DePaul basketball breaks their two-game losing streak after crushing the Wichita State Shockers. The final score was 91-72, with Jacob Meyer scoring 23 points.
The Shockers made life difficult for the Blue Demons on several occasions. However, Meyer and C.J. Gunn became the standard holders for DePaul basketball late in the game.
Meyer scored 23 points and 4 rebounds. He accomplished this while shooting 6-9 (66.6%) overall and 4-6 (66.6%) from beyond the arc. Another notable contribution was his constant effort to chase after loose balls.
Gunn scored 22 points while shooting 9-12 (75%) from the field and 4-6 (66.6%) from long range. 13 of his points came in the second half alone, where he shot 6-9 (66.6%) from the field.
Here are three key takeaways from the victory:
Takeaway #1: Jacob Meyer & C.J. Gunn are amazing players
Meyer led all on-court players in scoring. Throughout the game, he was consistently finding himself open from downtown and either helped the team claw back from a big deficit or increased the lead. For Gunn, he showed flashes of vintage Kobe Bryant, where he could do no wrong no matter where he took a shot. Whether from the corner for three or for a step back mid-range fadeaway.
Gunn’s 22 points was a career-high for him and was immediately asked about it in the postgame press conference, where he said his teammates set him up for success.
“I believe my teammates just set me up for success,” Gunn said. “You know, we were all prepared coming into the game, coming off two losses, so our mentality coming into the game, we were on point.”
Meyer was often seen throughout the game diving for loose balls or creating turnovers for the opposing Shockers. This caught the attention of head coach Chris Holtmann, who spoke about his efforts during the press conference.
“He got so many loose balls, shots, or rebounds that were loose that they had that he stripped away,” Holtmann said. “He is really good at that.” He would later praise both him and Layden Blocker for having a tremendous way of getting to loose balls.
Takeaway #2: Wichita State destroyed DePaul basketball in the paint for the first half
By the end of the game, the Shockers outscored DePaul basketball in the paint 38-24. In the first half alone, they outscored the Blue Demons in the paint 24-4. That is unacceptable for a team in a Power Five conference, especially in the Big East.
Most of the work was done by Justin Hill (4-10 from the field), and Harlond Beverly (6-10 overall). Wichita State could do no wrong and consistently caught DePaul basketball players off-guard. Such as Conor Enright or Troy D’Amico, who either got blown past by the likes of Hill and Beverly.
That is something that Holtmann and company will have to watch out for and improve in practice. This is also something future opponents like Marquette and Seton Hall will look to exploit. As a team, you always want to strive for that balance to not become one-dimensional, which the team did a great job of improving for the second half.
Takeaway #3: Great improvement on the free throws
Against the Providence Friars, the Blue Demons shot 8-15 (53.3%) from the charity strike. Today, they shot 10-13 (76.9%), a great improvement for DePaul basketball. If they can keep staying consistent from the line, they won’t catch themselves in a bad situation like against the Friars.
Meyer himself shot a perfect 7-7 from the line and was supported by N.J. Benson, who shot 3-4 (75%) in free throws.
Next up for DePaul basketball (8-2): at St. John’s (8-2) – Dec. 17 at 4:30 p.m. CST (5:30 p.m. EST)
Next up for Wichita State basketball (8-2): vs. Kansas City (5-7) – Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. CST (7:30 p.m. EST)
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