DePaul @ Georgetown preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 6, 2019 ) Georgetown 69, DePaul 101

At 1-9 in the Big East, DePaul may be reduced to playing the role of spoiler for the rest of the season starting with Saturday's league game at Georgetown. The Blue Demons have dropped five straight games since their lone Big East victory Jan. 18, but can deliver a serious blow to the Hoyas with a victory.

Two themes have permeated Big East play for the Blue Demons - slow starts or the inability to hold late leads - and the former was the problem in their most recent loss to Xavier. Dave Leitao's team trailed by 10 points early and then compounded the problem by going scoreless over the final eight minutes of the first half, leaving them with too big a hole to overcome. "This is not an easy thing to figure out," Leitao, whose team is unlikely to end a 16-year NCAA Tournament drought, told the media. "And we have to do it, not just day-by-day but game-by-game, to get over the hump. Our energy was low and when your energy is low you're playing one-to-two passes behind every possession." The Hoyas have a similar problem to the Blue Demons with a lack of depth, which was made worse by the absence of leading scorer Mac McClung for the last two games, including Wednesday's 78-71 loss to No. 13 Seton Hall.

TIME: Noon ET. TV: FSN

ABOUT DEPAUL (13-10, 1-9 Big East): The Blue Demons wasted another solid night by Paul Reed, who reached 900 career points and 100 career steals in the loss. The junior forward had 18 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and two blocks, the latter giving him 132 for his career and moving him into third place in school history behind George Mikan (154) and Dallas Comegys (297). Reed posted a pair of double-doubles while averaging 17.5 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks shots as the Blue Demons split with the Hoyas last season, including winning their second straight in Washington, D.C.

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (13-10, 3-7): Omer Yurtseven vs. Reed promises to be the matchup to watch as both are among the leaders in the nation and the Big East in double-doubles, rebounds and blocked shots. Yurtseven has posted three straight double-doubles, the last two with 15 rebounds apiece, and is averaging 15.3 points and 14.3 rebounds over that span. Senior guard Jahvon Blair has had two solid games in McClung's stead, putting up 41 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Hoyas, who are 31-10 overall against the Blue Demons - 15-3 at home.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. DePaul's Jalen Coleman-Lands needs eight points for 1,000 in his career - 630 of which came with Illinois.

2. Reed is fifth in Division I and second in the Big East with 14 double-doubles while Yurtseven is right behind him with 13 - two back of Xavier's Tyrique Jones.

3. The seven steals for Reed were a career-high and was just the second time since 1998 that a DePaul player has had as many.

PREDICTION: DePaul 82, Georgetown 80