The DePaul Blue Demons (6-10) travel to Cintas Center to take on the No. 7 Xavier Musketeers (14-1), the best team in the Big East. Action starts at 6:30 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and can be seen on FS1.
The Musketeers were victorious over St. John’s 74-66 the last time they played. Myles Davis led all scorers on the team with 19 points on 4-for-9 shooting. The Blue Demons, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 74-63 loss at the hands of Georgetown in their last game. Billy Garrett Jr. led the team in scoring with 16 points.
Garrett Jr. has been hot for the Blue Demons, averaging 17.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.0 three-pointer over the past five games.
The aggressive Xavier offense might be getting to the charity stripe a lot in this one. It ranks 14th in the nation at getting to the line (FTA rate of 47.5), while DePaul is among the nation’s most foul-prone teams (giving up a 322nd-ranked FTA rate of 44.7).
Xavier is a considerable 18-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 145 points. The Musketeers come into this game 14-1 Straight Up (SU) and 10-5 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 8-2 ATS over their last 10 games. The Musketeers are a high-volume shooting team from the line with 20.0 free throws made per game, one of the highest marks in Division I. The Musketeers have a distinct advantage on the boards in this matchup. They are the 28th-ranked rebounding team in Division I, averaging 41.5 per game, while the Blue Demons rank 231st in the nation with 35.8 per game. DePaul has a habit of getting in foul trouble (22.2 fouls per game), so expect the Musketeers to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
On the other side, DePaul has a SU record of 6-10 and an ATS record of 6-9.
Xavier and DePaul meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Xavier won the last game in the matchup, moving its SU record against the Blue Demons to 3-1. At 2-2, they are even ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Xavier, ATS Winner – Xavier, O/U – Over
Notes
Xavier is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Xavier’s last 6 games.
Xavier is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing DePaul.
Xavier averages 80.2 points per game (ranked 53rd). DePaul, on the other hand, allows 71.8 points per game (ranked 191st).
DePaul scores just 68.0 points per away game (ranked 212th). Xavier ranks 55th in points allowed at home, giving up 61.4 points.
The Xavier Musketeers have a defensive rating of 93.6 (ranked 28th), while the DePaul Blue Demons have an offensive rating of 102.2 (ranked 244th).
The DePaul Blue Demons average a field goal percentage of 45.2% this season. The Xavier Musketeers have split their games this season (1-1) when opponents have a FG% of 45.2% or greater.
The Xavier Musketeers average 19.0 three point attempts per game, while the DePaul Blue Demons attempt 15.0. When attempting 20 or more three pointers in a game, Xavier is a perfect 9-0, while DePaul is an even 2-2.
Xavier, the 28th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 41.5 rebounds per game. DePaul does worse, ranked 231st with 35.8.
DePaul ranks 227th in offensive rebounds, while Xavier ranks at 51st in defensive rebounds.
On average, DePaul forces a turnover rate of 17.7%. When Xavier turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a superb 6-1 record.
