No. 21 Xavier hosts DePaul following Freemantle's 23-point game

DePaul Blue Demons (10-12, 1-9 Big East) at Xavier Musketeers (16-5, 6-4 Big East)

Cincinnati; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 21 Xavier hosts the DePaul Blue Demons after Zach Freemantle scored 23 points in Xavier's 68-66 win against the Butler Bulldogs.

The Musketeers have gone 11-2 in home games. Xavier leads the Big East with 26.5 defensive rebounds per game led by Colby Jones averaging 5.2.

The Blue Demons are 1-9 against conference opponents. DePaul scores 66.1 points and has outscored opponents by 2.0 points per game.

The teams square off for the 10th time in conference play this season. The Musketeers won the last matchup 68-67 on Jan. 20. Jack Nunge scored 23 points points to help lead the Musketeers to the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nunge is scoring 12.3 points per game with 7.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists for the Musketeers. Paul Scruggs is averaging 7.9 points and 3.1 assists over the last 10 games for Xavier.

Javon Freeman-Liberty is shooting 38.6% from beyond the arc with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Blue Demons, while averaging 18.8 points and 6.6 rebounds. Brandon Johnson is shooting 36.4% and averaging 6.8 points over the last 10 games for DePaul.

LAST 10 GAMES: Musketeers: 6-4, averaging 70.1 points, 33.0 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 6.2 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 42.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.8 points per game.

Blue Demons: 1-9, averaging 63.9 points, 32.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 5.5 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.2 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by