Struggling DePaul hosts Pitt

‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt finished its 2008-09 out-of-conference campaign with a perfect record in such games… ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt finished its 2008-09 out-of-conference campaign with a perfect record in such games after dismantling Robert Morris on Monday. ‘ ‘ ‘ The No. 6 Panthers (20-2, 7-2 Big East) return to Big East action against DePaul on Saturday afternoon in Chicago at 4 p.m. ‘ ‘ ‘ On paper, Saturday’s game looks like one the Panthers should have the advantage in, but teams in the Big East are quickly learning there is no such thing. ‘ ‘ ‘ Huge upsets have shaken up the conference scene recently, with Syracuse losing to Providence, and Georgetown and Notre Dame coming up short against Cincinnati. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Blue Demons (8-15, 0-10 Big East) will be hungry for a victory, while the team is in the midst of a season-long, 10-game losing streak, all against Big East opponents. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘They’re going to come out and play hard,’ said Pitt junior guard Jermaine Dixon. ‘They just took Marquette down to the wire. They’re going to compete.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ DePaul is led by sophomore swingman Dar Tucker, who is currently averaging 18.5 points per contest. ‘ ‘ ‘ In last year’s game at the Petersen Events Center, Tucker paced the Blue Demons in scoring, registering 23 points in the Panthers’ 98-79 victory. ‘ ‘ ‘ Tucker is questionable with an ankle injury, but coach Jamie Dixon expects him to play. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We’ve been practicing as if [Tucker] is going to play,’ said Dixon. ‘ ‘ ‘ In that game, the Panthers put up 98 points, their best scoring effort in last year’s Big East schedule. This year, the Blue Demons will have to defend a much-improved offensive team. ‘ ‘ ‘ DePaul’s struggles have come mostly on the offensive side of the ball, and that doesn’t bode well against one of the better defensive teams in the nation. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Blue Demons are only averaging 66 points per contest, while shooting only 41 percent from the field. In contrast, Pitt scores nearly 78 points per game on 47-percent shooting. ‘ ‘ ‘ The lack of scoring may stem from DePaul’s inability to distribute or take care of the ball. The Blue Demons currently average 11 assists per game, while yielding 12 turnovers. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers, on the other hand, have a 1.5 assist-to-turnover-ratio, which has vastly improved the team’s offensive efficiency so far this year. ‘ ‘ ‘ One of the major factors in last year’s game was Pitt’s ability to control to defensive glass, outrebounding DePaul by 16. ‘ ‘ ‘ To little surprise, it was sophomore center DeJuan Blair with the monster rebounding effort, recording 14 and scoring 22 points. ‘ ‘ ‘ If the Panthers want to see similar results this time around, they will need to contain the only player on the Blue Demons that averages a double-double. Sophomore center Mac Koshwal averages 13.5 points and 10 rebounds per game. ‘ ‘ ‘ Despite the Blue Demons’ troubles, senior forward Sam Young knows that the Panthers can’t look past Saturday’s contest to Monday’s primetime showdown with West Virginia. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘To play against a team like us, I know they’re going to get up for this game,’ said Young. ‘If we don’t come there prepared, we could be in for a long night.’