College Hoops Picks: DePaul Blue Demons at Marquette Golden Eagles

Preview

The Marquette Golden Eagles (No. 11 AP, No. 10 Coaches, 5-0, 16-2) put their perfect conference play record on the line when they host the DePaul Blue Demons (0-6, 8-11) on Saturday. DePaul will be looking for their first conference play win and the chance to prove that their two losses to South Florida were, in fact, just bad games.

This will be the first of two games between these two teams, the second coming in a week and a half at DePaul.

Marquette has found success this season through Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal beyond the arc, who have been fed the ball by Dominic James (who averages just over five assists per game).

The Golden Eagles shortfall is with their lack of depth—they have four players averaging double-digit points per game, but then it drops off to low single digits. While foul trouble has not gotten the best of them yet, it's only a matter of time before they find themselves without their top scorers and in a world of hurt.

Stats

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
DePaul	8-11	0-6	3-10	193	114	67.1	69.4
Marquette	16-2	5-0	7-5-1	15	53	81.6	67.0

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG
DePaul	41.3	43.2	27.0	33.9	61.9	39.9	6.9	11.2
Marquette	46.9	42.7	37.0	31.3	72.3	38.9	7.8	16.3

Prediction

Current Line: Marquette -17.0

DePaul ATS: 3-10, 2-7 when underdog
Marquette ATS: 7-5-1, 7-4-1 when favored

DePaul has not played conference play well by any means, but they have been within striking distance on a couple of them. While they have not played the very best the Big East has to offer, they have faced worthy opponents such as Notre Dame and Syracuse.

There has only been one conference game so far where they would not have covered the spread (when they lost to South Florida by 22). Marquette, on the other hand, would have covered this spread in two of their five conference games so far. Based on DePaul's potential (they can play much better than they have been so far), I don't see Marquette covering the spread.

Pick: DePaul +17.0

*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*

*This article is also featured on CFBPlace.com—and soon to be featured on CBBPlace.com*