Georgetown @ DePaul preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 22, 2017 ) DePaul 67, Georgetown 65

Max Strus continues to light up the scoreboard for DePaul, which will attempt to earn its first Big East victory Tuesday against visiting Georgetown. Strus scored 33 points in defeat for the second time this season as the Blue Demons fell to No. 5 Xavier, and the junior will look to keep his streak of four straight 20-point games going against the Hoyas.

Strus, a 6-6 guard who transferred from Lewis University, matched his career high in points and 3-pointers (six) against Xavier, but it wasn't enough to allow the Blue Demons to hold on to a 16-point second-half advantage. "We have a lot to learn," Strus told the media following the loss, which was the 33rd in the last 38 league games for DePaul. "We need to learn to execute at the end of the game and take the crowd out of it." After tying the game at 64 with seven minutes remaining, the Blue Demons went 2-of-8 from the field and committed three turnovers the rest of the way. Marcus Derrickson had 20 or more points in consecutive games for the first time in his career, but the Hoyas struggled with turnovers once again in losing to Marquette.

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

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (10-3, 0-2 Big East): While Patrick Ewing's team had some trouble with ball control during the non-conference portion of its schedule, it has been downright atrocious in the Big East. The starting lineup racked up 19 giveaways, including five from point guard Jonathan Mulmore, as the Hoyas finished with more than 20 for the second straight game. The Hoyas have also shot less than 44 percent in their first two league games, with junior center Jessie Govan, who has nine double-doubles this season, having the most trouble in that area.

ABOUT DEPAUL (7-7, 0-2): Justin Roberts has shown that he can be a productive player for the Blue Demons, albeit in a small sample size. In the two games that the freshman guard has played more than 30 minutes, he has averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and three assists for Dave Leitao's team, which has lost 14 straight games to ranked teams. Senior center Marin Maric, who had combined 39 points and 15 rebounds in the previous two games, fell back to earth against Xavier with four points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and seven turnovers.

TIP-INS

1. After shooting 50 percent or better in the first nine games, Govan has gone 17-of-44 over the past four games.

2. Eli Cain needs 19 points to become the 50th player in DePaul history to notch 1,000.

3. Prior to a win in the second meeting last season, DePaul had been 0-15 against Georgetown in Big East games and trails 29-8 in the series.

PREDICTION: Georgetown 80, DePaul 75