Duquesne vs DePaul: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
The luck-starved Duquesne Dukes looks to get a win on the road against the DePaul Blue Demons of the Big East. Who has the edge in this matchup?
TV schedule: Tuesday, December 7th, 8:30 pm ET. FS1
Arena: Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois
It’s year one of the Tony Stubblefield era with DePaul Basketball, off to a 6-1 start that includes a win over Rutgers, although the Scarlet Knights have been in freefall as of late. But the Blue Demons’ unbeaten run came to an end this past weekend against Loyola, falling in the second half to lose 68-64.
David Jones led all scorers with 19 points and nine rebounds on 8-21 shooting. Javon Freeman-Liberty, who leads the team on the season with 21.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 4.1 apg, was very quiet overall, producing just seven points and six rebounds on 2/9 shooting. It was by far the worst offensive performance for the team, who already has three games on the season with 97+ points scored.
They were against low-level mid-major programs, something that Duquesne of the Atlantic 10 is not. The Dukes’ overall record of 3-6 isn’t impressive but they’ve only been out of one game, with an unlucky record of being 0-5 in games that were decided in the final minute. That includes their recent road loss at Marshall this weekend, 72-71 on a game-winning three-pointer after being up by as much as 17 points in the first half.
Freshman point guard Primo Spears had a season-high 23 points on 9/18 shooting, while big man Tre Williams had 14 points in six rebounds. On the season, there’s balance for Duquesne offensively, with Leon Ayers and Kevin Easley combining with Williams and Spears to average between 12.3-13.1 ppg on the season. No one else scores more than 7.4 ppg, with Jackie Johnson, Tobi Okani, and Tyson Acuff providing the only other amount of offense on the team.
DePaul will be the second-best team Duquesne has faced in the non-conference (lost to Colorado in overtime), while the Dukes will be the third-best team they’ve faced behind Loyola and Rutgers. The A-10 program has shown that they’re competitive overall and could slow down Liberty-Freeman on the perimeter.
Next. Latest top-25 power rankings. dark
However, this Dukes team hasn’t shown that they can win the close ones and being on the road at a Big East program is a hard time to start. I think it’ll be within range in the second half but the Blue Demons should prevail.
Prediction: DePaul 76, Duquesne 66