BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DePaul @ South Florida

February 3, 2006


A pair of Conference-USA foes reunite tonight in the Sun Dome in Tampa as a pair of bottom-feeders in the Big East Conference. It has not been the debut that Jerry Wainwright had hoped for his DePaul Blue Demons who have lost six straight in the Big East and find themselves at 1-7 in the conference and 9-11 overall.

The only school they are looking down at in the conference standings are the Bulls of South Florida. The Bulls have been decimated by injuries and other personnel issues and have been down to as little as 5 scholarship players at times, which has contributed to their string of nine straight losses and an 0-7 mark in the Big East.

South Florida has played some of their opponents tough, losing by just 4 to WVU and by 3 to Villanova at home and losing in OT at SHU as well as by 6 at SU and 3 at Georgetown. So, they have had some chances, but lack of depth and ball-handling has stripped them of chances to win down the stretch.

Neither team shoots the ball exceptionally well, but DePaul is once again horrid from beyond the 3-pt arc at less than 30%. The Blue Demons do shoot fouls very well and with their lack of depth, the Bulls tend to put people at the line a lot. DePaul has had their share of injury and personnel issues, but coming together on a trip to earn a much needed win is a must.

The chance at a win and the motivation of avoiding being the first victim of the Bulls should rally DePaul. I really do not see any advantage the Bulls might have over the Blue Demons, except for effort and not giving up. DePaul has not looked good, scoring just 91 pts total, in their last two losses. Points will probably be at a premium tonight, but I think DePaul gets just enough offense and they do have some successful experience on the road.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

DePaul 60 South Florida 56

South Florida enters the game as a slight favorite.