Scouting report: No. 20 Xavier starts road swing Wednesday at DePaul

Xavier's men's basketball team starts a two-game road swing on Wednesday night (9 p.m., Fox Sports 1) at DePaul.

At No. 20 in the latest Associated Press poll, the Musketeers (13-3, 3-2) are coming off an 80-73 win over Creighton on Saturday, while the Blue Demons (10-6, 1-5) are coming off their best win of the season, 96-92, over Seton Hall at Wintrust Arena on Thursday.

DePaul's win over the Pirates not only snapped a five-game losing streak to open conference play, but it was enough to remind every Big East team that wins on the road will test any team's resolve.

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Under new head coach Tony Stubblefield, DePaul prefers to play fast and really attacks the glass. The Blue Demons rank third in the Big East in offensive rebounding and fourth in scoring offense.

"They're an elite rebounding team," Xavier head coach Travis Steele said during his pre-game press conference. "That's where I think their strength is. They're going to play two bigs, predominantly, most of the game.

"We gotta block them out. We gotta limit them to one shot."

DePaul's led by Javon Freeman-Liberty, a 6-foot-4 guard, who ranks second in the Big East in scoring (21.1).

Steele said Freeman-Liberty's playing like one of the best guards in the country and the Blue Demons have David Jones, a sophomore who's taken a big leap this season, as well as Jalen Terry, an Oregon transfer, to make up a well-rounded backcourt.

"They're at the 40th fastest pace in all of college basketball," Steele said. "So we gotta get back in transition, gotta make them run half-court offense. I think anytime you go on the road, you have to really set the tone on the offensive end by taking care of the ball. That lets your opposition know that you're really ready to play, that you're sharp."

The Game

• Tipoff: 9 p.m. on Wednesday at Wintrust Arena

• TV/Radio: FS1 with play-by-play from Jeff Levering and analysis from Stephen Bardo. Byron Larkin and Joe Sunderman will have the radio call on WLWT-AM (700). Broadcast is also available on Sirius (121), XM (202) and the SXM App (965).

• Series info: Xavier leads the series 16-11, and it's a 13-3 edge for the Musketeers since both joined the Big East.

Scouting Report

Xavier Musketeers (13-3, 3-2)

Coach: Travis Steele, fourth season (64-40 overall)

Offense: 75.6 ppg

Defense: 63.4 ppg

Projected lineup

Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)

Paul Scruggs (G, 6'5", 11.2 ppg)

Jerome Hunter (F, 6'8", 6.5 ppg)

Colby Jones (G, 6'6", 11.2 ppg)

Zach Freemantle (F, 6'9", 7.9 ppg)

Nate Johnson (G, 6'4", 12.3 ppg)

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DePaul Blue Demons (10-6, 1-5)

Coach: Tony Stubblefield, first season (10-6 overall)

Offense: 78.0 ppg

Defense: 72.2 ppg

Projected lineup

Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)

Javon Freeman-Liberty (G, 6'4", 21.1 ppg)

David Jones (F, 6'6", 15.5 ppg)

Brandon Johnson (F, 6'8", 10.9 ppg)

Nick Ongenda (C, 6'11", 9.2 ppg)

Philmon Gebrewhit (G, 6'7", 7.2 ppg)

Players to watch

Javon Freeman-Liberty

The senior guard plays nearly 35 minutes a game for the Blue Demons. The offense runs through Freeman-Liberty's hands. He's had two 30-point performances already this season.

Zach Freemantle

Freemantle made major strides in Xavier's win over Creighton. Now, he needs to roll that 13-point, 11-rebound performance into another good showing on the road against a team that has size and athleticism. A consistent Freemantle would be great news for the Musketeers.

Keys to the game

Rebounding, turnovers

DePaul's an outstanding rebounding team. The Blue Demons like to play two bigs together and it's produced a team that ranks No. 33 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, according to KenPom.com. Xavier has to compete on the glass, limit DePaul's fast-break opportunities and take care of the basketball in order to run solid offense.

Rankings

KenPom.com: Xavier (18); DePaul (105).

NET: Xavier (16); DePaul (98).

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big East basketball: No. 20 Xavier starts road swing at DePaul