DePaul aims to climb out of hole while facing Xavier
Lengthy losing streaks to begin conference play have been the norm for DePaul in recent seasons.
The Blue Demons will try to keep from falling deeper into a Big East hole Saturday when they face Xavier in Chicago.
DePaul (8-6, 0-3 Big East) lost its first seven league games last season, its first under coach Chris Holtmann.
After beginning 2025-26 conference play with double-digit losses to ranked foes St. John's and UConn, visiting DePaul led Villanova at halftime Wednesday before faltering down the stretch in a five-point defeat.
While CJ Gunn scored 15 points to lead the way, he was among two starters to foul out, joining Kaleb Banks. DePaul limited Villanova to 34.5% shooting but struggled with its perimeter defense, allowing the Wildcats to connect on 10 of 23 treys.
"We couldn't impact their threes enough," Holtmann said. "We needed to make them more inefficient than that."
On the plus side, DePaul has dialed up its interior toughness. The team matched season highs with 41 rebounds and seven blocks.
Xavier (9-5, 1-2) also lost a conference game on Wednesday, falling 90-67 at home to fourth-ranked UConn as the Huskies raced to an early 25-point lead.
Still, players were encouraged about a 9-for-15 stretch from the floor that helped the Musketeers climb to within 15 points at the break.
"I think coach (Richard Pitino) was just on us, and then we just came together as a group," Xavier's Malik Messina-Moore said. "Just keep playing hard."
The Musketeers' Roddie Anderson III said the team must avoid the tendency to "overthink things," which he admitted was more challenging given UConn's pedigree.
Moore paced Xavier with 16 points as he regained his touch from long range. Moore swished two 3-pointers for a third straight game after shooting 2-of-20 from deep over the previous seven games.
Xavier's Filip Borovicanin has notched five double-doubles in the past nine games after contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday.