BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: WEST VIRGINIA@ DEPAUL

February 27, 2008


DePaul has lost seven of their last eight games and their closing schedule is not doing them any favors as they cling to their hopes for a berth in the Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

West Virginia has won three of their last four games, rebounding from a stretch of losing three of four. However, they have struggled on the road this season, especially when it comes to scoring points away from home, and with three of their last four games on the road the Mountaineers have some work to do to gain an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Here are the local media pregame stories and previews on tonight's contest:

WVU Makes First Trip to DePaul (Daily Mail)
DePaul Men's Basketball Team to Face WVU (Chicago Tribune)
WVU Ready for DePaul (WV Metro News)

DePaul got off to a quick start in the Big East schedule, but they have wilted down the stretch, losing seven of their last eight. With a tough finishing schedule, chances for wins to close out their schedule are not great, so winning tonight may represent their best chance. They have a precarious one-game lead for the final Big East Tournament spot. A win tonight could virtually assure them of making the conference party to close the season.

West Virginia closes with three of four games on the road and a home date with Pittsburgh on Big Monday. Winning three of their last four has put the Mountaineers back on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble according to many, but they still could use wins, especially away from home, which they do not own many that would impress many on the NCAA Selection Committee.

Athletically, DePaul matches up favorably with West Virginia. However, it will once again fall on their guards to delover the ball to their scoring threats in position to score. Draelon Burns has the green light to fire up shots, but they are more effective as a team when Mac Koshwal is getting touches, and finishing, and Dar Tucker is attacking the basket. Will Walker has developed into a reliable scoring option to give Burns some needed help on the perimter, but the Blue Demons still do not play consistently for 40 minutes to win games.

Bob Huggins has challenged his WVU squad on several occassion to become tougher. They did what was needed in getting wins over Rutgers, Seton Hall and Providence, all at home. The only blemish in the stretch was getting blown out against Villanova, now they need to find a way to have success on the road when they meet DePaul.

West Virginia has two Big East road wins, against South Florida and Providence, two of the teams behind DePaul in the standings. The match-ups of these two teams seem to be pretty even athletically and DePaul holds the edge with size and the Mountaineers have the edge with guard play behind Darris Nichols, Joe Mazzulla and Alex Ruoff. If that trio can find the range from the perimeter, WVU will be tough to beat tonight.

However, if Depaul is going to win again this season, tonight will have to be the night. I am sure they will put up a fight againt Notre Dame over the weekend in the home finale, but the losing that has piled up should get them to respond tonight and pull the surprise. I am a little surprised that they are such a large home underdog (+5) and expect them to extend WVU's road struggles.

NBE Blogger Prediction: DePaul 73 West Virginia 70

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DEPAUL @ CONNECTICUT

February 19, 2008


Connecticut looks to continue their run of winning when they return home to host DePaul Tuesday night. The Huskies have won nine games in a row, seven in the Big East to put them in position for a run at the conference's regular season title. In those nine wins, eight of them have come with the game in the balance in the last four minutes, including their thrilling OT win at South Florida on Saturday afternoon.

DePaul has lost five of six and find themselves fighting for their Big East Tournament lives as we head down the stretch. Their upcoming schedule does not do them any favors with four of their last six games on the road and home dates with West Virginia and Notre Dame mixed in.

Here are the local media's game stories and previews on tonight's game:

Past Drives UConn (Hartford Courant)
No. 13 UConn Setting Lofty Goals (Republican-American)
UConn Puts 9-Game Win Streak On Line vs. DePaul (Chicago Tribune)
UConn's Goal: Keep Winning, Play Better (Connecticut Post)

Here are two teams heading in opposite directions, but the game is very important to each team. DePaul, sitting at 5-7, is in a dogfight with Villanova and Seton Hall for the last spot in the Big East Tournament. Each team has five victories, which is just one game in front of St. John's for 14th place. Of the four teams, two will be in and two will be out of the party at Madison Square Garden.

Connecticut is 9-3 in the Big East and their three losses is the least in the conference, joined by Georgetown, Louisville and Notre Dame. These four teams have separated themselves from the middle of the pack and look to be in pretty good shape for a bye in the conference tournament.

UConn's hot streak has been without the player many expected to be their top threat this season, Jerome Dyson, who has been suspended indefinitely by the University for a positive drug test following an alcohol-related citation on the UConn campus. Since that time, AJ Price has elevated his game into consideration for Big East Player of the Year, running the team flawlessly and scoring points when needed. The role for Craig Austrie has also expanded and the new found confidence gained with that role was never more obvious than his coast to coast drive that resulted in the 14-foot floater to beat USF on Saturday with 0:00.2 left on the clock in OT.

Like all Connecticut teams of the recent past, they still are big and athletic in the frontcourt with 7'3 Hasheem Thabeet blocking and changing shots, Jeff Adrien bullying his way to double-doubles and the 6'9, long, lean and athletic wing Stanley Robinson just waiting to bust out as a top player.

After struggling throug a tough out of conference schedule, DePaul made some noise by winning three of their first four in the Big East, however, their recent struggles have pushed the Blue Demons back towards the bottom of the pack in the conference. DePaul has some impressive athletes, but consistency in ballhandling and shooting continues to plague them and prevents them from finding any solid footing in the Big East. Their freshman duo of Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal is very impressive, but against a team like UConn, they will find producing points very tough. Look for Austrie to have the assignment of guarding leading scorer Draelon Burns and making it difficult for Burns to find anything uncontested from the perimeter. Limiting Burns ability for easy baskets will force the Depaul offense to work hard for anything they get, which usually leads to the Blue Demons breaking down on offense.

UConn is a 13-pt favorite, where in many instances, Depaul can make up for their shortcoming by matching up athletically, they will be severely challenged in that end today as well.


NBE Blogger Prediction: Connecticut 81 DePaul 65

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE @ DEPAUL

February 12, 2008


The Louisville Cardinals look to follow-up their stirring win in an electric atmosphere over Georgetown by earning a road win at DePaul this evening. The Blue Demons needed a big 2nd half rally on Saturday to defeat the lowly South Florida Bulls.

Here are the pregame stories and previews from local media outlets:

DePaul's Will Walker Coming into His Own (Chicago Tribune)
Pitino Says Cards Ae at Best So Far (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Walker's Stats Running Higher (Daily Herald)
Demons Seek Upset over Louisville (Sun-Times)

Another Conference-USA rivalry is renewed tonight in Chicago as DePaul hosts Louisville in a Big East conference match-up. The Blue Demons have a tough road ahead in the Big East schedule, so finding a way to come out with victories at home is very important. DePaul avoided disaster on Saturday, rallying from an 11-point halftime defecit to beat South Florida. Tonight they will hope to catch Louisville still on a high from their Primetime Saturday nigh win over Georgetown in 'White-out' conditions at Freedom Hall.

The Blue Demons have the athletic ability and size to match-up with Louisville, but they do not have the depth upfront, so they need to keep Mac Koshwal and Wesley Green on the floor as much as possible. They could go smaller and try to match-up Karron Clarke with forwards Earl Clark and Juan Palacios, but that will hurt them on the boards. Dar Tucker on the wing is a similar player to Terrence Williams but has the disadvantage in terms of experience. The guard situations are rather similar as well with each head coach trying to get his point guards to take on the prefered role. It looks like Edgar Sosa for Louisville and Cliff Clinkscales for DePaul are coming around more consistently.

Louisville is a 7.5-pt favorite, but be aware of a letdown tonight. Rick Pitino might be shuttling players in and out to find the combination that is ready to play tonight while DePaul will look to jump on the Cards early. If Louisville depends on the three-point shot, look for the Blue Demons to build an early lead...however, Louisville will right the ship and come from behind for the win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 69 DePaul 63

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SOUTH FLORIDA @ DEPAUL

February 9, 2008


There is still plenty of basketball left to be played in the Big East this season, but it looks painfully obvious that South Florida is going to miss the Big East Tournament for the third consecutive time. DePaul, on the other hand, is struggling to keep their ship afloat as it continues to take on water after starting conference play 3-1.

As much as USF has struggled since coming into the Big East, their road struggles are reaching epic proportions, now at 0-21 lifetime away from home in the Big East after Tuesday's loss at Georgetown. Despite another loss, Stan Heath actually found positives from the game where South Florida led most of the 1st half and continued to compete for 40 minutes, something that their coach has not seen consistently during the year.

I do think South Florida is better than their record in the Big East indicates. They have a productive big man in Kentrell Gransberry who is a load inside and consistently posts double-doubles. They have an exciting scoring guard in freshman Dominique Jones, however, he is finding points much harder to come by in conference play. However, they continue to lack any consistent play from anyone else on the team. Point guard Chris Howard and wing Jesus Verdejo show glimpses, but they can not put things together in the same game or for any long stretches at a time.

The Blue Demons have some impressive athletes and they definitely pass the look test once again. Dick Vitale would term this team as an 'all-airport' squad because they look better in the terminal than they do on the court often.

South Florida has nearly nothing from the power forward spot and nothing behind Gransberry. The Blue Demons can attack this weakness with Mac Koshwal and Wes Green inside and they can comfortably go to a smaller line-up playing Karron Clarke and Dar Tucker on the floor together to use their athletic advantage. Draelon Burns is the DePaul scorer and Will Walker is progressing as instant offense off the bench. They also seem to be getting more consistent play from Cliff Clinkscales in running the show, but that seems to be a game-by-game decision by Jerry Wainwright.

An original thought of mine had this possible being the game that USF snaps their string of road losses. However, their lack of depth, especially up front, seems to play right into the hands of DePaul. Furthermore, their lack of dangerous shooter from the perimeter makes stealing one on the hands of a hot shooter even less likely.

NBE Blogger Prediction: DePaul 70 South Florida 60

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DEPAUL @ PROVIDENCE

February 5, 2008



Something has to give tonight as both Providence and DePaul bring losing streaks into their contest at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence. The 'Fire Welsh' chants were out in full force as the Friars dropped their fourth straight Saturday night against West Virginia. The Friars are now just 3-6 in conference play. At DePaul, the Blue Demons have lost three in a row and are finding themselves in a fight for the last Big East Tournament berth after a promising start in the conference, which included a 70-65 win over PC at Allstate Arena on January 5th.

Here are the local media preview stories on tonight's game:

DePaul Not Hot Going into Providence Rematch (Courier News)
Game Preview: DePaul @ PC (Providence Journal)
DePaul Needs Big Hit to Keep its Season Alive (Chicago Tribune)
Lack of Consistency on Offense, Defense Has PC's Welsh in a Bind (Providence Journal)
PC Has Left Welsh to the Boo-Birds (Providence Journal)

Providence looks to snap a four-game losing streak and get revenge for a 70-65 road loss earlier in the season at the hands of DePaul. In the earlier game, PC played without a point guard as sophomore Dwain Williams missed the game with an injured ankle. Williams' return to the line-up helped spark the Friars to a three-game winning streak, which included a road win at UConn, but it has been downhill since for the Friars and their fans have taken their frustrations out towards Tim Welsh in recent games.

The same problems continue to plague the Friars as they remain inconsistent on defense and on the boards. With Williams' injury issues and Sharaud Curry missing all but 8 minutes of the season, the offense has been inconsistent as well. The Friars seem to rely solely on the perimter shooting touch of Williams, Brian McKenzie and Jeff Xavier for their offense. Geoff McDermott is bothered by an injured knee and Randall Hanke tends to get pushed around often in the Big East.

DePaul is a similar team as Providence where they also struggle with consistency. The Blue Demons definitely pass the look test with a line-up of strong and athletic players, but they struggle shooting the ball consistently and getting the ball inside the paint. Draelon Burns is their leading scorer and his role is to score points, sometimes it leads to ill-advised shots, but he is given the offensive freedom to score for the Blue Demons. The very promising freshman duo of Mac Koshwal and Dar Tucker have also stepped up as the season moves on, but after those three, you never know what else you will get from Jerry Wainwright's squad.

The Friars are 7-pt favorites in tonight's contest. I do expect them to come out with a strong effort as they know the opinion of th efans of their recent play. They heard the boo-birds during their loss to Seton Hall and it was only louder at the end of the West Virginia loss.

Shooting the ball will be the key, on their home floor, look for PC to hit their three's at a solid clip and pressure the DePaul guards into tough shots. DePaul will keep it close with their size and they are more than capable of stealing this one on the road, but I am giving the edge to the home team tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Providence 72 DePaul 67

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DEPAUL @ NOTRE DAME

February 2, 2008


Notre Dame's home win streak reached 32 games with a thrilling overtime win over Providence Thursday night. The Irish have to turnaround quickly and take on DePaul Saturday evening as the Blue Demons take their turn in attempting to end the Irish home win streak.

The Blue Demons got the conference's attention by winning three of their first four Big East contests, but they have settled back into the conference back, losing three of their last four to even their record at 4-4. Their last game was a disappointing home loss to Syracuse as the short-handed Orange used their zone to watch the Blue Demons build a wall with their bricks from the perimeter.

Look for Notre Dame to do what they do best, go inside to Luke Harangody and then look outside to Kyle McAlarney. Harangody scored 31 in the win over PC, making up for the off-night shooting from McAlarney, which can't be good news for DePaul as the law of averages points to a big night on Saturday for the Irish junior.

DePaul definitely has some pieces to compete, but they still drive onlookers crazy with their inconsistency. Mac Koshwal and Dar Tucker are among the league's best freshman duos, but the up and down play of seniors Karron Clarke, Wesley Green and Cliff Clinkscales leaves you wondering what you will get from DePaul. Senior Draelon Burns is one of the league's leading scorers, and he is putting up points consistently, but it can take a lot of shots at times for him to accrue those points.

While DePaul is likely to step up and beat someone again soon, I just do not see it happening against Notre Dame this weekned.

NBE Blogger's Prediction: Notre Dame 78 DePaul 70

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