Blue Demons Tipoff BIG EAST Tournament Friday Against Xavier

CHICAGO – Sixth-seeded DePaul opens the 2025 BIG EAST Tournament on Friday, March 7 against No. 11 seed Xavier. Tipoff from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.

First round games will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network via FloCollege with Adam Giardino and Edona Thaqi on the call.

The Blue Demons are 1-0 in the month of March after defeating St. John's 65-64 in overtime in Sunday's regular season finale. In a game characterized by 15 ties and 11 lead changes, DePaul stayed the course and gutted out the victory behind double-figure performances from Jorie Allen (17 points), Kate Clarke (15) and Taylor Johnson-Matthews (12). The Blue Demons went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the overtime period to pick up the win.

DePaul has relied on Allen and Johnson-Matthews to carry the offensive load all season long with. The tandem both were honored by the league's head coaches on Thursday with Allen being named BIG EAST Most Improved Player and landing on the All-BIG EAST First Team while Johnson-Matthews was an All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention selection.

Allen was the BIG EAST leading scorer in the regular season with 20.0 points per game while finishing in double figures in every game this season. Johnson-Matthews elevated her scoring to 16.6 points an outing during conference play while shooting 38-percent from long distance. The return of junior guard Kate Clarke has added another perimeter scoring threat. In 10 appearances, Clarke has finished with 10 or more points on six occasions and is averaging 12.0 for the season.

On the glass, DePaul leads the league in offensive rebounds per game (13.0) while ranking second overall (37.2). Redshirt junior Meg Newman has led the charge with a team-best 8.2 rebounds a game which ranks third in the league. She owns eight games with 10 or more boards.

Xavier enters the postseason 6-23 overall and 1-17 in BIG EAST play. The Musketeers fell to Seton Hall 59-57 on Sunday afternoon despite outscoring the Pirates in three of the four quarters. All-BIG EAST Freshman Team selection Meri Kanerva leads Xavier with 10.7 points and 3.3 assists per game. As a team, the Musketeers are forcing 17.3 turnovers per game which ranks third in the conference with senior guard Tae'lor Purvis just above two steals an outing.

DePaul is 29-1 all-time against the Musketeers including a pair of victories this season. The two sides have met just once in the BIG EAST Tournament with the Blue Demons claiming an 87-53 decision in the 2015 Quarterfinal round.

Heading into its 20th BIG EAST Tournament, the Blue Demons are 27-14 all-time including a 19-6 mark since the league reconfigured ahead of the 2013-14 season. The Blue Demons are the sixth seed for just the second time (2009) and own a 1-0 record over the No. 11 seed. Since the tournament moved to Mohegan Sun ahead of the 2021 tournament, DePaul is 1-4.

The winner of Friday's first round matchup will take on No. 3 seed Seton Hall in Saturday's Quarterfinal round. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET with coverage on FS2.

Blue Demons Tipoff BIG EAST Tournament Friday Against Xavier

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jorie Allen

Kate Clarke

Taylor Johnson-Matthews

Meg Newman