DePaul Set to Take on Northwestern

EVANSTON, ILL. – DePaul men's basketball is set to conclude its stretch of three road games in the last five contests, as the Blue Demons face off against Northwestern, Saturday, Dec. 21. The game is slated for a 3 p.m. tip from Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.

Jason Ross Jr. and Bruce Weber have the broadcast call on Big Ten Network, while DePaul's radio broadcast is available on Sirius XM and DePaul Blue Demons app with Zach Zaidman and Dave Corzine on the air.

LAST TIME OUT
DePaul (8-3, 0-2 BIG EAST) dropped its first conference road game at (RV) St. John's on Tuesday. Layden Blocker had a team-high 17 points off the bench for DePaul, including a personal-best seven made free throws. He was joined in double-digit scoring by Conor Enright who added 12 points and three assists. As a team, the Blue Demons were held to a season-low six three-pointers.

SCOUTING DEPAUL
After facing losses in three of its last four games, DePaul looks to rebound in its final two games of the calendar year. The Blue Demons key to success remains its lights out shooting and ability to share the ball, averaging 12.2 three-pointers and 18.8 assists per game, both of which rank top-15 nationally.

DePaul is 8-1 this season when having more assists than their opponent and also boasts a 7-0 record when shooting above 50 percent as a team from the floor.

Jacob Meyer remains DePaul's leading scorer, averaging 14.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. The true sophomore's streak of 24-straight games scoring in double-digits was snapped earlier this week, however, Meyer has scored at least five points in every game of his collegiate career. The Covington, Ky. Native, averages nearly 2.5 three-pointers per game and shoots 43.8 percent from deep.

THE SERIES
Saturday marks the 38th all-time meeting between the two schools located 11 miles apart. DePaul leads the all-time series, 21-16, however Northwestern holds a 12-6 advantage for games played in Evanston. The Blue Demons last win at Northwestern came in 2013 in a 57-56 victory.

The Wildcats have won six of the last seven meetings, while Chris Holtmann is 8-4 in his career as a head coach against Northwestern.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern (8-3, 1-1 Big 10) has back-to-back wins against #19 Illinois and Georgia Tech, both behind senior Brooks Barnhizer who has four consecutive double-doubles. Barnhizer is the Wildcats rebound leader, averaging nine per game, while being the team's second leading scorer at 19.7 points. Nick Martinelli averages a team-best 20.4 points per game and is shooting 58.3 percent from three.

As a team, the Wildcats have held opponents to an average of 64.2 points per game and are among the nation's best in ball security, ranking 10^th nationally in fewest turnovers. Chris Collins is in his 12th season at the helm of Northwestern's program as the Wildcats look to return to the postseason for the third-straight year.

UP NEXT
DePaul returns to Wintrust Arena for its final home game of the non-conference slate, Dec. 28, as they host Loyola (Md.). The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. tip on FS1.

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Players Mentioned

Layden Blocker

Conor Enright

Jacob Meyer