The DePaul basketball team defeated the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles in an overtime thriller by a score of 80-78 on Monday evening.
Head coach Chris Holtmann gets his first win as the head coach of the DePaul basketball team. Jacob Meyer and Isaiah Rivera led the Blue Demons in the overtime victory despite rough patches of perimeter shooting and interior defense.
Takeaway #1: DePaul is a threat from the perimeter, but needs to consistently be a threat in the second half
In the first half, the Blue Demons shot 8-12 (66.7%) from beyond the arc. The DePaul basketball team had a three-headed monster from the three.
Jacob Meyer went 4-9 from the three-point line, scoring 23 points overall against Southern Indiana. He also was the man who scored the game-tying perimeter shot to send the game to overtime. Isaiah Rivera was the best shooter overall tonight, going 5-9 from the three and 10-17 overall. He totaled 25 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and one steal in the victory.
David Skogman was another great contributor, going a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc. He also recorded a double-double, scoring 13 points and recovering 10 rebounds.
While DePaul basketball shot well in the first half, in the second, the results were less than satisfactory. The Blue Demons shot 6-21 (28.57%) from the three in the second half. In total, the team shot 14-37 (37.84%) from the perimeter.
If this team wants to contend in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball, they need to find consistency, granted this is their second game together as a team.
Takeaway #2: Immediate need for improvement at the free-throw line
DePaul basketball had a poor night on the charity strike, only completing 8-22 (36.36%) from the free-throw line. In the first half alone, the Blue Demons only made two free throws.
There were multiple times when the team held a lead against the Screaming Eagles, only to lose it and unable, at times, to get it back. Part of that was due to the lackluster performance from the line.
Likely this will be a focal point in the coming practices.
Takeaway #3: The team must improve its interior defense as well
While they did a good job at defending the perimeter in the second half, making Southern Indiana go 0-5 from the three, the team got outscored in the paint 40-28. Stephen Olowoniyi scored 22 of his 23 points in or near the paint. He made life very difficult for David Skogman and Troy D’Amico.
These flaws need to be taken with a grain of salt because this game is DePaul basketball’s first of the season, but the team must move quickly to address these issues they faced tonight.
Next Game for DePaul (1-0): vs. Prairie View A&M (1-0) – Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. CT
Next Game for Southern Indiana (0-1): vs. Bucknell (1-0) – Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. CT
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