Marquette vs. DePaul game recap: 3 things we learned from the Demons' 61-58 win

Show of hands, who was expecting DePaul/Marquette to be the most exciting game of the day? You were not, put your hand down, you liar. As inexplicably as it sounds, the conference's two bottom feeders gave us the most exciting matchup of the Big East New Year's Eve Marathon (so far). Here are three things this game taught us.

Billy Garrett Jr. is going to win a Big East Player of the Year Award before he leaves DePaul

Mark it down right now, i'm saying it. Garrett burst onto the scene last year as Newcomer of the Year, and he's picked up right where he left off. Garrett and Tommy Hamilton (more on him later), are the unabashed leaders on this team, and with Hamilton missing this game (again, more on that later), Garrett had to step up. That's exactly what he did, to the tune of 19 points on 6-9 shooting. He also grabbed four rebounds. There aren't many bright spots with this DePaul team, but watching Garrett continue to grow and develop will certainly be one.

If you shoot 3-23 from beyond the arc, you likely won't win

That's what Marquette did. Matt Carlino, alone, was 1-10 from deep. Obviously Marquette won't be that bad in every game, but it sure shot them in the foot today. On the other side of the coin there, however, they shot that poorly and still only lost by three. Sometimes shooters think the best way to get out of a slump is to just keep shooting, and that doesn't always work.

Tommy Hamilton needs to figure everything out

Hamilton, as mentioned above, didn't play today. He was suspended due to a violation of team rules. He's been very streaky (and almost has looked unmotivated) this season, and now this. Someone needs to sit the big man down and figure out what's been going on with him before it's too late and something regrettable happens for both sides.