NCAAB Game Recap - DePaul at Minnesota
Fri Nov 29, 2019 3:00 PM EST

Winth
70
Duke
83
F
W Ky
54
Lou
71
F
MD
80
Harv
73
F
UNC
78
Oreg
74
F
Mich
82
Gonz
64
F
UAB
58
KY
69
F
Morg
57
OhSt
90
F
TxTch
76
Crei
83
F(OT)
IaSt
76
Seton
84
F
Penn
82
Ariz
92
F
UtSt
73
StMar
81
F
FSU
60
Tenn
57
F
VCU
56
Purd
59
F
Marsh
67
Fla
73
F
JSU
71
ChiSt
62
F
Eurek
60
NOrl
125
F
CAPoly
69
LIU
82
F
LongB
75
Wake
88
F
(N/A)
40
S UT
126
F
UMass
57
Rut
82
F
KTChr
42
Lib
88
F
Temp
65
TAMU
42
F
ASU
56
Chat
74
F
(N/A)
57
IlSt
76
F
DeP
73
Minn
68
F
USC
79
Marq
101
F
Campbl
74
GaSo
84
F
TNSt
81
NFla
73
F
Prov
55
Charl
63
F
SIU-E
51
UCRiv
69
F
SEMO
75
SCla
87
F
PSU
85
Syr
64
F
UND
78
FlGlf
63
F
HolyC
69
FAU
87
F
MD-ES
56
Del
75
F
(N/A)
47
Akr
64
F
Fairf
56
David
67
F
Denv
65
CS-Ful
62
F
Iowa
73
SDSU
83
F
AbCh
51
SMU
70
F
MOSt
58
LSU
73
F
UCF
78
Pepp
65
F
UCDav
73
Utah
77
F
Copp
62
Mont
69
F
UNCW
59
Bois
80
F
Bama
83
USM
68
F
Miss
37
OkSt
78
F
Gram
58
UCSB
67
F
Hamp
57
CSBak
70
F
Longw
51
Pacif
69
F
USF
75
HI
85
F

Nov 29, 2019, 3:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

DePaul

35

38

73

Minnesota

33

35

68

Moore's double-double helps DePaul edge Minnesota 73-68
Fri Nov 29, 2019 7:02 PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The DePaul Blue Demons have spent November proving that preseason polls don’t mean a thing when the season starts.

Charlie Moore scored 21 points, dished out 12 assists and had five steals on Friday as DePaul defeated Minnesota 73-68.

DePaul (8-0) was picked to finish last in the 10-team Big East preseason coaches’ poll. Now the Blue Demons are off to their best start since 1986–87, when they started the season with 16 straight wins and ended it in the Sweet 16, the last time the storied program has advanced that far in the NCAA Tournament.

“We have a new team, a lot of new faces,” DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. “It's coming together. I told them this early ... I could see that there's something going on in our locker room that we can come together with.”

Jalen Coleman-Lands added 11 points for the Blue Demons, while Paul Reed had 11 points, nine boards and a career-high seven blocked shots.

“That starting five is as good as any starting five in the country,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said. “They’re poised, they’re talented, they’re confident, they’re scrappy, they play hard, they have an identity.”

Daniel Oturu led the Golden Gophers (3-4) with 19 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots. Payton Willis scored 16 points, Alihan Demir added 14 and Gabe Kalscheur chipped in 11.

The Blue Demons have shrugged off low expectations by playing strong defense, leading to road victories at Iowa and Boston College. Moore, a junior transfer from Kansas, said the team’s mentality has played as big a role as its athletic ability in DePaul’s fast start.

“I think our energy level out there on the court on the defensive end is great at all times. Coach and his staff stress that,” Moore said. “If we have energy coming out on the defensive end, I think we're going to have a good day out there on the court.”

The Gophers had their chances down the stretch. With a minute to go and trailing by five, a Minnesota steal sprung Willis for a breakaway, but he ended up missing a contested layup that would have made it a one-possession game.

Then with the score 71-68 and 10 seconds to play, Minnesota’s Bryan Greenlee stole an inbounds pass. After a timeout, the Gophers drew up a play to get it to Kalscheur for a potential game-tying 3, but Jaylen Butz blocked the shot.

DePaul led for most of the first half, and when Romeo Weems converted a layup in transition with 2 minutes to go, it gave the Blue Devils their largest lead of the half at 35-24. Minnesota countered with a 9-0 run to close the half. Two baskets by Oturu led to Willis’ third 3-pointer with just 3 seconds left to pull the Gophers to within 35-33 at the break.

BLOCK PARTY

Reed set a career high with seven blocks. Four of them came in the game’s first eight minutes, including a swat that sent a would-be shot by Oturu into the stands.

ROW THE BARN

Timberwolves head coach and former Gopher Ryan Saunders attended the game. When he was shown on the scoreboard during a timeout, Saunders drew cheers as he pantomimed rowing a boat, in honor of the Minnesota football team’s popular slogan.

Football fever has Minnesota’s campus in its grip these days. ESPN’s College GameDay show on Saturday will originate from Minneapolis for the first time as the Gophers and Wisconsin square off Saturday with the Big Ten West title and a possible Rose Bowl trip on the line.

BIG PICTURE

DePaul: It’ll be hard for Top 25 voters to ignore DePaul after their third road victory over a Power 5 conference team in the past three weeks.

Minnesota: Three of the Gophers’ losses so far have been against Power 5 teams - and the fourth was at Butler. They’ve got one more big nonconference test on their hands next week before opening Big Ten play at Iowa on Dec. 9.

UP NEXT

DePaul: The Blue Demons host Texas Tech on Wednesday in the first year of the Big 12/Big East Battle. The schools have met just twice, with the Blue Demons winning both, the most recent being a home-court victory in 2011.

Minnesota: The Golden Gophers host Clemson on Monday as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The last time the teams met, the Gophers pulled out an 89-83 victory at Williams Arena on Nov. 30, 2015.

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

DePaul PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
C. Moore 21 0 12 3 5 0
P. Reed 11 0 1 9 0 8
Minnesota PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
D. Oturu 19 0 2 18 1 4
P. Willis 16 0 2 4 1 0

Team Comparison

DeP Minn
Points For 73 68
Field Goals 26/62-42% 21/61-34%
Three Pointers 8/16-50% 7/29-24%
Free Throws 13/20-65% 19/30-63%
Offensive Rebounds 19 21
Defensive Rebounds 25 24
Rebounds 48 53
Blocks 9 6
Steals 6 4
Turnovers 11 11
Personal Fouls 24 19
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2019-20 Reg Season - DeP Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Fri Nov 29 DeP 73 @ Minn 68 C. Moore 21 D. Oturu 19

Game Information

Stadium: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 10,260
Game Time: