DePaul Basketball Extends Streak To Four: 3 Takeaways

DePaul basketball continues their winning streak, now at four, after defeating the Duquesne Dukes 84-58.

DePaul continues to amaze the fans and pundits around college basketball.

They have already increased their win total from the previous season, while also going 4-0 for the first time since the 2021-2022 season. They get this win over the Duquesne Dukes, their second win in three contests against this program.

Graduate transfer guard Isaiah Rivera led the team in scoring with 18, while also tallying 3 assists and a steal. He shot 7-9 (77.7%) from the field and 4-6 (66.6%) from beyond the arc. Graduate transfer forward David Skogman shot a perfect 6-6 (100%) from the field and 1-1 (100%) from beyond the three-point line for 16 points, nearly getting a double-double with nine rebounds in the match.

Sophomore guard Jacob Meyer had a great game in his own right, scoring 13 points off the bench, 5 rebounds, and an assist.

Layden Blocker exited the game halfway through the first half and did not return for the rest of the game.

The Blue Demons currently are tied with their top rival Marquette Golden Eagles for the top of the Big East conference. Both rivals stand at 4-0 in this part of the season. The Dukes, meanwhile, dropped to 0-3, last place in the A-10 conference and the only team in said conference to not have a win.

Takeaway #1: The defense was the star of the game for DePaul basketball

Duquesne struggled mightily from the field and beyond the arc. Overall, the Dukes shot 20-56 (35.7%) from the field. This included a poor showing in the second half, only shooting 8-28 (28.57%). From beyond the arc, Duquesne shot 6-22 (27.2%), including a second half where they shot 0-7 (0%) from the three-point line.

Junior guard Kareem Rozier, who was the team’s leading scorer against the Princeton Tigers, was held to just seven points and one assist. He shot 2-7 (28.6%) overall and 1-4 (25%) from beyond the arc.

The Dukes had the lead early in the first half, however, once the Blue Demons got a lead, they never lost it again. They put their foot on the gas until the finish line.

Takeaway #2: Blue Demons controlled the glass and translated that into buckets

DePaul basketball outrebounded their opponents 40-26 and converted those rebounds into 22 second-chance points. Duquesne only had six of their own.

Nearly the entire team each had at least three rebounds against the Dukes. Skogman led with nine, followed by Meyer and forward J.J. Traynor who each had five. Junior guard Connor Enright had four rebounds while also distributing the ball for eight assists. He nearly had a double-double with 10 points on the night.

Forwards Théo Pierre-Justin, Troy D’Amico, N.J. Benson, and a few others each had three rebounds a piece. Pierre-Justin, a freshman forward from Coudures, France, scored his first two collegiate points at the charity strike, making both.

Takeaway #3: The bench is one of the biggest strengths of the team

In this game, the DePaul basketball bench scored 30 points against Duquesne. This has been a continuing point that head coach Chris Holtmann has stated in postgame press conferences.

In all of their games so far, the Blue Demons bench has outscored the opposing benches. The biggest difference was against the Mercer Bears, with the bench scoring 53 points as opposed to Mercer’s 22. This team has consistently shown that even when their best players aren’t on the floor, they can rely on a deep bench to help sustain, and even widen their leads against their opponents.

Next up for DePaul (4-0): vs Eastern Illinois (1-3) – Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. CST (9 p.m. EST)

Next up for Duquesne (0-3): vs Milwaukee (1-2) – Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. CST (6 p.m. EST)