Surprising DePaul hopes hot shooting continues vs. Mercer

An early fancy for the 3-point shot has DePaul on the verge of matching its win total from last season.

Mercer, meanwhile, looks to pull off an upset and keep the Blue Demons from opening the campaign 3-0 on Monday night in Chicago.

First-year coach Chris Holtmann wanted a fast-paced style that looks for the open 3 to be the hallmark of DePaul's offense. Through two games, the Blue Demons are 25-for-70 from beyond the arc. They made 14 threes during an 80-78 overtime victory against Southern Indiana in their season opener last Monday, then hit 11 in a 92-59 rout of Prairie View A&M on Thursday.

DePaul made 10 or more 3-pointers only twice during its brutal 3-29 campaign last season.

"We have a lot of shooters," said DePaul forward JJ Traynor, who knocked down a 3 and had 11 points on Thursday. "I want to say everybody on our team can shoot the ball. We want to play fast and take the best shot. Sometimes that's the 3.

"Shoot the ball with confidence."

Traynor is one of eight Blue Demons to make a 3 this season. Isaiah Rivera, a UIC transfer, is 8-for-16 from distance while averaging a team-leading 21 points through two games. Meanwhile, former Coastal Carolina standout Jacob Meyer is 5-for-13 from beyond the arc and is averaging 18 points for the Blue Demons, who are shooting 46.4 percent overall.

Mercer (1-0) allowed Virginia-Lynchburg to go 5-for-16 from 3-point range during its season-opening, 125-54 rout on Thursday. Fordham transfer Angel Montas Jr. had 18 points and Tyler Johnson made four threes to finish with 16 for the Bears, who could test DePaul's perimeter defense after going 13-for-30 from beyond the arc in their opener.

"We're excited," first-year Mercer coach Ryan Ridder said. "How do we continue to get better?"

This will be the first meeting between the schools.

--Field Level Media