DePaul basketball travels on the road to the Fiserv Forum to take on their biggest rivals, the #18 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles. Read more for a full DePaul vs Marquette prediction and preview.
The Blue Demons travel on the road after losing their previous matchup to the Villanova Wildcats 49-59.
Despite losing Conor Enright for the season and David Skogman and Troy D’Amico for that matchup, they kept it close. DePaul was led by David Thomas, who scored 16 points, one assist, one block, and one steal while shooting 6-13 (46.2%) from the floor and 4-10 (40%) from beyond the arc.
For the Golden Eagles, they’ve been suffering a three-game losing streak. This includes losses to the UConn Huskies (69-77), St. John’s Red Storm (64-70), and Creighton Bluejays (67-77).
In their recent loss to Creighton, they were led by Kam Jones. He scored 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists while shooting 11-19 (57.9%) from the floor and 3-7 (42.9%) from downtown.
The last time these two teams faced off, the Blue Demons barely lost at home, 83-85 in overtime. Now, this next matchup is sure to be another entertaining clash.
General Information:
Teams: DePaul (11-13, 2-11) and #18 Marquette (18-6, 9-4)
Tip: 7:30 p.m. CST
Watch: Peacock
Listen: Radio DePaul Sports & Entertainment (RDSE)
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Marquette remains one of the best teams in the Big East conference. However, they’ve been on a downturn as of late.
In two of their three losses, the Golden Eagles were led by Kam Jones, one of the best players in the conference.
Jones this season averages 19.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, shooting 49.3% overall and 32.3% from beyond the arc. Jones’ scoring is third in the conference, tied with Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and behind only Eric Dixon.
That scoring average from Jones is also 31st in the country, with his assist averages good for 22nd in the nation and fourth in the Big East.
In all of their conference matchups, except their two victories against Providence (78-50) and Seton Hall (76-59), Marquette has had a tough matchup time and again.
In their matchup against DePaul, Jones was held to 18 points while shooting 8-21 (38.1%) from the floor and 1-10 (10%) from downtown. However, he contributed in other ways, recording a double-double with 11 assists.
In that game, David Joplin led the way with 30 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.
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The loss of Enright showed itself against the Wildcats. Multiple times throughout the game, the offense seemed stifled and even confused. When the team lost such a floor general for the season, with two other veterans in D’Amico and Skogman, the team was forced to adjust on the fly.
Enright is out for the season after a procedure on his shoulder. Both D’Amico and Skogman were out against Villanova. Both players had no clear timeline for a return, according to head coach Chris Holtmann in the postgame press conference against Villanova.
“I don’t on either guy,” Holtmann said when asked if he had a timeline for Skogman and D’Amico to return after the loss to Villanova. “I really don’t. We’ll know more on Troy after some of his imaging on Friday, but I don’t have, I don’t think either one’s a season-ending situation, but we obviously want to get them back as quickly as we can.”
The loss of three veteran leaders, including two of the team’s assist leaders in Enright (6.2 assists) and D’Amico (1.7 assists), is huge.
Layden Blocker had a fine game starting in relief for Enright, scoring 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists while shooting 3-9 (33.3%) from the field.
DePaul vs Marquette prediction: Golden Eagles by 5
This game will be close, like most Big East conference matchups. It will be a difficult fight for the Blue Demons without Enright for the rest of the season. If either or both D’Amico and Skogman are able to play in this game, they could give a veteran boost that the team needs.