Sports

Pregame Primer: DePaul Blue Demons

January 1, 2018


On Tuesday, the Georgetown men’s basketball team (10-3. 0-2 Big East) will go on the road again to play the DePaul Blue Demons (7-7, 0-2 Big East). The game will take place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Both squads are still searching for their first Big East victories after coming up empty in their first two games.

The Hoyas last played on Saturday, when they fell flat at Marquette (10-4, 1-1 Big East) in a 74-65 defeat. The Blue & Gray went down early in the game, though they remained within striking distance for most of the game. However, they were never able to put together the run needed to win. The defense had no answer for redshirt senior guard Andrew Rowsey, who finished with 35 points, his Marquette career high. Once again, turnovers were a pressing issue. Georgetown surrendered an astounding 25 turnovers, and Marquette was able to turn those into 20 points of their own. Senior guard Jonathan Mulmore committed five, while junior forward Marcus Derrickson, junior center Jessie Govan, and junior guard/forward Kaleb Johnson each had four.

On the bright side, Derrickson scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, and Govan recorded his ninth double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. However, Georgetown will have to take better care of the ball on offense if they want to return to their winning ways.

DePaul played a close game at No. 6 Xavier (14-1, 2-0 Big East), but eventually fell 77-72. The Blue Demons did hold a 39-31 lead at halftime, but were unable to close out a potential upset. DePaul’s junior guard Max Strus had a monster game with 33 points on 10-18 shooting and six rebounds. Strus’ 33 points matched his season high, which he set on December 16 against Northwestern (10-5, 1-1 Big Ten). Freshman guard Justin Roberts also added 16 points. Like Georgetown, DePaul struggled with turnovers last game. The Blue Demons committed 23 of their own, and senior center Marin Maric had an egregious 7 of them.

Strus, as an athletic and volatile sharp-shooting guard, will pose a similar threat to Rowsey against Georgetown. Strus was 6-12 from 3-point range against Xavier, so the Georgetown guards will have to make sure to contest his long range attempts. 3-point defense was also a greater issue against Marquette, who scored all of their second half field goals on 3-pointers.

As has been the trend since Big East play began, Govan will have a matchup with a center of legitimate size. Maric stands at 6-foot-11 and 240 lbs, and is averaging a respectable 12.3 points and 5.8 points per game this year. However, Govan has continued his rebounding prowess with 25 rebounds in the first two Big East games. Senior forward Tre’Darius McCallum also stands at 6-foot-7 and 220 lbs, and is averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Govan and Derrickson will have to grind to get their rebounds, and the front court battle should be something to watch in this game.

Tip off is set for 9:00 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. It can also be streamed on Fox Sports Go. Follow @GUVoiceSports for game day updates and breaking news.


Tristan Lee
Tristan is the Voice's sports executive and a senior in Georgetown College. He mostly covers Georgetown's football, basketball, and baseball teams.


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