Big East Basketball
Villanova Preview: Wildcats Look for Another Win at DePaul

The Villanova Wildcats will take on the DePaul Blue Demons at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5, their trip to Chicago weighed down with the added baggage of a three game losing streak.
Now 1-5 in their last six games, the Wildcats haven’t picked up a win in nearly three weeks, their last coming on Friday, Jan. 17 over Providence. During that time their odds of making the NCAA Tournament have dwindled down to roughly 6 percent, with almost all their eggs in one basket: at 12-10, they’d practically need to win out in order to receive an at-large bid, but running the gauntlet of the Big East Tournament and winning a conference championship isn’t a cake walk either.
On the bright side, DePaul gives them a chance to get back in the win column. The Blue Demons are amidst a rebuild, picking up their first two conference wins in close to two years back in January. While they may be trending in the right direction under head coach Chris Holtmann, things still aren’t pretty. Villanova destroyed the Blue Demons 100-56 at the Finneran Pavilion back on Jan. 4 and they’re a healthy favorite to pick up the win in the other half of the home-and-home, expected to win in 69.5 percent of simulations per ESPN Analytics. They sit at -225 on the money line with a point spread of -5.5 and an over/under set at 143.5, with all odds courtesy of ESPN Bet.
Where to Watch; Who to Watch
CBSSN holds the broadcasting rights for this matchup.
Villanova will have Josiah Moseley, who missed their Saturday, Feb. 1 loss to Creighton due to illness, available once again. DePaul missed forward David Skogman during their earlier matchup with the Wildcats, and he’s questionable to play once again, pictured wearing a walking boot as recently as Sunday, Feb. 2. Other key contributors like Troy D’Amico, Conor Enright and JJ Traynor are dealing with injuries and according to a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Skogman, D’Amico and Enright will all miss the game, a major blow for DePaul.
Junior guard CJ Gunn leads the Blue Demons with 12 points per game; NJ Benson leads in rebounds (6.0) and blocks (1.5); Enright paces the team with an average of 6.2 assists, while Layden Blocker’s 1.2 steals per game lead the team. Fellow guard Jacob Meyer also scores 12 points per game, the only other DePaul player to average double digits: rather than having any one dominant scorer, they all chip away in a committee approach.
DePaul currently sits as the No. 124 team per the NET rankings, making this a Quad 3 matchup for Villanova, who for all their baggage holds the No. 57 slot. A win won’t do much to boost their tournament standing unless it’s overwhelming… while a loss would likely serve as the final nail in the Wildcats’ coffin.