Published Feb 19, 2020
Game Preview: DePaul Round 2
Josh Naso  •  NovaIllustrated
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After a quick break to clean things up in the Big 5, Villanova returns to Big East play on Wednesday to start the stretch run when it takes on DePaul in Chicago.

Big East play has been a disaster for the Blue Demons, who enter Wednesday’s game with a 1-11 record in conference games. After going 12-1 in the non-conference, DePaul now sits at 13-12 overall. The Blue Demons lost four-straight to open Big East play, got a good win over Butler, and now have lost another seven-straight.

DePaul has fallen to No. 80 in KenPom, 148th offensively and 52nd defensively.

The offensive numbers are bleak, with three-point shooting, free-throw shooting, and turnovers standing out as particularly poor.

The solid defense has been powered by generating turnovers and protecting the rim. However, some of that good work has been undone by sending opponents to the line at a high clip. DePaul ranks 280th in opponent FGA/FTA and 22.5 percent of opponent’s points have come from the charity stripe, the 43rd highest such percentage in the country.

The first meeting between the teams this season was almost a disaster for Villanova. The Wildcats fell into an early 13-point deficit before clawing back to take a two-point lead into the break. ‘Nova would lead by 12 with 4:13 to go and by 11 with 2:14 left, only to see DePaul tie the game and send it into overtime. Fortunately, the ‘Cats got the better of things in the extra period and got the win.

It was defense and turnovers that hurt the ‘Cats in that game. DePaul shot 47.7 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three, both over their season averages. Charlie Moore lit the ‘Cats up to the tune of 29 points. Paul Reed added 18 and Jaylen Butz 16. That, combined with 14 ‘Nova turnovers, made things difficult for the ‘Cats.

Fortunately, ‘Nova knocked down 11 threes of its own and was +12 from beyond the arc and was able to get to the line, adding another 12-point advantage from the stripe.

On Wednesday, ‘Nova will look to cut down on the turnovers, no small task against a team that ranks 25th in the country in opponent turnover percentage and 18th in steal percentage. But the ‘Cats have been good taking care of the ball and will need to do so Wednesday night.

The defense will need to be better as well. After struggling early at that end of the court, the ‘Cats showed solid improvement and put forth a run of good defensive performances before regressing somewhat, most notably during their three-game losing streak to start the month of February.

One other area ‘Nova will need to clean up will be defensive rebounding. The ‘Cats surrendered 14 offensive rebounds to DePaul in the first meeting. Combined with the turnovers, Villanova simply gave the Blue Demons too many extra possessions.

Villanova will be expected to win the game, and if it were to lose it would be their worst loss of the season by a wide margin. The ‘Cats haven’t suffered a loss to a team outside of the KenPom top 30, and as we mentioned, DePaul checks in at No. 80.

Still, DePaul has already shown that it can play with ‘Nova and the Wildcats can’t afford to look past the Blue Demons despite their Big East struggles. After the recent rough patch, ‘Nova is entering a much more favorable section of the schedule to close out the regular season, and it will be imperative that it takes advantage of that and bolsters the record. A win on Wednesday night would be a good start.