DePaul @ Minnesota preview
Williams Arena
Last Meeting ( Nov 24, 2011 ) Minnesota 86, DePaul 85
DePaul looks to keep its perfect record intact when it visits Minnesota on Friday. The Blue Demons rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to take down Central Michigan 88-75 on Tuesday to improve to 7-0 for the first time since the 1986-87 season, and they hope to stay unbeaten by knocking off their second Big Ten opponent this season, following a 93-78 victory over Iowa on Nov. 11.
"We got to take care of business in a couple of different ways," DePaul coach Dave Leitao told reporters. "We take on Minnesota on the road and go from there, but we've got to make sure that we got the right and proper mindset to do it." Minnesota has won back-to-back games, including a 79-56 victory against North Dakota on Sunday, to climb back to .500. The Gophers had dropped three straight games away from Minneapolis before shooting 51 percent from the floor in the win against the Fighting Hawks and hope to extend their non-conference home winning streak to 15 games while knocking off their first power conference opponent in the process. "When you are playing at Butler, at Utah and Oklahoma at a neutral site, that is the benefit of testing a young team," Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters "It was great to be back home and now we turn our attention to a big game on Friday."
TV: 3 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
ABOUT DEPAUL (7-0): Paul Reed produced 23 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots in the win against Central Michigan to register his sixth double-double in seven games this season. Jalen Coleman-Lands matched a career high with six 3-pointers en route to 21 points and five rebounds, as the Blue Demons outscored Central Michigan 56-25 in the second half to complete a wild comeback. Charlie Moore added 18 points and a career-high 13 assists, which is tied for the sixth-most in a single game in program history, to notch his first career double-double while Jaylen Butz finished with 15 points and 11 boards for his first collegiate double-double.
ABOUT MINNESOTA (3-3): Gabe Kalscheur scored 13 of his team-leading 18 points to go along with four rebounds and three steals in the win against North Dakota. Daniel Oturu continued his stellar start to the season as he added 15 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks despite sitting most of the first half with foul trouble while Alihan Demir finished with 11 points to help the Golden Gophers improve to 19-2 all-time against the Fighting Hawks. Jarvis Omersa tallied a career-high 11 points and nine rebounds while Marcus Carr produced 10 points, six assists and five boards.
TIP-INS
1. Reed has posted 14 double-doubles in his career.
2. Minnesota has won 16 of its last 19 home games.
3. The Golden Gophers are averaging 11.7 3-pointers over their last three games.
PREDICTION: DePaul 83, Minnesota 80