Game preview: DePaul

Villanova will look to start a new winning streak Tuesday night when it hosts DePaul. The Wildcats defeated the Blue Demons 79-64 in the first meeting between the teams on January 8.

The Blue Demons have played some good basketball since the last meeting, getting their first Big East win in a 96-92 victory over Seton Hall. They also suffered a tough loss to Xavier, losing by a single point. They enter Tuesday with a 10-8 mark overall and a 1-7 record in the Big East.

DePaul gave the Wildcats a bit of scare in that first meeting, taking a five-point lead into halftime before the ‘Cats used a big second half to pull away.

“They’re a dangerous team, we were in trouble out there in Chicago, so we have great respect for them,” Jay Wright said.

Javon Freeman-Liberty gave the ‘Cats fits in the first meeting between the teams, scoring 22 first-half points and 34 for the game. He’s missed DePaul’s last two games after suffering a groin injury against Seton Hall, but he wasn’t expected to miss an extended period of time so there’s a chance he returns to the court Tuesday. If he does, he’ll have to be a focal point of the Villanova defense.

“He’s a great player and can score the ball at three levels,” Justin Moore said of Freeman-Liberty. “We’ve just gotta do a great job of playing team defense and paying attention to him. Last time we weren’t as locked in as we should have been, but we’ll make adjustments and we’ll do better.”

A major factor in the previous matchup was fouls and the free throw line. Villanova was called four 12 first-half fouls leading to 12 DePaul free throws. The Blue Demons hit nine of those attempts, and their 9-4 advantage from the line was the difference in the period. The fouls also disrupted Villanova’s rotation, something that Wright believes hurt the team’s ability to contain Freeman-Liberty. All told, DePaul went to the line 30 times in that meeting, hitting 23 and earning a three-point advantage from the charity stripe. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot ‘Nova can do to directly address that part of the game.

“We try to figure that out so much, we try to work so hard on not fouling, figuring what the refs are gonna call, not call, we really do work hard on it,” Wright said. “I think our evaluation after all these years is ‘it’s random.’ It’s hard to tell. It’s just something that you have to be prepared for.”

Otherwise, Villanova did a nice job against DePaul. The ‘Cats shot 61.5% on 2-point attempts while holding DePaul to 43.3%. The ‘Cats also hit 40.9% from beyond the arc to DePaul’s 23.8%, taking a 12-point advantage from deep.

The ‘Nova edge from 2-point range is notable, as it looked like an area heading into the game where DePaul had an advantage. However, it’s something the ‘Cats have been doing consistently over the last seven games or so, and it will be interesting to see if they can continue that and replicate the showing from a few weeks ago. On the other hand, it looked like ‘Nova should have an advantage from beyond the arc, and we saw that play out. However, the ‘Cats have had some struggles from deep recently. It’s another thing we’ll be watching to see if they can replicate.

DePaul has the ability to build advantages on the offensive glass, pulling down 33.5% of its offensive rebounding opportunities. The Blue Demons grabbed 12 offensive boards in the first meeting between the teams, but ‘Nova limited them to just eight second-chance points, a number the ‘Cats matched off of their six offensive rebounds. Overall, DePaul won the battle on the boards 31-30, a result Villanova can certainly live with.

Whether Freeman-Liberty plays or not certainly impacts the dynamics of the game, and we might not know until tip-off or slightly before. With or without Freeman-Liberty, ‘Nova won’t be looking past the Blue Demons. “Our biggest concern is, they play a little differently when Freeman-Liberty plays but we also know they’re capable,” Wright said. “We know it’s gonna be a tough game.”

Regardless, Villanova has the blueprint and will look to replicate its previous performance against DePaul.

Originally scheduled as a 5 p.m. game, it is now set for a 7 p.m. tip and will air on FS1.

Go Premium to get full access here