It’s always demoralizing when a winning streak is snapped. Especially for a team like the DePaul Blue Demons, who are looking for any sort of momentum heading into a very tough conference schedule in a couple of weeks.

It’s even worse when the loss comes at the final buzzer, which is exactly what happened. Playing a very tough Northwestern Wildcats team, the Blue Demons battled their in-city rivals to the wire. But sadly, they fell short 62-60 as Eli Cain’s runner rolled off the rim in the final seconds.

Despite the loss, the Blue Demons should be proud of the way they played against a Big Ten opponent and a decent team in Northwestern. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak, which started in their last game of the PK80 Invitational. DePaul now sits at 6-5, which is still last in the Big East.

While it speaks volumes of the conference in terms of depth, it also speaks to how much of a mountain DePaul will have to climb in conference play. They face one more nonconference opponent before they tackle back-to-back games against Villanova and Xavier respectively.

The opponents for the Blue Demons will be the Miami (OH) RedHawks. They enter this game with a record of 7-4, are coming in on a two-game winning streak, and have won four of their last five.

Their most recent victory came in a 109-70 shellacking against the Rio Grande Redstorm. Overall, it’s been a decent season for the RedHawks, as their record has them currently in the middle of the pack of the MAC.

With teams like Akron, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan all ahead of them, Miami (OH) has some work to do. This, however, won't be their last nonconference game. They have a matchup against Ohio State looming before the Redhawks face off against Bowling Green State in MAC play.

DePaul will be one of the toughest opponents the Redhawks have faced this season, so it will be interesting to see how they play in this game.

How to watch, listen, or stream

Game Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: Fox Sports 1

Radio: WSCR 670 AM (DePaul) || Miami IMG Sports Network (Miami (OH))

Stream: Fox Sports Go (where available)

Gamblin’ Info

Odds: DePaul enters this game as a 12.5 point favorite (via Oddsshark.com)

Record ATS: DePaul (6-4-1) || Miami (OH) (6-3)

O/U: The O/U opens at 131

Last Time They Met

This will be the 8th meeting between these two programs. It will be their first meeting since 1960, which ended in a DePaul victory. The Blue Demons currently hold the series lead 4-3.

Three Things to Watch

Super Strus back at it

It was The Max Strus Show against Northwestern. The transfer from Lewis continued his amazing start to the season by dropping 33 points against the Wildcats. He’s now has scored in double figures in four of the last five games. He’s got the hot hand right now, and is serving as a great complementary player along with being a real threat on the 3-point line.

Battle on the boards

In order for DePaul to control the tempo, they will need to control the boards. It will be a tough task against a Miami team that averages around 39 rebounds per game, good for 58th in the country. It’s not one guy who led the RedHawks in rebounding, either. It’s more of a team effort, with three guys averaging more than 5.0 per game and two averaging more than 6.0. It will be a tall ask for the DePaul frontcourt, but Marin Maric and Tre’Darius McCallum seem up to the task.

Balanced attack for the Redhawks

Like on the boards, it’s not one main guy who scores the rock for Miami (OH). They have three players averaging double figures, and a guy in Darrian Ringo who can lead an offense with 7.9 assists per game. Behind this attack, it’s easy for the DePaul defense to have some problems guarding them. The key will be stopping Ringo. He’s the one who gets everyone the ball in spots for easy baskets. Slowing him down will almost surely led to slowing down Miami’s offense.