It’s a new era for DePaul basketball under former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann. With less than a month away from the first non-conference matchups of the 2024-25 season, here are the five most interesting matchups for the Blue Demons.
It’s a new era for DePaul basketball under former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann. With less than a month away from the first non-conference matchups of the 2024-25 season, here are the five most interesting matchups for the Blue Demons.
5. Nov. 7: vs. Prairie View A&M Panthers
The last time DePaul basketball faced a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) was against Alcorn State in the 2019-20 season. At the time, the head coach was Dave Leitao, who led the team to a 72-54 win that game and a 16-16 record on the season.
Prairie View A&M’s record last season was a 10-21 record and 5-13 in conference play, which was 10th in the SWAC.
Out of their top-five scorers from last season, only point guard Orlando Horton Jr. remains with the team. The rest either graduated or transferred away. Horton averaged 6.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 steals for the Panthers.
This is the second game of the season for the Blue Demons, and it will be interesting to see any potential changes Holtmann makes after their first game against Southern Indiana.
4. Nov. 4: vs. Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles
Speaking of Southern Indiana. This will be Holtmann’s first game coaching the Blue Demons, and the rest of the Big East will have their eyes on this matchup to see how Holtmann performs with a new team.
The Screaming Eagles have been a part of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) since 2022. The last time DePaul faced a team from the OVC was on Dec. 19, 2016, against Southeast Missouri State. That game ended in a close 81-78 victory.
Southern Indiana’s record last season was 8-24, with a 5-13 conference record, which was tied for eighth in the OVC with Tennessee Tech.
With their top three scorers gone, their leading scorer from last year’s roster is forward Jack Mielke, who had a breakout year for the Screaming Eagles, averaging 8.5 points and 4.1 rebounds, while shooting 40.2% from beyond the arc.
3. Dec. 4: at Texas Tech Red Raiders
This will be Holtmann’s first game against a power 5 opponent as the coach of the Blue Demons. This is also the third time in their history that DePaul faces off against the Red Raiders.
All-time, DePaul holds a 2-0 record against Texas Tech. The last time these two teams faced off was in the 2019-2020 season, where the Blue Demons came out on top in a 65-60 overtime victory. This will be a close matchup that will test Holtmann and DePaul.
Texas Tech finished last season third in the Big 12 with a 23-11 record, and 11-7 conference record, which led to a tie with the Baylor Bears.
Forward Darrion Williams was the third leading scorer last year for the Red Raiders and he returned for another season while the two leading scorers left the program. Williams averaged 11.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on the season.
Texas Tech was seventh in the Big 12 conference in terms of scoring, averaging 75.3 points on the season.
2. Nov. 15: vs. Duquesne Dukes
The Dukes created the first upset win in last year’s NCAA March Madness tournament after they shocked the brackets with a 71-67 win against the BYU Cougars.
Duquesne finished last season with a 25-12 overall record and a 10-8 conference record, which was sixth in the Atlantic 10 conference.
In their history, DePaul has faced the Dukes twice and has a 1-1 record against the school. In their previous matchup on the road, the Blue Demons lost 66-55 in the 2022-2023 season. In their first matchup at home, DePaul won 87-67 in the 2021-2022 season.
Duquesne lost their two leading scorers in guards Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III during the offseason. The latter signed a professional contract with Bnei Herzliya Basket, a professional basketball team in the Israeli Premier League.
The Dukes retained their third leading scorer in forward David Dixon who averaged 7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and a team-leading 1.6 blocks.
1. Nov. 11: vs. Mercer Bears
This is the most interesting non-conference matchup of the season for DePaul. One of their transfers in sophomore guard David Thomas, previously played for the Bears.
Thomas started eight games last year for Mercer and played 31. He was the second-leading scorer for the team, averaging 11 points, 2.4 rebounds, and a team-leading 2.3 assists.
During the previous season, the Bears’ leading scorer was forward Jalyn McCreary, who averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Four out of their top five scorers from last season transferred away to other programs or played in their final year of eligibility. McCreary was the only one who didn’t transfer. Jake Davis transferred to the Illinois Fighting Illini and Robby Carmody transferred to the Le Moyne Dolphins.
Will this be a revenge game for Thomas, or for Mercer? He was one of the more promising members of the Bears, now, he’s the enemy.