The #15 Xavier Musketeers (23-8, 15-5 Big East) raced off to a 7-0 start in Big East play before the DePaul Blue Demons (10-22, 3-17 Big East) pulled off a crazy upset to beat them. Xavier got their revenge in February with a 14-point win.
Down 65-61 with 16 seconds left, DePaul scored the final five points of the game to stun the Seton Hall Pirates yesterday. It snapped an 11-game losing streak and kept the Blue Demons’ season alive. Die another day may be the Blue Demons’ motto right now, and they’ve bought themselves an extra 40 minutes with their resilience.
Xavier finished the season winning their final three games, and are poised for a big March Madness. First, they’ll look to take care of business in the Big East as the conference’s second seed. It’s been a phenomenal season in Cincinnati so far, but they hope to etch their name in stone.
These teams split the regular season series, but so much more is at stake tonight. Here’s what you need to know about the DePaul Blue Demons and Xavier Musketeers.
DePaul vs. Xavier Betting Odds
| Team | Spread | Total | Money Line |
| DePaul | +12.5 (-110) | Over 152.5 (-110) | +575 |
| Xavier | -12.5 (-110) | Under 152.5 (-110) | -800 |
DePaul vs. Xavier Match Details
Fixture: DePaul Blue Demons vs. Xavier Musketeers
Date and Time: Thursday, March 9, 2023, 7:00 p.m. EST
Venue: Madison Square Garden
DePaul vs. Xavier Key Stats
Xavier has the nationally feared offense, but it was DePaul who shot 45.0% from downtown in both games that these teams faced each other. DePaul also managed to hold Xavier under 45% shooting from the field in both contests, an impressive feat considering the Musketeers shot 50.0% as a team this season, the third-highest rate in the nation.
Where Xavier did dominate was on the glass, as they outrebounded by a total of 19 between the two games. Most of that came on the offensive end, where they were +17.
While DePaul’s defense held up in the first two meetings, at least in terms of efficiency, that wasn’t typically the case. This season they allowed 76.9 points per game on 45.4% shooting and 34.7% from three. They can’t afford to be that soft if they want to play tomorrow.
Xavier’s defense also struggled to defend threes, allowing 36.1%. A combination of high tempo and mediocre defending led to the Musketeers allowing 74.5 points per game.
DePaul vs. Xavier Betting Prediction
The total for this game is high, but both defenses are the weakness of their respective teams. Both games finished with at least 145 points despite neither school having a tremendous outing offensively. Both teams play at a fast pace, and both teams have great three-point shooting.
Expect both schools to shoot better than when they met in the regular season, especially Xavier, and the buckets to be plentiful. Take the over tonight.
