The DePaul Blue Demons host rival Marquette.  The Golden Eagles currently sit in 5th place in the Big East with a 9-9 record.  As we all know, DePaul is in the cellar with a 2-14 record in conference play.  This game will be a contest of contrasts.  Marquette has an excellent offense that lives by the 3 and dies by the 3, while the Blue Demons have a horrific offense that lives by the 2 and dies by the 3, because the team takes too few and shoots them poorly.

Poor free-throw shooting doomed the Demons in the first meeting in a game that DePaul lead for all but 1:16 of action.

The Setup

DePaul takes on Marquette Tuesday, March 3rd, at 7PM Central at Wintrust Arena in the South Loop. The game will be on FS1 Channel 237 on Comcast in Chicago and on Radio 670AM.

Tale of the Tape

 

Marquette has 6 great advantages, while DePaul has 5.  Of course, Marquette is the 11th most lethal 3 point shooting team in the country shooting 38.2% as a team.  That is just crazy.

Winner of the Tape:  Marquette

Who Can Hurt the Demons?

Markus Howard

Howard is the highest usage guy in the country.  37.8% of all possessions end in his hands.  41.0% of all shots come from Howard, which is the highest percentage in the country.  He is currently rated as #3 in the kenpom.com player of the year metric.  He is pretty much a nightmare, so it would be interesting if he did not play.  Who would pick up the shots?

Howard is also a clean point guard not turning the ball over at a high rate.

Sacar Anim

Anim is another deadly 3 point shooter shooting 39% behind the arc.  Strangely, he only shoots 64% from the free-throw line.

Theo John

You do not have to worry about John’s offense, but he blocks 10% of all shots in a typical game.  The Golden Eagles funnel drivers to him and he finishes them off.

Other Dangerous Shooters

Brendan Bailey shoots 39% from 3, while Jamal Cain and Greg Elliott shoot 40% and 39.5% from 3.  All 3 of these guys typically have wide open attempts, which contributes to their deadliness.

What is Going to Happen on Tuesday?

It is Senior night.  It is the last regular season game for DePaul at home.  It will most likely be the last time we see Paul Reed at Wintrust in uniform (if he plays).  That is why it is hard to say how the game will go.  If Reed plays, DePaul has an excellent chance to win.  If Reed’s hip-pointer keeps him out.  Forgetaboutit.

 

 

The DePaul Blue Demons travel to Milwaukee to take on rival Marquette.  The Golden Eagles currently sit in 5th place in the Big East with a 5-3 record.  As we all know, DePaul is in the cellar with a 1-7 record in conference play.  This game will be a contest of contrasts.  Marquette has an excellent offense that lives by the 3 and dies by the 3, while the Blue Demons have a horrific offense that lives by the 2 and dies by the 3, because the team takes too few and shoots them poorly.

Marquette swept DePaul last year.  The first game was relatively close, but the Golden Eagles smoked the Demons by 19 in the second.  Markus Howard had 36 points on 4-9 from 3, 8-12 from 2 and 8-10 from the free-throw line.  It was an all around terrible effort by DePaul.

The Setup

DePaul takes on Marquette Saturday, at 1PM Central Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The game will be on FoxSports Regional which means UTOO Channel 230 on Comcast in Chicago and on Radio 670AM.

Tale of the Tape

Marquette has 7 great advantages, while DePaul has 5.  Of course, Marquette is the 6th most lethal 3 point shooting team in the country shooting 39.4% as a team.  That is just crazy.

Winner of the Tape:  Marquette

Who Can Hurt the Demons?

Markus Howard

Word on the street is that Markus Howard is questionable.  Of course, we all know that he will play against DePaul.  Howard is the 2nd highest usage guy in the country.  38.7% of all possessions end in his hands.  42.6% of all shots come from Howard, which is the highest percentage in the country.  He is currently rated as #4 in the kenpom.com player of the year metric.  He is pretty much a nightmare, so it would be interesting if he did not play.  Who would pick up the shots?

Howard is also a clean point guard not turning the ball over at a high rate.

Sacar Anim

Anim is another deadly 3 point shooter shooting 43.7% behind the arc.  Strangely, he only shoots 66% from the free-throw line.

Theo John

You do not have to worry about John’s offense, but he blocks 10% of all shots in a typical game.  The Golden Eagles funnel drivers to him and he finishes them off.

Other Dangerous Shooters

Brendan Bailey shoots 39% from 3, while Jamal Cain and Greg Elliott shoot 40% and 45% from 3.  All 3 of these guys typically have wide open attempts, which contributes to their deadliness.

What is Going to Happen on Saturday?

If Howard is playing, I find it difficult to believe that DePaul could deal with the firepower.  Marquette has had 2 off shooting nights the entire year.  In all Big East games they have shot at least 32% with the exception of their worst 3 point shooting game of the year, a win over Villanova, when they shot 23.8% and still won.  They shoot 44% of their shots from beyond the arc.

If Howard is not playing, I can see a scenario where Marquette is a little out of their flow, with players being in positions that they are not use to.  That could lead to an advantage by the Blue Demons.