DePaul @ Villanova preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 30, 2019 ) Villanova 86, DePaul 74

The current four-game homestand got off to a good start for No. 16 Villanova, which posted a 14-point victory over Georgetown. The Wildcats return to the court Tuesday for a date with DePaul, which has lost three games in a row.

In Saturday's victory against Georgetown, standout sophomore Saddiq Bey scored a career-high 33 points with the help of eight 3-pointers. "I know he improved his shooting, but I didn't think he was going to (go) 8-for-10 from 3," Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing said. "Sometimes when you hit your first few shots, the basket looks like an ocean." Bey will try to post another strong effort against a Blue Demons team that fell to St. John's 74-67 on Saturday afternoon. “They sped us up physically but, more important, they sped us up mentally,” DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. “We weren’t making the plays . . . [and] they got more confident as things happened for them.”

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT DEPAUL (12-4, 0-3 Big East): Jaylen Butz was a bright spot on Saturday with 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting after totaling eight points on 3-of-10 shooting in the previous two games. Jalen Coleman-Lands added 15 points, while leading scorer Charlie Moore collected 14 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in a sparkling all-around effort while playing all 40 minutes. Second-leading scorer Paul Reed was held to four points in 28 minutes, although he did pull down a game-high 12 rebounds.

ABOUT VILLANOVA (12-3, 3-1): The Wildcats shot 15-of-29 from 3-point range against Georgetown, obviously thanks in large part to Bey but also due to Jermaine Samuels, Collin Gillespie and Cole Swider, each of whom made a pair of treys. Samuels finished with nine points - his first time in seven games not reaching double-figure points - although he had been 0-of-15 from 3-point land over the previous three outings. Gillespie, who had shot 8-of-10 for 24 points in the previous game, managed only 11 points, while freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl chipped in 14.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. DePaul lost by five at Villanova last season and then dropped the home matchup by 12 points. Overall, the Blue Demons have lost 18 straight meetings with the Wildcats.

2. Prior to shooting 8-of-10 from 3-point range on Saturday, Bey had been 5-of-19 from the arc over the previous four games.

3. DePaul's top two scorers, Reed and Moore, each shoot at least 80 percent from the foul line.

PREDICTION: Villanova 79, DePaul 68