Big East foes will battle when the DePaul Blue Demons (8-17) face the Marquette Golden Eagles (16-10) at Allstate Arena. Action begins at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 20 and will air on FSN.
The Blue Demons are hoping for a better outcome after their 80-65 loss to St. John’s on Wednesday. Eli Cain was the game’s leading scorer, putting up 25 points. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, are coming off a tough 65-62 loss at the hands of Creighton on Saturday. Henry Ellenson led the team in scoring with 16 points.
Ellenson has been on a tear for the Golden Eagles, averaging 21.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 2.4 blocks, and 1.0 three-pointer over the past five games.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Blue Demons won the first game 57-56. Duane Wilson was a top player in the game with 19 points, two rebounds, four assists, one steal, and three three-pointers.
The Blue Demons have gone 8-17 Straight Up (SU) and 8-15-1 Against The Spread (ATS).
Across the court, the Golden Eagles are unsuccessful ATS with a 10-15 record even though they have a 16-10 SU record. Most recently, Marquette is a meager 2-7-1 ATS over the last 10 games. The Golden Eagles have been struggling of late. In their most recent 10 games, their scoring has dropped to 64.9 PPG, compared to 68.1 for the duration of the season. Defenses have a tough time accounting for every player when up against the Golden Eagles, who are known for distributing the ball with 16.3 assists per game. The Marquette defense has allowed an average of 78.2 points per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 72.0. When it comes to stealing the ball, the Golden Eagles are one of the best in the nation with an average of 7.6 steals per game. The Golden Eagles are in for a physical game against DePaul. The Blue Demons are not afraid to send opponents to the free throw line, averaging 22.5 fouls per game.
In their previous meeting this season, DePaul beat Marquette, but the win was not enough to overtake Marquette in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 3-7 SU over the last few meetings. However, DePaul leads the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. During their latest five matchups, neither team ever held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers.
Predictions: SU Winner – Marq, ATS Winner – Marq
Notes
“DePaul is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“DePaul is 2-11 SU in its last 13 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of DePaul’s last 5 games “.
“DePaul is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home”.
“DePaul is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of DePaul’s last 5 games at home”.
“DePaul is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Marquette”.
“DePaul is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games when playing Marquette”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of DePaul’s last 5 games when playing Marquette”.
“The total has gone OVER in 6 of DePaul’s last 9 games when playing at home against Marquette”.
Marquette lost its last game by a three-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, DePaul is 2-0. Marquette is 3-3 in close games this season.
With 68.5 possessions and .994 points per possession, the DePaul Blue Demons perform worse on both metrics than the Marquette Golden Eagles. Marquette averages 73.1 possessions and 1.033 points per possession.
The DePaul Blue Demons average an effective field goal percentage of 49.4% this season. The Marquette Golden Eagles have an underachieving record of 2-6 when opponents have an eFG% of 49.4% or greater.
DePaul attempts an average of 15.0 three pointers per game and Marquette attempts 17.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the DePaul Blue Demons have a 2-3 record while the Marquette Golden Eagles have a 5-4 record.
Marquette, the 45th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.8 per game. DePaul does worse, ranked 197th with 3.2.
The DePaul Blue Demons make an average of 4.8 steals per game. When the Marquette Golden Eagles allow 4 or more steals, they are a winning 15-9.
