UIC takes aim at DePaul
By all accounts, Josh Mayo is a humble guy, except about one thing.
When it comes to how far Mayo can fling a basketball into a net with accuracy, the Illinois-Chicago junior guard puffs out his chest a bit.
"I don't give my range a limit," a smiling Mayo said Friday.
UIC point guard Spencer Stewart, an eyewitness to Mayo's mastery, used a reference point from a different sport to describe his teammate's range.
"In a game, anywhere from the volleyball line," Stewart said, pointing to the volleyball attack line on UIC's practice court, 37 feet from the basket. "In practice, anywhere."
Mayo's statistics back it up. He ranks second in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (62.2 percent), sinking 50 percent or more of his 3s in all but two games this season.
His most impressive display took place last Saturday against Wisconsin-Green Bay. Mayo went 6 of 7 from beyond the arc in the first half en route to a 32-point performance.
"Any space he gets," Stewart said, "that's pretty much a guaranteed bucket."
Mayo and the Flames try to shoot down DePaul tonight at Allstate Arena. The city teams meet for the first time since 2004, with UIC (5-4) coming off 2 impressive league wins and DePaul (2-4) trying to avoid its worst start since 1996-97, when it went 3-23 in Joey Meyer's final season as coach.
"It is a battle for Chicago," Mayo said.
The Flames are perfect in four home games but have won just once away from the Pavilion.
Not surprisingly, their success is tied to Mayo, who averages 27 points and shoots 68 percent from 3-point range at the Pavilion but went 3-for-10 from the field in a 26-point loss at Illinois State on Dec. 1.
Coach Jimmy Collins saw his team begin to take shape last week and hopes the jelling process continues.
"The thing about any job, any team, any corporation, everybody has a role," Collins said. "We define those roles to them … and they're accepting them."
Mayo's role is clear: find an open spot and fire away.
DePaul likely will gear its defense toward stopping Mayo, especially after it was burned by 3-pointers late in Wednesday's collapse against Vanderbilt. For Mayo, being a marked man isn't anything new.
"We've seen 2-3 matchups to face-guarding me to box-and-1," Mayo said. "It's just a way of working around them."
DePaul's size is a chief concern for Collins, even though Flames center Scott VanderMeer (33 blocks, 6.1 rpg) is a solid post defender. Big men Mac Koshwal, Matija Poscic and Wesley Green all were effective against Vanderbilt.
Despite the Demons' weak start, Collins hesitated to say UIC is catching them at the right moment.
"They've hit some bad times, but they're coming into their own," Collins said. "They certainly don't want to lose to us, and we don't want to lose to them."
Illinois-Chicago (5-4) at DePaul (2-4)
When: 7:30 p.m. at the Allstate Arena
Radio: WIND 560-AM, www.depaulbluedemons.com
The skinny: The pressure is on DePaul, which needs a win after disintegrating down the stretch during Wednesday night's overtime loss to Vanderbilt. It won't be easy against UIC, which ranks third nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (45.9). DePaul's defense continues to be a concern, especially at home, where it has allowed more than 90 points twice in the last three games. UIC surrendered 41 second-half points to Green Bay in last Saturday's win. "We need to communicate better," coach Jimmy Collins said. "We've got kind of a quiet-type bunch. They'll see things happening, but they won't speak up." DePaul plays its first Saturday night home game since March 5, 1994.