DePaul basketball got their first conference home win in the Chris Holtmann era against the Seton Hall Pirates. The final score was 74-57.
N.J. Benson led the way for the Blue Demons with a double-double.
He scored 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. He did this while shooting 8-13 (61.5%) from the field in a game where DePaul never lost the lead.
For the Pirates, they were led by Isaiah Coleman with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals while shooting 6-20 (30%) from the floor, 2-7 (28.6%) from downtown, and 4-8 (50%) from the charity strike.
DePaul basketball gets their second conference win of the season after not winning since against Georgetown on Jan. 17. Here are three takeaways from the victory.
Takeaway #1: N.J. Benson/rebounds
Benson was all over the place for DePaul basketball, with an interior presence that dominated.
This double-double performance from Benson was his third of the season and the 13th of his collegiate career. The last time Benson recorded a double-double this season was in the first Blue Demons defeat to the UConn Huskies earlier this season. He scored 10 points and 12 rebounds in that loss.
Benson was joined by C.J. Gunn and Layden Blocker, who each recorded 7 rebounds against the Pirates.
He was the catalyst behind a dominating interior performance and board-collecting effort from DePaul basketball.
Collectively, the Blue Demons outrebounded Seton Hall 40-27 in the win. The team also recorded more defensive boards, collecting 30 defensive rebounds to the 12 defensive rebounds from the Pirates.
Takeaway #2: Seton Hall forced turnover after turnover for DePaul basketball
DePaul was sloppy regarding ball discipline against Seton Hall, committing 20 turnovers to the Pirates’ 17. This in turn allowed Seton Hall to score 22 points off of turnovers.
The Pirates were led by three players who kept pickpocketing multiple Blue Demons. Prince Aligbe, Godswill Erheriene, and Coleman recorded at least 2 steals. Coleman himself recorded 3 steals. Yacine Toumi himself got 2 steals coming off the bench as well.
They provided aggressive, on-ball defense, forcing multiple turnovers on Conor Enright (4 turnovers), Benson (3 turnovers), Layden Blocker (2 turnovers), Troy D’Amico (2 turnovers), and Isaiah Rivera (5 turnovers).
Takeaway #3: Great shooting performance from downtown and from the line
From three-point shots, DePaul basketball shot 9-22 (40.9%). This is an improvement over their two previous losses to UConn and the Butler Bulldogs where the team shot 28.6% and 23.8% from beyond the arc respectively.
Rivera and Jacob Meyer were the most consistent shooters from downtown for DePaul basketball. Rivera scored 14 points while shooting 4-6 (66.7%), and Meyer scored 11 points while shooting 2-3 (66.7%) from downtown. Both men were the only bench players for DePaul to score in the win.
From the charity strike, DePaul basketball shot 13-15 (86.7%). In their three recent losses, the Blue Demons have shot 72.2% against the Huskies, 44.4% against Butler, and 61.5% against Creighton. The last time DePaul shot over 80% from the free-throw line was in their 68-81 defeat to UConn, where they shot 23-28 (82.1%).
DePaul basketball saw multiple great free-throw shooters in Gunn (2-2), Enright (2-2), and Blocker (3-4). The best shooter from the line for DePaul basketball, however, was Meyer, who shot 5-5 (100%) from the line.
Great teams can score at will no matter the circumstance. The Blue Demons have struggled from the charity strike, but this is a sign of improvement for this team under Chris Holtmann.
Next up for DePaul basketball (11-12, 2-10): vs. Villanova (12-10, 5-6) – Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. CST (9 p.m. EST)
Next up for Seton Hall basketball (6-16, 1-10): vs. Butler (9-13, 2-9) – Feb. 5 at 5:30 p.m. CST (6:30 p.m. EST)