On Wednesday night, Villanova will wrap up its season series with DePaul in frigid Chicago. The ‘Cats defeated the Blue Demons 73-68 in their Big East opener. It was a bit of an unsteady performance from ‘Nova, as the Wildcats were out-shot by DePaul 52.8 percent to 41.8 percent and trailed by double-digits several times, but the ‘Cats forced 18 turnovers while committing just six and earned a 12-point advantage from the free throw line and were able to gut out the win.

DePaul enters the game with an 11-8 record and a 3-5 mark in the Big East. In addition to Villanova, the Blue Demons have lost to Xavier, Butler, Marquette, and Providence. They beat St. John’s and Seton Hall twice.

Since the last meeting between the teams, DePaul has seen its scoring drop slightly (from 77.6 to 76.6) and a slip in its defense (from 69.5 to 72.7). DePaul’s shooting percentage has slipped from 47.6 percent to 46.5 percent.

Max Strus continues to lead the way for DePaul, averaging 17.4 points per game. He finished with 16 the last time out against Villanova. Eli Cain, who had 14 first-half points in the last meeting but was held to just two in the second, averages 12.6. Femi Olujobi has his average up to 12.9 on 41.2 percent from 3. Paul Reed (11.6), Devin Gage (9), and Jaylen Butz (7) remain the other key contributors for the Blue Demons.

In the last meeting, the free throw line and turnovers proved to be the deciding factors. We’ll be looking for a better defensive effort from the ‘Cats on Wednesday night, as DePaul not only shot 52.8 percent from the floor but also 40 percent from 3 despite only shooting 32 percent from deep for the season. Without the +12 turnover margin, that game could have easily turned out differently. ‘Nova was also badly outrebounded in the last meeting, 36-24.

DePaul has been held under 70 points in all five of its Big East losses and seven of its eight losses overall. Conversely, the Blue Demons have scored over 70 in all their Big East wins and in 10 of their 11 wins overall.

One big difference between tonight’s game and the last meeting is the fact that Villanova was coming off a long layoff last time out, and rust may have played a factor. Tonight, ‘Nova enters the game on an eight-game winning streak and playing some of its best basketball of the season. Hopefully, that will lead to a steadier performance this time around.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on the free throw line and turnovers, as well as the battle on the glass. In addition, we’ll be watching to see if ‘Nova can defend the 3-point line more effectively.