The No. 22 Providence Friars (14-5, 6-2 Big East) will be looking to prolong their winning run at home Saturday when they welcome the DePaul Blue Demons (9-10, 3-5 Big East), who will seek to reverse a road skid of their own. DePaul narrowly defeated the Xavier Musketeers 73-72 at Wintrust Arena on Wednesday.
Umoja Gibson was the standout player with 22 points. The Blue Demons are seventh in the Big East Conference. Providence dropped their last game on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum, falling to the Marquette Golden Eagles 83-75. Ed Croswell tallied 20 points to lead the team in scoring in defeat.
With 18 points, Devin Carter also produced a strong performance. The Friars remain third in the Big East Conference. The teams are meeting for the last time this season.
After winning the only earlier season matchup against DePaul 74-59 at Wintrust Arena on January 1, their third straight head-to-head victory, Providence will be looking for a season sweep.
Carter led the Friars with 22 points, five steals, and four blocks. Da’Sean Nelson had 17 points and seven rebounds in the loss. The Blue Demons have been led this season by Javan Johnson and Gibson, who are averaging 15.7 and 15.3 points per game, respectively. Gibson also has dished 5.1 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Eral Penn is grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game. Bryce Hopkins (16.4 ppg) has been the primary provider of the Friars’ offense. Hopkins also has collected 9.2 rebounds per game. Jared Bynum has distributed 3.7 assists per game.
In the last 10 games, DePaul is 4-6 with an average margin of -5.2 (68.3-73.5). Providence has gone 8-2 over the last 10, scoring 81.0 points per game on average while allowing 68.7 (+12.3 margin).
BLUE DEMONS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Da’Sean Nelson: 23.6 | 17.4 | +6.2
Ahamad Bynum: 0.2 | 3.3 | -3.1
Points per game:
Da’Sean Nelson: 16.0 | 10.4 | +5.6
Assists per game:
Javan Johnson: 2.8 | 2.2 | +0.6
FRIARS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Alyn Breed: 14.6 | 10.5 | +4.1
Jared Bynum: 4.8 | 13.3 | -8.5
Points per game:
Jared Bynum: 3.6 | 7.6 | -4.0
Rebounds per game:
Ed Croswell: 9.8 | 7.6 | +2.2
Assists per game:
Jared Bynum: 0.4 | 3.7 | -3.3
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Providence -9.5 (-110)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our college basketball hub page for all your college basketball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
