WICHITA, KAN. – DePaul men’s basketball closes out non-conference play Saturday, Dec. 13, as the Blue Demons travel to face Wichita State. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU, with Derek Jones and John Williams on the broadcast call. Zach Zaidman and Dave Corzine will have the DePaul radio broadcast on Sirius XM and the Blue Demons App.
LAST TIME OUT
DePaul (7-3) turned in its strongest defensive performance of the season Tuesday night, holding Morgan State to a record low 20.0 percent shooting from the field. The mark was the lowest allowed by a BIG EAST team since 2012, and the lowest by a Chris Holtmann-led program.
Kaleb Banks paced the Blue Demons with a season-high 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while CJ Gunn and Layden Blocker added double figures. DePaul forced 20 turnovers and continues to rank among the nation’s top 60 in turnover margin. The Blue Demons are 5-0 this season when holding opponents under 65 points.
THE SERIES
DePaul holds a 5-4 edge in the all-time series after a 91-72 win at Wintrust Arena last season. The Blue Demons connected on a record 17 three-pointers in regulation, shooting 51.5 percent from beyond the arc. Wichita State is 2-0 all-time in home games in the series, with the most recent taking place 47 years ago to the day.
SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
Wichita State (6-4) is coming off back-to-back wins against Mount Marty and Northern Iowa. The Shockers are 17-6 at home over the past two seasons and a perfect 5-0 at home this year. Paul Mills is in his third year at the helm of the Shockers program, looking to improve upon last year’s NIT appearance for WSU.
Kenyon Giles leads the Shockers offense with 17.1 points per game, though, Wichita State has been largely marked by its rebounding and defensive efforts this season. As a team, the Shockers rank 12th nationally with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game and are top-90 in both field goal percentage defense and scoring defense. Wichita State has held its opponents to an average of 67.3 points per game, for an 11 point scoring margin on the season.
UP NEXT
DePaul opens BIG EAST play Tuesday, Dec. 16, with an early conference test against reigning league champion, St. John’s. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on Peacock.
