Georgetown will try to end a three-game losing streak and keep DePaul winless in the Big East when the Blue Demons visit Washington on Friday night.
After starting 3-0 in conference play for the first time in more than a decade, Georgetown (12-5, 3-3 Big East) has taken a step back as the schedule has picked up. The Hoyas began their current skid by dropping two games to ranked opponents in then-No. 7 Marquette and then-No. 9 UConn before letting a 15-point lead slip away in a 63-58 loss to St. John’s on Tuesday in New York.
The Hoyas were held to a season-low point total despite the return of Jayden Epps (lower body) to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 22.
Epps, who led the team in scoring before his injury, tallied four points on 1-of-6 shooting in 10 minutes. He didn’t play in the second half after reaggravating his injury. The junior averages 13.2 points per game and is shooting 39.2 percent on 3-pointers.
Micah Peavy (21 points) and Malik Mack (13) picked up the slack for Epps offensively but also combined for nine of the Hoyas’ 19 turnovers. Georgetown leads the conference with 13.8 turnovers per game.
“Our Achilles’ heel has been turning the ball over in critical situations,” Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said on Wednesday. “The turnover conundrum is something we have to address.”
DePaul (9-9, 0-7) dropped its fifth straight game on Tuesday, losing 85-83 in overtime to Marquette.
Conor Enright, who leads the conference with 6.9 assists per game, recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 assists in the loss. On the receiving end of many of those assists was CJ Gunn (11.2 ppg), who scored 21 for the second time in three games.
The Blue Demons have lost three conference games in overtime and extended their Big East regular-season losing streak to 39 games.
Despite the bad streaks that face his program, first-year coach Chris Holtmann remains optimistic that better days lie ahead.
“I’m just telling you this thing is going to get flipped,” Holtmann said on Tuesday.
“I guarantee it. This thing is going to get turned. I promise you. It might not be as quickly as all of us want but it’s going to get turned.”
DePaul and Georgetown have split their last six meetings.
