“Yeah, man, I hate losing,” Holtmann said. “I lose sleep. I don’t sleep. I’m mean to people. So, yeah, I don’t want that feeling. I don’t think our players want that feeling.”

“If I don’t get a stop, we lose,” Benson said on what was going through his head during the defensive possession. “And (Maclin) was in the back of my ear telling me I better guard. So I kind of took that as a challenge.”

“So it was kind of a broken play,” Maclin said. “We was trying to go somewhere else with the ball, and then I seen my man help in, and then I just made eye contact with Layden, and he got me the ball. And then, I don’t know, I just kind of figured winged it from there … We had about eight seconds on the shot clock, so I knew I had to get the shot up pretty fast, so. But I just got down there playing under control and finished the layup.”

Blue Demons get a stop.

Maclin gets to the free throw line. He makes one.

On the miss, Gunn gets the rebound. He is fouled and makes one.

Blue Demons get another stop.

Blocker hit a 3-pointer to put the Blue Demons down one. They followed that up with a stop on the defensive end. However, an empty possession, followed by a Creighton jumper and another empty possession for DePaul, gives the Bluejays the three-point advantage.

Creighton gained a six-point lead with a 3-pointer at the 5:55 mark, but Benson responded with the three-point play. After a made jumper by Creighton to go up five, Gunn hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two.

Benson has scored 13 points in the second half.

DePaul has scored six points from the free throw line and 10 points in the paint this half. They have forced Creighton into eight second-half turnovers and are holding the Bluejays to 3-for-13 shooting.

DePaul 56 – Creighton 55 7:51 remaining.

But the Blue Demons need more to pull away.

Gunn is now back on the bench with the team.

The Blue Demons are on a 5-0 run, with the help of three made free throws.

On the defensive end, DePaul has forced Creighton into six turnovers so far in the second half.

Gunn has not been on the bench with the team.

Benson and his ability to score in the paint have been integral to start this second half. He has scored all six of the Blue Demons’ second-half points.

DePaul allowed Creighton to shoot 10-for-16 from three, which gave the Bluejays the halftime lead. On offense, DePaul has 30 paint points. Creighton’s three-point shooting has matched the Blue Demons’ paint points and offset that advantage.

Notable stats for DePaul:

Benson – 10 points.

Blocker – eight points and three assists.

Maclin – eight points and four assists.

Gunn – five points and four assists.

The Blue Demons’ offense:

26 points in the paint.

12 assists.

Maclin has four of those assists, and Gunn has three.

What has given the Bluejays the lead? 3-pointers.

They are 7-for-11 from the three-point line, accounting for 21 of their points.

The Bluejays are also on a 6-0 run.

Paint points continue to go up for the Blue Demons. They are up to 14 paint points.

Benson leads the way with eight points, and Layden Blocker has five.

He is the leading scorer for the Blue Demons with six points. He is 3-for-3 from the field.

All eight of the Blue Demons’ points have been scored in the paint.

DePaul 8 – Creighton 8 15:59 remaining in H1.

The game starts NOW.

G Brandon Maclin

G Kruz McClure

G RJ Smith

F Théo Pierre-Justin

F NJ Benson

1. Do a better job at getting stops.

In a media availability on Tuesday, head coach Chris Holtmann said that if they score 72 points, as they did against Providence, their defense needs to be good enough to win the game. 

With an identity built around defense, the Blue Demons need to get back on track on the defensive end to get back in the win column. 

2. Get the three ball going.

Against Providence, the Blue Demons shot 5-for-23 from three (21.7%). However, they scored 42 points in the paint against Providence, which accounted for over half of their 72 points.

If this game requires a high-scoring offensive night, shooting it better from three — while maintaining a good paint attack — should help the Blue Demons score at a high level. 

3. Get CJ Gunn going.

Gunn scored the first seven points for the Blue Demons against Providence, but finished the game with only nine. He shot 4-for-15 from the field and 1-for-6 from three. 

Getting Gunn — their leading scorer — going will make things easier on the offensive end.