DePaul gears up for Big East slate vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

In 10 days, DePaul opens its Big East schedule with a doozy of a 1-2 punch - a road game against No. 23 St. John's followed by a visit from No. 5 UConn.

To have a fighting chance against the Big East's beasts, the Blue Demons need to maximize their final three nonconference games. The process starts Saturday night when DePaul (5-3) welcomes University of Arkansas at Pine-Bluff (1-8) to Chicago.

Lest anyone think this is your basic bye game, the Golden Lions are making the most of their visit to the Windy City. In their ninth consecutive road game to start the season, UAPB edged UIC 63-62 on Wednesday.

The Golden Lions squandered a 12-point second-half lead to trail by five with less than five minutes to go, but Quion Williams hit a free throw with 15.6 seconds left to give UAPB its first nonconference road win over a Division I opponent since Nov. 13, 2023, at Central Arkansas.

Williams, a 6-foot-5 senior who spent his first two seasons at Oklahoma State, has been a menace all over the floor. He averages 14.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks -- and he swatted three shots at UIC.

"I tell everybody, man, I think he's an NBA defender," UAPB head coach Solomon Bozeman said on TV after the win, per the Pine Bluff Commercial. "I think he's that good -- and I'm a tough critic. So, if I tell you something, man, I really believe it. That dude is just special."

Sounds like Williams will be a worthy warmup for DePaul as it preps for league play. He will have his pick of perimeter players to defend as point guard Layden Blocker (12.0 ppg, 3.8 apg) and wing CJ Gunn (13.9 ppg) are the vets who make the Blue Demons go. Blocker earned a spot on the Emerald Coast Classic all-tournament team as the Demons beat Georgia Tech, but lost to LSU in the title game.

That 96-63 loss to LSU -- the nation's No. 25 team, per KenPom -- taught the Demons at least one crucial area where they need to improve before they get to St. John's.

"We didn't adjust very well (to their physicality)," DePaul coach Chris Holtmann told The DePaud. "We didn't handle that very well, so I'll take responsibility for not having our guys ready for how physical it was going to be."

--Field Level Media