DePaul faces a challenging matchup against a self-assured Villanova squad in Chicago on Saturday afternoon to begin Big East play. The DePaul Blue Demons (2-8, 0-0) have the poorest start record of any team since the 1996–97 squad, which finished with the lowest record (3-23) in school history after starting 2–8. The Villanova team, fresh off a 68-66 overtime victory away to No. 12 Creighton, will host the Blue Demons in their Big East debut. On Wednesday, Villanova (8-4, 1-0) overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to defeat Creighton (12th) thanks to 32 points and four 3-pointers from senior big Eric Dixon.
“There’s never pressure to score on this team,” Dixon stated. “Any night, we have guys who can defeat anybody.” My day happened to coincide with it. Next time, it might be someone else.” With 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, Dixon leads the Wildcats in scoring. Guard Jordan Longino (9.4 ppg), guard Tyler Burton (9.5 ppg, 8.0 rebounds per game), and guard Justin Moore (13.3 ppg) round out Villanova’s scoring. With seven players averaging 20 minutes or more per game, Villanova has a deep lineup.
DePaul’s offence is led by Chico Carter (14.0 points, 4.4 assists per game), who gets assistance from guard Elijah Fisher (9.6 ppg), post men Jeremiah Oden (13.0 ppg) and Da’Sean Nelson (9.9 ppg). According to Tony Stubblefield, the third-year coach at DePaul, “it’s challenging.” “I’m feeling like I need to keep battling. Since I’m in charge of this, we will work things out. However, we must work to escape it.” This season, the Blue Demons have defeated Louisville and South Dakota, but they recently fell short against Northwestern 56-46 at home.
Villanova has defeated UCLA and Creighton back-to-back after suffering three straight losses. After defeating North Carolina on November 23, the Wildcats were rated No. 18 in the country on November 27.
