coaches for the second team. The league's head coaches choose the all-conference squads and are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Freeman-Liberty led all BIG EAST players with a 21.9 scoring average in all games. He scored 20 or more points in 16 of the 23 games played. In league play, he was two games short of qualifying for the scoring crown, averaging 22.6 points. During the season, the Chicago native was a three-time BIG EAST Player of the Week and three-time pick for the Weekly Honor Roll.
Throughout the season, Freeman-Liberty has been ranked among the nation's top 10 scorers and in the BIG EAST statistical ranking he's been among the top 10 in scoring, minutes, steals, defensive rebounds, rebounding, field goal percentage, three-pointers per game and free throw percentage.
He is the eighth DePaul player to earn All-BIG EAST recognition and the first since Paul Reed was a second team selection in 2020.
Manhattan Madness: The DePaul Blue Demons make their 15th appearance at Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Tournament. DePaul is 4-13 all-time in BIG EAST postseason play with a second-round appearance in 2009 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2014. The Blue Demons have won first round games in each of the last two tournaments. The 2020 event saw DePaul defeat Xavier before the tournament was canceled while the 2021 tournament featured a win against Providence before falling in the quarterfinals against Connecticut.
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. Eight 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 Tournament 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 an 12-26 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 before adding Connecticut in 2020, DePaul is 3-7 in the event with wins over Georgetown in the 2014 first round followed by six straight losses before the 2020 victory against Xavier.
Notables: Since the BIG EAST reformatted to 10 teams in 2013-14 and later added Connecticut, DePaul has faced Connecticut, Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence 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... DePaul was set to play Villanova in the quarterfinals a year ago before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic... the Blue Demons knocked off Xavier, 71-67, in the first round in what would be the next to last completed game of the college basketball season... Marquette is DePaul's most common opponent of all-time with 131 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 four 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 and in 2020 against Xavier (15-18).
BIG EAST Tournament Experience: The Blue Demons enter the 2020 tournament with 10 total games of BIG EAST Tournament experience on the active roster... Nick Ongenda has played in three tournament games at Madison Square Garden... Javon Freeman-Liberty is averaging 20.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting .517 (15-29) from the field in two games... DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield is making his first appearance at the BIG EAST Tournament as a head coach... as an assistant coach at Cincinnati from 2006-10, he was part of three BIG EAST Tournaments with the Bearcats... Cincinnati reached the quarterfinals in 2010 with wins over Rutgers and Louisville before a loss against eventual champion West Virginia in the quarterfinals.
It Could Happen: A win would mark the third straight year with DePaul recording a win the BIG EAST Tournament... the 2020 win over Xavier in the first round was followed by the cancellation of the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic... a year ago, DePaul defeated Providence before dropping the quarterfinal matchup against Connecticut... Yor Anei is playing in his 105th collegiate game... with 48 blocked shots this season, he needs two blocked shots to post the 14th occurrence in program history of at least 50 blocked shots in a season... Javon Freeman-Liberty needs four points for 1,700 in his career and four steals for 200 career... Brandon Johnson needs 13 rebounds to reach 1,000 boards in his career... Nick Ongenda needs one blocked shot to become the 11th player in program history with 100 career rejections.
The Opponent – St. John's Red Storm: St. John's stands at 16-14 overall and 8-11 in BIG EAST games... the Red Storm are the No. 7 seed in the tournament... St. John's has dropped three of its last four games including a 85-77 decision at Marquette to end the regular season... Julian Champagnie leads the team with a scoring average of 18.9 points per game along with a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game... Posh Alexander adds 14.1 points per game with 147 assists this season... head coach Mike Anderson is in his third season at St. John's.
The Series: Wednesday is the 51st all-time meeting between the two programs... the Red Storm holds a 28-22 advantage in the series... the game is second between the two sides in the BIG EAST Tournament... St. John's defeated DePaul, 82-74, on March 13, 2019... DePaul has won two of the last three meetings... the Red Storm won the first meeting this season, 89-84, on Jan. 5 at Carnesecca Arena... the Blue Demons posted a 99-94 win at Wintrust Arena on Feb. 27.
Players Mentioned
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