January 28, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, United States; Georgetown Hoyas guard Jeremiah Williams (25) dribbles while DePaul Blue Demons guard RJ Smith (5) defends during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images NEW YORK — DePaul captivated many at Madison Square Garden when it threatened Villanova before falling by one point in the 2023 Big East tournament, and it did the same last year when it forced Creighton into double overtime in a quarterfinal loss.
DePaul achieved more than a moral victory this season. That’s proven by earning a No. 6 seed in this year’s tournament ahead of Wednesday night’s first-round match against No. 11 seed Georgetown in New York City.
The teams split their regular season series as DePaul earned a 56-50 road win on Jan. 6, while Georgetown earned a 70-61 win in Chicago on Jan. 28. The winner of this rubber match will advance to a quarterfinal against third-seeded Villanova on Thursday.
The Blue Demons (16-15) are above .500 for the first time since 2018-19. They also earned their highest Big East tournament seed since joining the league in 2005.
Despite the improvement, the Blue Demons ended the regular season with double-digit losses at home against Villanova and Butler, which led to players-only meetings. Most of the discussion has been about the offense, perhaps because they haven’t scored more than 72 points in their last 13 games.
CJ Gunn is averaging 13.3 points this season, but has hit 34 of his 106 points (32.1%) in his last nine games. Raiden Blocker, who scored 25 points in last year’s tournament game against Creighton, averaged 10.9 points this year and shot 36% from the field. That includes two 11-point performances in the last five games.
Senior big man NJ Benson finished the game averaging 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds. He recorded six double-doubles and closed the regular season with 24 points against Butler.
“There’s always something exciting happening in the conference tournament,” DePaul coach Chris Holtmann said. “Our guys are a pretty resilient group and we have a good approach right now. They were disappointed that they didn’t get a fifth seed and a bye. They’re a sixth seed, so I think it feels good.”
Georgetown’s second season under coach Ed Cooley ended last year with a 71-67 loss to DePaul in the opening round. The Hoyas (14-17) were ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll but finished below .500 for the fourth time in five seasons.
Georgetown had lost seven straight before Saturday’s 80-79 win over Providence.
Georgetown lost by two points to UConn on Jan. 17 and lost to St. Louis on March 3. They’ve lost 11 of their 17 conference games by single digits, including a three-point loss to St. John’s.
In Saturday’s win, 7-foot-1 senior Vince Iwuchukwu led the Hoyas with a career-high 25 points, while Kayvaun Mulready added 12 points after leading the team in the previous two games.
“This game definitely had implications, and we were fortunate to get the win we needed today,” Cooley said. “I’m looking forward to going to New York and playing against DePaul.”
The Hoyas are playing their fourth game since losing leading scorer KJ Lewis (14.9 ppg) to an ankle injury. They have Malik Mack coming to St. Louis. They’re hoping to show something similar to what they did against St. John’s, where they went 7 of 13.
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
