“Great in the second half, pretty good ball security,” Holtmann said. “I don’t know what our turnover rate, percentage was, but pretty good ball security. I thought we had a really clean second half, and I thought we had some beautiful offensive possessions late against their pressure.”

“He (McClure) and Fabián might have been the difference in the game today,” Holtmann said. “Just some of the plays that Kruz made …  another ball handler out there against their pressure. And then Fabián’s size. I think those were two critical, critical pieces to us winning this game.”

“Our defense,” Smith said. “We try not to let up. After every time out, we tell each other ‘four minutes at a time’ and we try to win each four minutes. So I think we did a good job of that tonight.”

“We knew it was going to be a physical, dogfight type of game, and that’s what we prepared for all week,” Maclin said. “But also that’s the same way we want to practice and play. So we feel like we’ve been going up against that type of competition all season, since the summer, since we got here.”

He fouled out at the 1:16 mark.

DePaul has scored 11 points off free throws in the half.

Their block total in the frame? Up to seven.

DePaul: 28 second-half points.

Seton Hall: 24 second-half points.

Six Blue Demons have scored in the second half, with Gunn continuing his offensive momentum. He has nine points in the frame.

Smith: One

Gunn: Two

Benson: One

Pierre-Justin: One

Six blocks.

Four steals.

Three of those blocks have come in the second half.

DePaul 41 – Seton Hall 33 11:32 remaining.

McClure, Fabián Flores and Pierre-Justin have all scored this half, along with Gunn.

DePaul has five fouls already in the frame. Seton Hall has scored four points off free throws in the half.

DePaul is being outscored 6-2 so far in the second half. Seton Hall has scored four of the six points in the paint.

The Blue Demons are already up to three second-half turnovers.

Be the better offensive team.

Maclin leads the Blue Demons with 11 points, followed by Gunn and Smith each with seven and Blocker with five.

The Blue Demons have scored 10 points from the free throw line, 12 points from three and eight points in the paint.

They have turned the ball over six times.

As for Seton Hall, Adam Clark has scored 10 of their 20 points. Seton Hall has seven turnovers for the game.

Half of the Blue Demons’ 24 points have come from the three-point line.

They are shooting 4-for-13 from three.

Only four players, Maclin (seven points), Gunn (seven points), Smith (five points) and Blocker (five points), have scored for DePaul.

Seton Hall is up to six turnovers for the game.

On the offensive end, Blocker and Smith both have five, and Gunn and Brandon Maclin each have four.

Four points off free throws.

2-for-7 from three, accounting for six points.

3-for-13 from the field.

The Blue Demons have not scored since the 16:41 mark. The Blue Demons have three turnovers in the game.

DePaul 7 – Seton Hall 3 13:08 remaining in H1.

Seton Hall has four turnovers in the game so far.

The Pirates are shooting 1-for-7 from the field, and one of their three points was scored at the free throw line.

The Blue Demons, meanwhile, are 2-for-8 from the field.

Three of the Blue Demons’ four field goal attempts have been taken from behind the arc.

The game starts NOW.

The Blue Demons look to get back in the win column today.

Kruz McClure, who is listed as questionable on the Big East’s availability report, is out there warming up with the team right now.

G Layden Blocker

G RJ Smith

G CJ Gunn

F Théo Pierre-Justin

F NJ Benson

Layden Blocker: In the game against Marquette, Blocker dished out a career-high eight assists and scored 10 points. Against Butler, Blocker led with 20 points and finished with two assists. Which version of Blocker will the team need offensively today to win?

CJ Gunn: Gunn scored 31 points and 16 points in the last two games. While Marquette featured a 7-for-13 finish from behind the arc, Gunn shot just 2-for-10 from three against Butler. What will be the offensive approach for Gunn today?

1. DEFENSE. 

The Blue Demons gave up the most points to a conference opponent this season, 87, against Butler on Jan. 20. 

The Blue Demons entered halftime with a 37-33 lead, but the second half featured the Bulldogs scoring 54 points in the frame, and Butler walked away with the victory.  

2. Bring the defense while still maintaining the offense. 

The Blue Demons have scored 80 points in two straight games.  CJ Gunn led the way with 31 against Marquette, with four players scoring in double figures. 

Against Butler, Layden Blocker led the way with 20, with five players scoring in double figures. 

If the Blue Demons can find this offensive balance today and find more success on the defensive end compared to last game, the Blue Demons should find themselves in a good spot late in the game.