DePaul reeled off the game's first 13 points and led by as much as 25 before settling for a 93-78 Gavitt Tipoff Games victory over Iowa on Monday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
With head coach Dave Leitao back on the sidelines after a three-game NCAA suspension, the Blue Demons earned their first 4-0 start since 2008-09 as junior power forward Paul Reed led the way with 25 points, 12 rebounds, two blocked shots and four steals.
Senior shooting guard Jalen Coleman-Lands contributed 17 points and junior point guard Devin Gage came off the bench to produce 13 points, four assists and three steals. DePaul shot 61.4 percent from the field and 11 of 20 from 3-point range.
Iowa (1-1) saw its streak of 18 consecutive nonconference home wins come to an end. Redshirt freshman guard DJ Fredrick paced the Hawkeyes with 16 points while junior center Luka Garza added 14 points and eight rebounds.
DePaul rushed out to a 13-0 lead in the opening three minutes as all five starters delivered baskets.
Reed and freshman forward Romeo Weems rattled home 3-pointers on the Blue Demons' first two possessions. When junior center Jaylen Butz cashed in a jump hook in the lane and junior guard Charlie Moore converted a fast-break layup, DePaul had a 10-0 lead at the 17:39 mark and forced Iowa to take a timeout.
The Blue Demons kept pouring it on even as the Hawkeyes switched to a zone defense. Coleman-Lands swished a 3-pointer from the corner and a 27-foot pullup above the key, then Moore sank a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 19-2 just 4:34 into the night.
Iowa never got closer than 13 points again as DePaul kept overwhelming the hosts at both ends of the floor. The Blue Demons carried a 53-30 lead into halftime as they shot 63 percent overall and 8 of 14 from 3-point range, but also forced 12 turnovers that led to 20 points.
The Hawkeyes increased the game's tempo in the second half as they started to pressure all over the floor. Iowa sliced its deficit to 67-49 with 12:26 to go on senior center Ryan Kriener's drop step and dunk. But Reed answered at the other end with a drop step for a layup as the Hawkeyes never put together a string of baskets until the waning minutes.
Even when Moore, DePaul's floor leader, went to the bench with four fouls at the 10:31 mark, Iowa couldn't make a run as Reed kept producing all over the floor. He popped out for 3-pointers from the top of the key, drove for floaters and attacked the rim for layups to finish one point shy of his career-high.
--Field Level Media
DePaul | Iowa | |
Paul Reed 25 | Scoring | CJ Fredrick 16 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands 5 | Assists | Bakari Evelyn 3 |
Paul Reed 12 | Rebounds | Luka Garza 8 |
Darious Hall 4 | Free Throws Made | Connor McCaffery 6 |
Paul Reed 4 | Steals | Bakari Evelyn 2 |
Romeo Weems 3 | Blocks | Luka Garza 1 |