It’s been a rough start to conference play for the DePaul Blue Demons. DePaul has started conference 0-2 after back to back losses, dropping their record down to .500 at 7-7. They are now planted at the bottom of the Big East standings again. Granted they have played two formidable juggernauts in Villanova and Xavier, it’s the way they have lost those games which has been troubling.

In their first matchup, which was against Villanova, DePaul got absolutely waxed by the best team in the Big East, losing 103-85. It was bad. Their second game saw a much more positive result with them going up as much as 16 against Xavier. But they let the lead slip away late, and thanks to some plays by JP Macura, ended up losing a close one to the Musketeers, 77-72.

Getting blown out and losing a close game in back to back fashion makes it confusing while trying to assess DePaul. We’ve seen both the good and the bad from this team. The only problem is which one will rear it’s head when they face off against another team which hasn’t won in Big East play this year as well.

Like DePaul, it hasn’t been a good start to conference play for the Georgetown Hoyas. The Hoyas have also gone 0-2 and sit 8th in standings, with their nonconference record proving to be a saving grace in that regard. The two consecutive losses have come against Butler and Marquette, with the 74-65 loss to the Golden Eagles being the most recent.

It’s been tough for Patrick Ewing’s team and this will be gut check time. This game will be against another bottom team in the Big East and could be a chance to nab a win. After their nonconference campaign, which didn’t really feature any roadblocks, Georgetown got punched in the mouth by conference play. Let’s see how they respond.

How to watch, listen, or stream

Game Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: Fox Sports 1

Radio: WSCR 670 AM (DePaul) || WJFK 106.7 FM (Georgetown)

Stream: Fox Sports Go

Gamblin’ Odds

Odds: DePaul enters this game as a 3-point favorite (via OddsShark.com)

Record ATS: DePaul (8-5-1) || Georgetown (5-7)

O/U: The O/U opened at 148.

Last Time They Met

This is a pretty lopsided series between the two schools with Georgetown leading 29-8 lead all time. However, the last time these two teams played it was a 67-65 DePaul win in D.C.

3 Things to Watch

Controlling the glass

Georgetown has been one of the best rebounding teams this season. averaging 41.2 per game, good for 17th in the NCAA. Led by star big man Jessie Govan, the Hoyas have been a force to be reckoned with on the glass. DePaul isn’t as strong on the glass and they don’t have a main guy who gets a lot of the rebounds. But they do have many guys who average decent numbers. If the Hoyas are able to get second chances and control the tempo by winning the battle on the boards, they will be favored to win the game.

Georgetown ball movement

The Hoyas have also been good at finding each other for easy shots. They average 18 assists per game, and it’s Jonathan Mulmore who has been the main distributor. Mulmore averages 4.2 dimes per game. It will be up to the DePaul defense to make sure that they are able to rotate over quickly and not give up any easy shots along with not falling asleep for backdoor cuts.

DePaul avoiding silly mistakes

It seemed like the ball was laced with grease with the way the Blue Demons were turning over the ball against Xavier. DePaul committed a season-high 23 turnovers in their loss. It was a big reason why they led the lead slip away late. They were also bad against Villanova, turning it over 17 times. You saw what happened there. DePaul has to be smarter with the ball and they also have to start taking chances when given to them. They can’t be giving away easy opportunities and free points to their opponents.