Two teams hanging out in the lower tier of the Big East Conference are set for battle on Saturday. The DePaul Blue Demons (13-10, 1-9 Big East) have traveled to the nation’s capital and will face the Georgetown Hoyas (13-10, 3-7 Big East) in a game that neither can really afford to lose at this point.

With identical overall records at this point, both DePaul and Georgetown come into this one feeling rather similarly. Georgetown has lost four of their last five and five of their last seven. DePaul has taken losses in each of their last five games and nine of their last 10.

Georgetown is favored in this game on KenPom and Vegas. That should come as no surprise, as the Hoyas do have a metric advantage over the Blue Demons. DePaul is struggling to shoot and to score, which is unsurprisingly been the main cause for concern during this 10-game rut they’re in.

Georgetown has been crisper offensively, but defensively they’ve seen their struggles. They’re playing with a very thin roster which hasn’t made things any easier for head coach Patrick Ewing. But the trick here is that their last four losses have all been by single digits. So they are playing competitively, but they’re just not getting some breaks to fall their way. They’ve hit 80 points or more three times in the last 10 games and have also hit more than 70 points five times.

The same can be said for DePaul to an extent though. Each of their last three losses have been by eight points or less, and seven of their last nine losses have all been by eight points or less, too. So they too are playing competitively, and you could say that the opposite is happening. They simply can’t score effectively to get things done. Their point totals in their last nine losses are 66, 65, 67, 75, 68, 66, 57, 72 and 59.

They have hit over 75 points once in the last 10 games and, ironically enough, that was the only game they’ve won in this stretch — a 79-66 win over the Butler Bulldogs. The defense has held their opponents to under 80 points in every game but one, an 83-68 loss to the Creighton Bluejays on January 22. So they are doing their job. They’re just not getting the support they need on the offensive side of the floor.

Sluggish play has cultivated some dread for both sides, but the good news is: One team will feel gleeful on Saturday at least.

HOW TO WATCH

Time: Noon ET

TV: FSN

Watch Online: Fox Sports Go (Where Available)