Central Conn. St. @ DePaul preview

DePaul looks to move back to .500 when it hosts Central Connecticut State on Wednesday. The Blue Demons have won back-to-back games, including an 87-73 win against Youngstown State on Saturday, after ending a three-game slide and they strive to stay on the winning track by knocking off Central Connecticut State in their first-ever meeting with the Blue Devils.

DePaul shot a season-high 57.6 percent from the field against the Penguins and hopes to stay hot from the floor against a Central Connecticut squad that has held three teams to 62 points or fewer this season. "There was a lot of times where we got easy baskets and for the most part I think we did a good job," DePaul head coach Dave Leitao told reporters. "Sharing the ball becomes a part of that." The Blue Demons are 3-0 when scoring over 80 points this season and hope to hit the magic number as they search for the second win in as many seasons against a Northeast Conference foe after downing Robert Morris 78-72 on Nov. 12, 2016. Central Connecticut State is riding its first five-game winning streak since 2011 after edging past Brown 68-62 on Saturday and looks to ride the momentum to its first win over a Power 5 team in 18 years.

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

ABOUT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (5-3): Austin Nehls drilled four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds as the Blue Devils came back from an 11-point deficit in the second half to beat Brown. Eric Bowles scored 12 of his career-high 14 points in the second half and dished out six assists to lead the rally against the Bears while Deion Bute added 12 points and eight rebounds. Tyler Kohl leads the team in points (14.1) and rebounds per game (8.3) while Nehls is shooting 44 percent from 3-point land as the Blue Devils can match their win total from last season with another victory.

ABOUT DEPAUL (3-4): Max Strus continued his stellar play as he scored 20 points to go along with four assists and four steals to lead five players in double figures against Youngstown State. Tre'Darius McCallum and Marin Maric each added 17 points while Eli Cain contributed 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds against the Penguins to go over 900 points for his career. Austin Grandstaff, who played at Ohio State and Oklahoma before transferring to DePaul, missed the win against Youngstown State with a concussion and is questionable for Wednesday's clash.

TIP-INS

1. Cain needs 92 points to reach 1,000 for his career.

2. Strus is 9-of-17 from 3-point range over his last two games.

3. Central Connecticut State has dropped its last five meetings with Big East opponents by an average margin of 29.2 points.

PREDICTION: DePaul 75, Central Connecticut State 65