DePaul scouting report

Posted March 06, 2011 10:00 pm

DePaul (7-23) vs. Connecticut (21-9)

When: 11 a.m. at Madison Square Garden

TV: ESPN2

Audio: depaulbluedemons.com/allaccess/

The skinny: For the third year in a row, the 16th-seeded Blue Demons get the Big East tournament’s opening game. The low-key Garden atmosphere should be dramatically different than Saturday’s game at Syracuse, when the Demons’ 48-point loss set the conference record for victory margin. When ninth-seeded Connecticut and DePaul met on Jan. 15 at Allstate Arena, the Demons hung in for a while before taking an 82-62 loss. All-Big East guard Kemba Walker put up 31 points and 5 assists, while Cleveland Melvin paced DePaul with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Alas, Melvin won’t play because of his torn left thumb. Maybe Tony Freeland (25 points Saturday) can pick up the slack against the 21st-ranked Huskies.

Advancement: The winner gets No. 22 Georgetown at 11 a.m. Wednesday in second-round play on ESPN2.

— Lindsey Willhite

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