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Who’s Playing
Valparaiso Beacons @ DePaul Blue Demons
Current Records: Valparaiso 4-2, DePaul 6-0
How To Watch
- When: Friday, November 29, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Wintrust Arena — Chicago, Illinois
- TV: Fox Sports 1
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
Valparaiso has enjoyed a five-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They are headed away from home for the first time to take on the DePaul Blue Demons at 1:30 p.m. ET on Friday at Wintrust Arena. The Beacons have been getting the ball to fall more lately as they’ve increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Valparaiso’s offense and defense might be a bit winded after their high-scoring matchup with N. Illinois on Wednesday. Valparaiso walked away with an 87-82 victory over N. Illinois.
Valparaiso’s win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Cooper Schwieger, who scored 17 points in addition to seven rebounds and two blocks. Schwieger had some trouble finding his footing against Eastern Illinois on Sunday, so this was a nice turnaround. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyler Schmidt, who went 5 for 9 en route to 17 points.
Meanwhile, DePaul had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.2 points) and they went ahead and made it six on Saturday. They claimed a resounding 98-52 win over the Huskies. The Blue Demons’ offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they’ve scored all season.
DePaul can attribute much of their success to Layden Blocker, who went 8 for 13 en route to 21 points plus eight rebounds. Blocker’s performance made up for a slower match against Duquesne two weeks ago. Conor Enright was another key player, going 5 for 6 en route to 13 points plus seven rebounds.
DePaul was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as N. Illinois only posted 12.
Valparaiso’s victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-2. As for DePaul, their win bumped their record up to 6-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Valparaiso has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 40.5 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like DePaul struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 42.7. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we’ll see if one team can grab an edge.
Valparaiso suffered a grim 77-58 defeat to DePaul in their previous meeting back in January of 2021. Can Valparaiso avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
DePaul won the only game these two teams have played in the last 3 years.
- Jan 16, 2021 – DePaul 77 vs. Valparaiso 58
