DePaul Basketball Eliminates Valpo: 3 Takeaways

DePaul basketball ends their seven-game homestand undefeated. On Black Friday, the team defeated the Valparaiso Beacons 89-70.

The Blue Demons improved to a 7-0 record for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

The leading scorer for DePaul basketball was Isaiah Rivera, who scored 19 points, four rebounds, and two assists against the Beacons. This came from his 7-10 (70%) overall performance and 3-4 (75%) from beyond the arc.

Valparaiso’s leading scorer was Cooper Schwieger, who scored 19 points and eight rebounds. He shot 7-13 (53.8%) from the field and 42.8% from long distance.

Here are three key takeaways from this performance by the Blue Demons.

Takeaway #1: A septuple scoring threat/loaded bench

DePaul basketball featured several players scoring in double digits besides Rivera. To add to that, the team boasted seven players who scored at least eight points. Four of those seven scored double-digit points and one nearly had a double-double. Five of those seven players came off the bench, further showcasing how great this team is.

Besides the leading scorer in Rivera (19), there were scoring contributions from Troy D’Amico (11), C.J. Gunn (12), J.J. Traynor (8), Layden Blocker (9), N.J. Benson (9), and Jacob Meyer (12). Meyer also led the team in rebounds against the Beacons with seven boards.

Head coach Chris Holtmann reiterated the strength of the bench and how critical they are to the team.

“Critical for us,” Holtmann said in the postgame press conference after the victory over the Beacons. “I think we talked about that in previous games, right? I think this group is going to need a lift from the bench. And I mentioned there David Skogman, one of our best players, didn’t play, only played 17 minutes, but man he had a great approach, great attitude. Why? Because he’s a really good payer and he’s really mature, and it’s a great example for the other guys, because other guys came in and stepped up when he was out.”

Skogman only scored two points today, shooting 1-4 (25%) from the field and missing both his three-point shots.

This bench will be put to the test come conference play against the likes of the Providence Friars, UConn Huskies, and Marquette Golden Eagles. All of those teams, and so many more, are current contenders for the crown of the Big East Conference, so continuing great play from the bench will help to support the starters when they struggle.

Takeaway #2: Some miscommunication in the rebounding department

This is a small issue but a constant one that has been seen at every game this year. There are times when one or two players for DePaul basketball try to grab the rebound on the defensive end that ended up being tipped back and recovered by Valparaiso to turn into an easy two-point play.

In volleyball, players call for the ball by just screaming “Mine” or “I got it!” This signifies who is going to make the play.

The Blue Demons outrebounded their opponents 41-31, with a 29-19 gap in the defensive end. This is much different than against the Northern Illinois Huskies, where DePaul basketball outrebounded their opponents 55-30 overall and 45-23 defensively.

To truly dominate a game, it all starts inside the paint. Securing those rebounds to shift the momentum in your team’s favor, to do that, players need to communicate to not allow the rebounding disparity to be so close.

Granted, this is much better than last year, when the team constantly was manhandled by their opponents on both sides of the glass. If this team can create such rebounding differences in their favor, then this team will reach another apex and look like an even bigger threat than they already are.

Takeaway #3: This team needs to be tested on the road

Holtmann was asked during the postgame press conference about DePaul’s first true road test in the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Holtmann believed that this game would be necessary for the team going forward.

“I think that’s needed for our group right now,” Holtmann said. “I really do, you know, we play a lot of games, including right the exhibition and even the scrimmage at home. So we really need to go play somebody else on another, another venue, and obviously, I’m kind of partial to, you know, these high major versus high major teams, you know playing in home and home events.”

With this homestand concluded, DePaul basketball will not have such a long stay in Chicago for the rest of the season. The longest streak of home games the team will see for the rest of the season is two games. A lot of those two-game stands are against conference opponents such as on Dec. 10 and Dec. 14, where the Blue Demons host their first conference game against the Providence Friars and the Wichita State Shockers.

This team has not yet had the experience of a long week on the road as others have. These road games will be crucial to their outlook on conference play as well as the rest of the season in general. If the team can only perform well at home, in a comfortable environment, then they have more work to do than previously thought. If they can perform well on the road, then DePaul basketball fans can breathe a sigh of relief.

Next game for DePaul (7-0): at Texas Tech (5-1) — Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. CST (9 p.m. EST)

Next game for Valparaiso (4-3): vs. Drake (6-0) — Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CST (8 p.m. EST)