DePaul @ Providence preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 10, 2018 ) DePaul 80, Providence 63

By already matching last season's win total of 11, its most since winning 12 in 2014-15, DePaul is fighting to regain respectability in the Big East. The Blue Demons will visit a Providence squad on Sunday that is trying to recapture its form as well, one that had the Friars playing in the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons.

Providence got out of the Big East basement in conference play with a 64-62 win at Xavier on Wednesday but almost blew a 10-point lead with 3:44 left as the Musketeers had a chance to score three times in the final 30 seconds before committing two turnovers and missing a jumper from just inside the arc at the buzzer. “Just another Big East war,” Friars coach Ed Cooley told reporters. “All these games are coming down to two or three possessions. Both teams kept giving it back to one another with turnovers, but I’m really proud of our group because we haven’t been able to execute down the stretch.” DePaul, which just needs four more wins to post a winning record for the first time since 2006-07, dropped a 79-69 decision against No. 11 Marquette on Wednesday but had previously won three of four games, knocking off Seton Hall twice as well as St. John's. The Blue Demons, who trailed by 14 in the first half against the Golden Eagles, pulled within 56-52 on Max Strus' layup with 7:31 remaining, but Marquette scored 11 straight to put the game away.

TV: Noon, ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT DEPAUL (11-7, 3-4 Big East): Sophomore forward Paul Reed (11.2 points, 7.9 rebounds) scored 18 points, while senior forward Femi Olujobi (12.8, 5.4) added 15 points and 11 rebounds against Marquette. Strus leads four players in double figures at 17.9 points on 41.4 percent shooting, including 35.8 percent beyond the arc, but he's averaging just 15.3 points on 37.4 percent shooting in conference games. The 6-9 Reed (16.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 56.4 field-goal percentage) and 6-8 Olujobi (16.1 points, 6.0, 59.7) have been the two best Demon players in conference action.

ABOUT PROVIDENCE (12-7, 2-4): Senior guard Isaiah Jackson (9.6 points) scored 13 points, while sophomore Nate Watson (11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds) added 11 points as the Friars snapped a seven-game losing streak at the Cintas Center. Junior forward Alpha Diallo had 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting in the game and is 68 points shy of becoming the 50th Friar all-time to amass 1,000 career points. Diallo has been pretty much a one-man show since freshman guard A.J. Reeves (14.2 points, 45.3 percent 3-point shooter) went down with an injury, leading the team in scoring (16.8 points), rebounding (Big-East leading 8.4), assists (3.4), steals (1.8 - tied for second) and 3-pointers (28).

TIP-INS

1. Providence leads the all-time series 29-11. The teams split the series last season with each winning on the other's homecourt.

2. Reeves missed his ninth game with a foot injury but is expected back soon, maybe even Sunday. He was the Big East's Freshman of the Week three times before going down.

3. Diallo is one of six players in the country, and three in power conferences - to be averaging at least 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal.

PREDICTION: Providence 81, DePaul 72