After losing its conference opener to a ranked opponent on the road, Georgetown likely won't have as much trouble in its second Big East game.
The ninth-ranked Hoyas look to continue their dominance over a DePaul team that has just one league win over the past two seasons Saturday at the Verizon Center.
Georgetown (11-2, 0-1) entered Big East play with one of the country's hottest offenses, averaging 91.3 points during a three-game winning streak, but it couldn't find any rhythm in losing to No. 15 Notre Dame 69-55 on Wednesday.
The Hoyas came in second in the nation in field goal percentage at 52.8 and fourth in 3-point shooting at 42.6 percent, but shot a season-low 42.6 percent while missing 18 of 22 3-pointers.
"To say we're out of sync probably would be accurate, and we have to take care of that," coach John Thompson III said. "This is not the time to be out of sync.''
Austin Freeman had 21 points on 9 of 16 shooting but he was one of the only Georgetown players to have any success. Chris Wright and Jason Clark, each averaging 13.7 points per game coming in, combined to score 11. Wright managed only three points on 1-of-9 shooting for the Hoyas, who lost their first Big East opener since dropping their first two conference games in 2001-02.
"It was one of those days," said Wright, who missed all five 3-point attempts. "It was tough and it was something we had to deal with, but we have to move on because we have another game on Saturday."
While Georgetown struggled against a tough Notre Dame team, it seemingly should have better luck against the Blue Demons (6-7, 0-1), who are last in the Big East in scoring defense at 72.0 points and field goal percentage defense at 46.9 percent.
The Hoyas had little trouble offensively in a 67-50 win at DePaul last January, shooting 57.1 percent and hitting 8 of 17 from beyond the arc. Wright had 18 points and Freeman scored 17 for Georgetown, which has won nine straight in this series since a 78-51 loss on Jan. 22, 1994.
The Hoyas aren't the only Big East team that has given the Blue Demons problems.
With a 76-60 defeat to Cincinnati in Tuesday's conference opener, DePaul lost for the 13th straight time in league play. The program has been in disarray for the past few seasons, going 1-36 in the Big East since 2008-09.
The Blue Demons have also lost 20 consecutive road conference games since beating Cincinnati on March 6, 2008, and have dropped 11 straight away games against Top 25 teams since beating No. 21 Louisville in overtime on Feb. 25, 2004.
Coach Oliver Purnell left Clemson to try to resurrect the program, but it will likely take some time.
Purnell's team looked overwhelmed early in its conference opener, as the Bearcats went on a 34-6 run. The Blue Demons turned the ball over seven times and missed 18 of 21 shots during that stretch.
Freshman forward Cleveland Melvin was one of the few bright spots for DePaul on Tuesday, finishing with a career-best 24 points on 12 of 21 shooting. He is averaging 17.5 points on 56.6 percent shooting in his last six games.
