Miami (OH) @ DePaul preview
Wintrust Arena
DePaul had a five-game win streak snapped Saturday in a tough 62-60 home loss to Northwestern. The Blue Demons will now try to salvage some pre-Big East-play momentum Thursday night when they host Miami (Ohio) in their nonconference finale.
Against the Wildcats, DePaul’s Max Strus poured in a career-high 33 points, and while the plan was to get the ball to the junior guard again on the game’s final possession, they settled for Eli Cain’s driving-layup attempt which fell short at the buzzer. Strus hit 11-of-19 shots, including 6-of-12 3-pointers, while the Blue Demons forced Northwestern into 18 turnovers. But, apart from Strus, DePaul hit 1-of-8 3-pointers, finished 9-of-24 at the free-throw line as a team and had 15 turnovers of its own. The RedHawks, meanwhile, have won their last two games and four of their last five as they begin a stretch of three straight road games with the stop in Chicago.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS1
ABOUT MIAMI (7-4): The RedHawks came off an eight-day finals-week break to wallop NAIA school Rio Grande 109-70 Sunday behind 62-percent shooting from the field and a 64-24 points-in-the-paint advantage. Freshman guards Nike Sibande (13.7 points per game) and Jalen Adaway (10.3) and senior forward Logan McLane (10.7) are averaging double figures to pace a balanced Miami attack while junior point guard Darrian Ringo (8.0) ranks fifth nationally with 7.9 assists per game. The 6-foot-5 McLane (6.5 boards) and the 6-foot-5 Adaway (6.0) are the leading rebounders for the RedHawks, who have an average rebound margin of 4.8.
ABOUT DEPAUL (6-5): Strus’ 33 points were the most by a Blue Demons player in nearly five years, and he’s topped 20 points in four of his last five outings while upping his season average to 16.9. Center Marin Maric (11.6), Cain (11.5) and forward Tre’Darius McCallum (11.4) join Strus in double figures while Cain is averaging a team-best 3.4 assists. McCallum (5.5 boards) and Marin (5.2) are the leading rebounders for DePaul, but the latter has not played in the last two games after starting the first nine.
TIP-INS
1. The game will be the first meeting between the programs since Dec. 27, 1960.
2. Strus has connected on 30-of-88 3-point attempts (34.1 percent) while the rest of the team is a combined 39-of-131 (28.8 percent) from long range.
3. Ringo is tied for 11th nationally with 2.64 steals per game.
PREDICTION: DePaul 73, Miami 68