Marquette had preseason aspirations of claiming its customary place in the upper part of the Big East, while DePaul planned to claw its way out of the conference’s basement.
Only one team is enjoying success in this regard. In fact, as these longtime rivals prepare to meet Friday night in Chicago, the Blue Demons (10-7, 2-4 Big East) find themselves ahead of the Golden Eagles (6-12, 1-6) in the league race for the first time since 2015.
The Golden Eagles are dead last in the Big East after sharing fourth last season. It has been a downward spiral over the last six weeks as they have dropped eight of their last nine games.
Marquette struggled again Tuesday in a 92-68 loss at St. John’s as the Golden Eagles allowed the Red Storm to shoot 33-for-65 from the field (50.8%). They finished with 19 turnovers — one off their season worst — that turned into 24 points while getting outrebounded 39-26.
Chase Ross and Nigel James Jr. handled more than half of the scoring load with 20 and 17 points, respectively. Both players are crucial to Marquette’s chance to win its first road game of the year. The Golden Eagles have lost their first five road games by an average of 20.2 points.
“Especially when you go on the road, there cannot be a lull in your physicality, your aggressiveness and, most importantly, your connection as a team to go and accomplish something very specific in the moment,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “That’s an area for us to continue to grow.”
The Blue Demons suffered a setback Saturday at then-No. 4 UConn after rattling off conference wins against Xavier and Georgetown. They never led against the Huskies and fell 72-60 while allowing UConn to shoot 25-for-50 from the field.
The Blue Demons were paced by point guard Layden Blocker’s 16 points and five rebounds. Blocker, who averages 11.6 points along with a team-high 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals, will play an important role as DePaul seeks to snap its six-game losing streak against Marquette.
If the Blue Demons succeed, they’ll be 3-4 in Big East play for the first time since 2018-19.
“Growth is the mission,” DePaul coach Chris Holtmann said. “That is the bottom line, and we’ve got to be committed to that.”
DePaul will wear throwback jerseys commemorating the late-70s/early-80s era when it traditionally ranked among the nation’s best teams.
