Preview: Illinois-Chicago at DePaul
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[December 14, 2016]
SportsDirect Inc.
Getting off to a strong start will be
important for DePaul when it hosts city rival Illinois-Chicago on
Wednesday. As was the case in a recent loss against Northwestern,
the Blue Demons went down big early against Temple at the Hoophall
Miami Invitational before their big second-half rally once again
fell short.
"When we create a problem, we are resilient to try to solve it,"
DePaul coach Dave Leitao told the media. "Our emphasis is not to
create the problem, to come out of the game with the answers to the
questions." This problem of starting slowly only to turn it on in
the second half hasn't been limited to just their losses as the Blue
Demons trailed at the half of three of their five wins. All told,
DePaul is being outscored by 63 points in the first half, but
enjoyed a 78-point edge in the second half. The Flames feature one
of the youngest teams in the nation with one senior and nine players
in their first or second seasons.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
ABOUT UIC (4-5): One player stands above the rest for the Flames and
he is sophomore Dikembe Dixson, who leads Steve McClain's team with
22.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. After ending his freshman
campaign by scoring in double figures in the final 18 games,
including a 40-point effort against Youngstown State, the 6-7
forward has picked up where he left off, getting 10 points or more
in all nine games this season. There is a big drop to second- and
third-leading scorers Marcus Ottey (11.8) and Tai Odiase (10.9) for
the Flames.
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ABOUT DEPAUL (5-3): The strong start to the season continues to
erode for sophomore Eli Cain, who is 2-for-18 from 3-point territory
in the last four games. While his poor shooting kept him in single
digits for the first time this season against Northwestern, he was
able to score 38 total points in the last two games by getting to
the foul line. He is 16-for-21 from the line in the last two games
to climb over 70 percent for the season.
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TIP-INS
1. DePaul's Billy Garrett, Jr. made a season high 11 free throws out
of 12 attempts against Temple, but still struggled in going 2-of-10
from the field.
2. The Blue Demons posted an 82-55 victory over the Flames last
December to extend to an 8-1 lead in the series.
3. The Flames are among the best in the country at the foul line,
averaging 22.2 points from the strip compared to 16.1 per game for
their opponents.
PREDICTION: DePaul 78, UIC 60
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