DePaul vs. Villanova: Key storylines for 2019-20 Big East matchup

PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 21: Cole Swider #10, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21, Collin Gillespie #2, and Jermaine Samuels #23 of the Villanova Wildcats celebrate with their teammates after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks at the Wells Fargo Center on December 21, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 56-55. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 12: Paul Reed #4 of the DePaul Blue Demons (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

4. DePaul’s three stars have made big improvements

A big reason for DePaul’s strong start has been the leap by their three leaders, juniors Jaylen Butz, Paul Reed, and Charlie Moore. Not only are they three of the Blue Demons’ double-digit scorers, but the team’s success can also be linked to the jump they have made from their sophomore seasons to now. As a team, DePaul scores over 75 points per game and the trio rank first, second and fourth on the team in the category.

Reed is 2nd on the team with 15.4 and a team-leading 11.1 rebounds, while he was productive last season, averaging 12 points and 8.5 rebounds those numbers have taken a significant jump. He has also improved dramatically on the defensive end, averaging 3.1 blocks per game which is over double the 1.5 he swatted last season.

Butz is the other forward, he is averaging 11 points per after averaging just 6.9 last season with his rebounding up slightly to 6.2 per game this season. He has always been a good shooter, shooting over 57% from the field as a sophomore and this season that number currently sits at 64%.

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Moore is the team’s leading scorer averaging 15.8 per game and he is the Blue Demons top distributor, dishing out 6.8 assists per contest. The 5’11 guard is on his third team in three seasons, he began his career at Cal averaging 12 points and 3.5 assists before transferring to Kansas. With the Jayhawks, he struggled to find his way, playing just 13 minutes per game. Coming back home to Chicago has been good for him as he has helped DePaul to a win total they have only eclipsed one other time since 2008.

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