DePaul hosts Fairleigh Dickinson in third game of the week

It’s been a great start to the Tim Anderson era of DePaul Blue Demons basketball. Anderson, who has been taking over the head coaching duties for Dave Leitao for the first three games of the season, has led the Blue Demons to two double-digit wins. Although he will return to his duties as an assistant coach after this game, he is a reason why they have started 2-0 to begin the season. Tonight the Blue Demons will look to go perfect under Anderson as they face Fairleigh Dickinson. In their previous game, DePaul easily took care of the University of Chicago Maroons in a 84-55 win. Limiting their opponents to just 28.1% shooting from the field, DePaul took control of the game early and never let go. Once again they were led by the same cast of guys who spurred them to their first win. Charlie Moore led the team in scoring with 17 points. Jaylen Butz added 14 while Markese Jacobs came in with 16 points. Paul Reed was all over the stat sheet, dishing out three assists to go along with his seven rebounds and nine points. There were a total of four guys who put double-digit point totals and the Blue Demons cruised to victory.

This will be the second game of the season for their opponents in the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. From the Northeast Conference, they took care of business in their season opener. They beat FDU-Fordham 101-52, scoring 56 points in the first half. FDU got 21 points from guard Jahlil Jenkins and 18 points from big men Elyjah Williams as they dominated for all 40 minutes. Last season they went 21-16 overall and had an impressive 12-6 record in conference play. They had a stellar run during the Northeast Tournament, which was capped off by beating #1 seed Saint Francis in the title game. With the win they punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. FDU appeared in the First Four and advanced to the Round of 64 with a 82-76 win over fellow 16 seed Prairie View A&M. However they were no match for #1 seed Gonzaga as they were steamrolled 87-49. Despite that, FDU will be a tough out for the Blue Demons. They’ve had success when it’s counted and have reached the big dance. FDU has even won a game in the tournament and even if it’s just a First Four win, that’s impressive in itself. The Blue Demons should be favorites but shouldn’t take the Knights lightly. After this game, FDU travels to play four more road games against Fordham, Army, Lafayette, and Notre Dame, respectively.

How to watch, listen, or stream

Game Time: 7 p.m. CT

TV: Fox Sports 2

Radio: WSCR 670 AM (DePaul)

Stream: Fox Sports Go (where streaming is available)

Gamblin’ Odds

Odds: DePaul is a 13.5 point favorite (via Bovada) and is (-110) on the money line.

Record ATS: DePaul (0-2) || Fairleigh Dickinson (1-0)

O/U: The over/under was set at 147.5.

Last Time They Met

This will be the second ever meeting between DePaul and Fairleigh Dickinson with the last time being in 1982 (per the DePaul media guide). The Blue Demons are 1-0 in the all time series.

What to Watch For

Winning the rebounding battle

After losing the battle on the boards against Alcorn State, the Blue Demons came back with a strong performance against the Maroons. They out rebounded their fellow Chicago school 41 to 33 with Reed and Darious Hall leading the way. This should be another emphasis for the Blue Demons as they face the Knights tonight. Keeping up the consistency of being aggressive on the boards can help keep games in front of the Blue Demons.

Cutting down turnovers

DePaul had another strong performance by cutting down on losing the ball and wasting possessions. They had four less turnovers against Chicago than they did against Alcorn State. While the totals for both games were over double digits, these things will happen in the opening parts of the season. This is also the perfect time for the Blue Demons to fix these errors before conference play.

Finishing a long week

As noted in the preview for the Chicago game, this has been a long week for the Blue Demons. This will be their third game this week with all of them coming in four days. We saw a more expanded bench from the Blue Demons and it helped them there was a lot of garbage time with the win sealed early on. Things might not be as smooth for the Blue Demons in this game and it could be a closer contest in the second half than they have seen in the previous two games. Fatigue will once again be a factor for Anderson’s squad. Things don’t get any easier as they head to play Iowa on Monday.