Preview: DePaul at Georgetown

Game 20: DePaul Blue Demons (8-11, 1-6) at Georgetown Hoyas (13-6, 3-5)

When: Wednesday 8:30pm

Where: Capital One Arena

Series: Hoyas lead 30-8

Last Meeting: Jan 2, Georgetown 90, DePaul 81

TV: FS1

Online: Fox Sports Go

KenPom: Georgetown 74-70, 64 percent

Line: Georgetown -4, o/u 144.5

After a thrilling back-and-forth double overtime win over St. John’s last weekend, Georgetown will attempt to win back-to-back conference games for the first time this season as DePaul visits Chinatown on Wednesday.

Marcus Derrickson led the way for the Hoyas with 27 points as the Hoyas completed a season sweep of the Red Storm. With Jessie Govan limited for much of the first half with foul trouble, freshman Jamorko Pickett picked up the slack and posted career highs in points (16) and rebounds (9).

Trey Dickerson didn’t dress after suffering back spasms against Villanova but Jahvon Blair and Jagan Mosely gave coach Patrick Ewing a combined 27 points and eight assists off the bench in what might be a signal for more playing time.

Last time out against DePaul, Kaleb Johnson did a good job of limiting Max Strus to 19 points on 6 for 15 shooting. Strus leads four Blue Demons in double figures with 18.2 points per game. Second leading scorer Marin Maric is likely out Wednesday’s rematch with the Hoyas. Maric had 18 points on efficient 5 for 9 shooting night earlier this month.

Georgetown used a significant advantage from the foul line in what was a tight game in Chicago. The Hoyas were 31 of 37 from the charity stripe while DePaul attempted 18 shots, making 14. The Hoyas punished DePaul down low as Govan and Derrickson combined to go 19 of 22.

Scouting DePaul: The Blue Demons have lost three straight since a 17-point road win at St. John’s back on Jan. 6. Strus had 27 points last game against Butler but was held to just a combined 18 points in previous losses to Providence and at Marquette. Eli Cain recently became a 1,000 point scorer for the Blue Demons but the junior is shooting a career worst 28 percent from deep.

Notes: In a bit of a scheduling oddity, Georgetown will be finished with both St. John’s and DePaul at the midway point of its BIG EAST schedule. The Hoyas have yet to play either Providence or No. 8 Xavier...Georgetown is 16-1 against DePaul in regular season conference games...The Hoyas play 4 of their next 5 on the road starting at Creighton on Saturday...

Looking Ahead: A Georgetown win over DePaul would go a long way towards the Hoyas finishing no worse than 8th in the BIG EAST standings. With the top seven teams holding on to legitimate NCAA Tournament aspirations, Georgetown would be in the drivers seat to sit atop the mini group at the bottom of the league with tiebreakers over both St. John’s and DePaul.

Here’s a look at the current Race for Eighth:

8 Georgetown 3-5

9 DePaul 1-6

10 St. John’s 0-9

Prediction: Georgetown 81, DePaul 74