DePaul looks to knock off No. 19 Nova

Published Jan. 6, 2022 3:31 p.m. ET

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No. 19 Villanova (10-4, 3-1) vs. DePaul (9-4, 0-3)

Wintrust Arena, Chicago; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 19 Villanova looks to give DePaul its eighth straight loss to ranked opponents. DePaul's last win vs a ranked opponent came against the then-No. 5 Butler Bulldogs 79-66 on Jan. 18, 2020. Villanova blew out Creighton by 34 at home in its last outing.

LEADING THE WAY: The electric Javon Freeman-Liberty is averaging 20.6 points and 7.7 rebounds to lead the charge for the Blue Demons. David Jones has complemented Freeman-Liberty and is producing 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The Wildcats have been led by Collin Gillespie, who is averaging 16.1 points.GIFTED GILLESPIE: Gillespie has connected on 41.3 percent of the 109 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 8 for 18 over his last three games. He's also made 86.5 percent of his foul shots this season.

PERFECT WHEN: DePaul is a sterling 6-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 41.4 percent or less. The Blue Demons are 3-4 when they let opponents to shoot any better than that.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Wildcats have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Blue Demons. DePaul has 31 assists on 66 field goals (47 percent) over its past three contests while Villanova has assists on 39 of 74 field goals (52.7 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: DePaul is ranked second in the Big East with an average of 72.3 possessions per game.

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Collin Gillespie

Villanova Wildcats

Butler Bulldogs

DePaul Blue Demons