Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Seton Hall on top, Butler recovering

DePaul nearly pulled off its second resume-building win of conference play during this past week on the road against Seton Hall but the team was unable to finish off the upset. While DePaul still has a slimmer of hope for an at-large bid to the Big Dance, it has been their inability to close games that has been their undoing since the beginning of conference play. The Blue Demons are just 1-7 since the beginning of the Big East season and have dropped five of their seven losses by single-digits.

DePaul’s offense, most notably, has been the issue in close games. The team is turning the ball over way too much since the beginning of conference play and has gone ice-cold from 3-point range. While the Blue Demons are still doing an excellent job securing offensive rebounds and drawing fouls, those have been the only main strengths on that end of the floor in conference play. Their defense has also allowed teams to make a living from 3-point range despite dominating inside the paint.

Looking ahead, the Blue Demons will play three of their next four games on the road and they absolutely need to secure some wins in this stretch. DePaul has played significantly better than its record in conference play so far but the results matter more than how you get there. The Blue Demons have only won one of their first eight conference games and that won’t cut it with regard to rising up the Big East power rankings or competing for an NCAA Tournament bid.