BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DEPAUL @ VILLANOVA

January 16, 2008


The DePaul Blue Demons are off to a surprising 3-1 start in conference play. In the preseason it definitely looked like this kind of start could be accomplished with their schedule, but home losses in the out of conference schedule at home to teams like Ill-Chicago and North Carolina A&T certainly left having ANY success in the Big East in doubt.

Villanova, on the other-hand, cruised through much of their out of conference schedule with a mark of 10-1. These teams have already met once on the young conference season, with DePaul earning an 84-76 win on their home court. Villanova has since won at home over Pitt (64-63), but lost on the road at Cincinnati (69-66) and will look to even their conference record tonight.

Here are the local media previews of tonight's Big East contest:

DePaul Goes for Sweep Against Villanova (Daily Herald)
DePaul Familiar With Villanova's Boat (Chicago Tribune)
DePaul Looks to Extend Big East Success (Sun Times)


Villanova is a 10-pt favorite at home tonight against the Blue Demons of DePaul. It was just 13 days ago that DePaul jumped out to a big lead and held on for an 84-76 win over Villanova in the league opener for both teams. DePaul was limited to six healthy players in that game, all of whome scored in double figures, as Jabari Currie, Majita Poscic and Dar Tucker were all injured. Tucker did play three minutes.

The Blue Demons are much healthier now and are still playing well. They sit at 3-1 in the Big East and are tied with Pittsburgh, Marquette, Georgetown and Notre Dame at the head of the conference standings. They even took their success on the road over the weekend picking up a valuable win at St. John's, 60-54, with Dar Tucker leading the way with 16 points.

Villanova finally got a big game from Scottie Reynolds over the weekend as the sophomore guard poured in 32 points. However, it came in a losing cause as the Wildcats fell on the road to Cincinnati, 69-66. Villanova got virtually nothing from forwards Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark and Malcolm Grant, the hero of wins over Pittsburgh and LSU, was scoreless in 8 minutes. Villanova got some good news on the injury front with Casseim Drummond, their leading rebounder, being cleared to practice this week. The 6'10 Drummond is a big body and Villanova does not have anyone else with the body to play physical in this league. Taht is an issue against a team like DePaul that has some beef in the frontcourt with Wesley Green and Mac Koshwal.

DePaul seems to be a team that plays well against Jay Wright's squad. Athletically, DePaul can match-up with most teams in the conference with a big front line and very athletic wings in Tucker and senior Karron Clarke. Draelon Burns is an accomplished scorer and the guard trio of Will Walker, Cliff Clinkscales and Currie continues to improve, find their roles and play more consistent.

Villanova relies on their guards to win. Their group of guards are definitely good led by Reynolds and freshman Corey Fisher, but they are young with the freshman Grant and sophomore Reggie Redding rounding out the group. This guard group is not qute to the level of previous Villanova units and with a thin frontcourt that has been missing Drummond, they need to carry the team.

One area I think Villanova can make a big impact is with pressure defense and I look for them to extend the defense and play with a little desperation, much like they did against Pitt when they forced 22 turnovers. DePaul is prone to this kind of attack and on their home floor, Villanova seems to up the ante defensively.

I still see this as a close contest, but the home team gets a MUCH needed win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 68 DePaul 62