Villanova @ DePaul preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 14, 2020 ) DePaul 75, Villanova 79

With only six games left in the regular season, No. 13 Villanova needs to continue its trend in the right direction. The Wildcats have won two in a row following a three-game losing streak and hope to maintain that upward trajectory Wednesday against host DePaul.

Villanova ended its losing streak with a one-point win against Marquette and then looked more like vintage Villanova in the second half of Sunday's 20-point win over Temple. The Wildcats actually trailed the Owls by four points at intermission before erupting for a 50-point performance in the second stanza. "We were good, we were positive, we knew we had to make adjustments and stick to our game plan," Collin Gillespie said after scoring a season-high 29 points. "In the second half, we made stops at the defensive end, and it gave us easy opportunities at offensive end." Villanova hopes for a similar performance against DePaul, which sits in last place in the Big East at 1-11 in league play, although the Blue Demons battled hard against the Wildcats in the first matchup this season.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT VILLANOVA (19-6, 8-4 Big East): In addition to Gillespie, who shot 7-of-11 from the arc against Temple, the Wildcats received solid contributions from Jermaine Samuels (13 points, seven rebounds) and Justin Moore (nine points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting). Saddiq Bey shot only 3-of-13 from the floor and has 19 total points in the last two games, not much higher than his per-game average of 15.4. The Wildcats could seek more production from their bench Wednesday after the reserves combined for six points - all from Cole Swider - in a combined 53 minutes against Temple.

ABOUT DEPAUL (13-12, 1-11): The Blue Demons have four double-digit scorers on the season, led by Charlie Moore (16.1) and Paul Reed (15.1), who also leads the team in rebounding (10.6), steals (2.0) and blocks (2.7). Moore knocked down 4-of-6 3-pointers en route to 20 points in Saturday's loss to Creighton, but it was a welcome sight for the junior guard, who had been 6-of-33 from long range in his previous seven games. Reed managed season lows of three points and three rebounds versus the Bluejays and will look to bounce back by recording his 16th double-double of the campaign.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bey matched a season high with five assists against Temple. In his previous four games, he had a total of three assists.

2. The Wildcats play five of their final seven games on the road.

3. Villanova won the first matchup this season, 79-75, in overtime to beat DePaul for the 19th straight time.

PREDICTION: Villanova 72, DePaul 70