Xavier @ DePaul preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) DePaul 74, Xavier 62

Xavier will try to avoid a letdown after its biggest win of the season when it pays a visit to last-place DePaul for a Big East showdown Tuesday night. The Musketeers had lost five of six before visiting Seton Hall on Saturday and handing the 13th-ranked Pirates their first conference loss.

"Just to be able to come here, in a great environment and face a Top 10 team and leave here with a victory, it says something about Xavier basketball," senior forward Tyrique Jones told reporters after scoring 19 points and grabbing a season-high 18 rebounds in the win. Xavier shot a season-high 54.5 percent from the floor to help offset another poor effort from the foul line, where the squad went 9-of-20 to fall to 65.1 percent on the season - last in the Big East. Just a shade better in that category at 65.5 percent are the Blue Demons, who made only 12-of-23 foul shots in a four-point loss at Marquette on Saturday. DePaul is suffering through its second four-game losing streak in Big East action, with six of its eight league losses coming by single digits.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT XAVIER (14-8, 3-6 Big East): Junior forward Naji Marshall also had a double-double against Seton Hall with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and he leads the Musketeers with 16.8 points per game. Jones (13.5) and junior guard Paul Scruggs (13.4) are next on the team's scoring list, although Scruggs is averaging 7.8 on 30 percent shooting over his last four games. Freshman guard KyKy Tandy contributed 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench in Saturday's win and he is 7-of-17 from 3-point range over a four-game span.

ABOUT DEPAUL (13-9, 1-8): The Blue Demons missing nearly half of their foul shots Saturday was made even more glaring when their opponents hit 29-of-35. "Got to make free throws," coach Dave Leitao told reporters. "Got to practice and got to practice them even more. Got to make free throws." Junior guard Charlie Moore led the way in the loss with 21 points and eight assists and he leads the team in scoring (16.3), assists (6.6 - tops in the Big East) and steals (1.9).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Blue Demons junior F Paul Reed averages 15.6 points and leads the Big East in rebounds with 10.9 per contest.

2. Marshall scored at least 15 points in all nine conference games.

3. Xavier won nine straight meetings before DePaul took the most recent encounter last February.

PREDICTION: Xavier 69, DePaul 67