Men's Basketball Opens 2026 Against Xavier

CHICAGO – DePaul men's basketball returns home to Wintrust Arena to kick off 2026 with two-game homestand, beginning Saturday, Jan. 3 as the Blue Demons host Xavier. Saturday's game tips off at 1 p.m. on FS1 with Noah Reed and Dickey Simpkins on the call. Zach Zaidman and Dave Corzine will have the radio broadcast on Sirius XM and DePaul Blue Demons App.

A limited number of tickets are available for Saturday's game as a part of the New Years Flash Sale. Visit DePaulBlueDemons.com/Promo and use the code "2026" to purchase two seats in section 226 for $26 or $26 tickets in section 126.

LAST TIME OUT
DePaul (8-6, 0-3 BIG EAST) faced its third top-30 NET team in a row as they fell at Villanova, 71-66, on New Year's Eve. The Blue Demons held a four-point halftime lead after stifling the Wildcats offense to 27.3 percent in the first half. Villanova came back behind its three-point shooters in the second half, eventually pulling away at the free throw line. CJ Gunn led DePaul with 15 points and a season-high seven rebounds, while Fabián Flores had a team-best eight rebounds.

THE SERIES
Xavier leads the all-time series 23-13 while the series in Chicago is much closer at 7-9. The Blue Demons last win against Xavier came Jan. 18, 2023 where DePaul took down the #8-ranked Musketeers in a 73-72 contest.

SCOUTING XAVIER
Xavier (9-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) is led by Rich Pitino in his first year with the Musketeers after a successful stint at New Mexico. The team won its first conference game of the year Dec. 20 at Georgetown in a 80-77 victory, before falling to UConn on New Years Eve.

Tre Carroll leads the Musketeers offensively with 16 points per game, shooting 47.3 percent from the field – which ranks second among all BIG EAST players. Filip Borovicanin is fourth among league players with 7.8 rebounds per game while Papa N'Diaye averages 1.25 blocks. As a team, the Musketeers rank 31st nationally with 18.6 assists per game and are 22nd in fewest turnovers per game. Xavier and DePaul are both top-25 nationally in assist rate, with the Musketeers assisting on 69.1 percent of their made field goals.

UP NEXT
DePaul turns around to host Georgetown on Tuesday, Jan. 6 in a 7 p.m. tip. The game is slated to air on truTV.

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Players Mentioned

CJ Gunn

DePaul University Athletics