Nova off to Chi-Town to face DePaul

Foe: DePaul Blue Demons (8-19) (0-14)

Recent History: Last season Villanova lost its Big East opener at DePaul 84-76, but they avenged that with a 76-69 win at the Pavilion to split the 2007-2008 season series. Corey Fisher led Nova with 23 points in the loss, while Scottie Reynolds had 21 in the win. Draelon Burns killed Nova in both games, but DePaul lost him to graduation. Sophomore Dar Tucker is the clear leader of this year's squad, averaging 18.4 points per game. Center Mac Koshwal averages around a double-double at 13.3 and 9.8, and Will Walker chips in about 13 points a game.

Famous Alumni:
Basketball: George Mikan, Mark Aguirre, Rod Strickland, Dave Corzine, Terry Cummings, Tyrone Corbin, Kevin Edwards, Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Steven Hunter, Andre Brown, Wilson Chandler


Other: Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy), Ray Manzarek (The Doors), John C. Reilly

Fun Facts:

• The University is named after St. Vincent de Paul, a 17th century French priest.

• With 24,300 students, DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the U.S.

• Won NIT in 1945

• Went to Final Four in 1979

• From Wikipedia: "In 1900, when the first athletic team to represent DePaul University was organized, the monogram "D" was selected for the uniforms. From this originated the nickname "D-men" which evolved into "Demons.""

Complimentary Youtube Video: I hate that it happened against Nova, but this is probably the sickest dunk I've seen live in the Pavilion...

Final Verdict: DePaul is having a rough season. They're still looking for their first Big East victory. They're not just losing games, they're losing by 20 points at home to teams like Seton Hall. I doubt many fans will show up to see an 0-14 team, so the crowd shouldn't affect Nova too much, especially since they were able to overcome the Dome crowd. The only thing I'm remotely worried about is if Dar Tucker goes off, similar to what Da'Sean Butler did for West Virginia. But WVU's team is miles ahead of DePaul, so I really don't see any way Villanova loses this game.

TV: WPHL 8:00 PM

Links: AP, VUH, VBTN, IBBW, LGN, VV