“Thought we did some good things tonight, just not enough, didn’t make enough plays,” Holtmann said. “So need to keep getting better and moving forward here.”

The Blue Demons have forced the Friars into 11 turnovers this half.

They have scored 17 points off those turnovers.

Defense has been critical.

They have scored 12 of their 31 points in the paint.

Benson has been big this second half, scoring 10 of the Blue Demons’ 27 points.

The Blue Demons will come out of this timeout with the ball after forcing the turnover.

The Blue Demons have sent the Friars to the line 14 times in this half, where they have scored 10 points.

With 17:30 remaining, the Blue Demons were outscoring the Friars in the half 11-1.

Now? Both teams have scored 20 second-half points.

One thing the Blue Demons have going for them is that Providence has not made a field goal in the last 3:23.

The Friars have found their offensive spark, now up to 15 points in the second half.

Providence is on a 6-0 run in the last 1:14.

The Blue Demons are 5-for-16 from the field in the half and 2-for-7 from three.

Despite a scoring gap for the Blue Demons – they scored at the 17:32 mark and did not score again until 15:13 – they have a four-point lead.

Providence has five points in the half and three turnovers.

The Blue Demons are outscoring the Friars 11-1 in the second half.

Blocker and Smith both have three second-half points, and Benson has five.

They have forced Providence into two turnovers already this half.

DePaul 46 – Providence 39 17:30 remaining.

The Friars had an eight-point lead with 4:38 remaining in the first half that the Blue Demons managed to cut to three by the end of the half.

Benson leads the way with nine, followed by Gunn and Maclin each with seven.

For the Friars, Jaylin Sellers has scored 14 points.

Providence leads 34-29 with 2:51 remaining in H1.

The Blue Demons have scored 10 points in the paint, nine points off turnovers and nine points from three.

They also have 11 points from their bench.

However, the Blue Demons have six turnovers and have allowed Providence to score 16 points in the paint and shoot 5-for-8 from three.

The Blue Demons have forced the Friars into seven turnovers, though.

The Blue Demons are up to six points in the paint and have seven points off turnovers.

Maclin, Smith, Benson, CJ Gunn and Fabián Flores have all scored for the Blue Demons so far.

Providence 23 – DePaul 18 7:49 remaining in H1.

DePaul’s offense:

3-for-11 from the field.

Three turnovers.

DePaul’s defense:

Has allowed Providence to shoot 60% from the field (6-for-10).

Has allowed Providence to shoot 100% from three (3-for-3).

Bright spots:

The Blue Demons are 2-for-5 from three.

Have forced Providence into four turnovers.

Providence 15 – DePaul 8 11:57 remaining in H1. Providence is on a 13-3 run.

Both teams have knocked down a 3-pointer and scored a bucket in the paint.

One extra make in the paint gives Providence the two-point lead.

The Blue Demons are currently 2-for-7 from the field and 1-for-3 from three.

The game starts NOW.

The Blue Demons look to keep their winning momentum going.

G Layden Blocker

G RJ Smith

G Brandon Maclin

F Théo Pierre-Justin

F NJ Benson

Per a post on X by Kevin McNamara, who covers the Friars, Providence men’s basketball had “plane issues” this morning and last night. 

Per FlightAware, their plane took off today at 12:45 p.m. EST and landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 1:59 p.m. CST. 

This adds another key to the game for the Blue Demons: don’t underestimate the opponent. 

1. Play with effort.

Speaking to the media before the matchup against Seton Hall, head coach Chris Holtmann shared his dislike for the team’s effort against Providence on the road. 

In that game, the Blue Demons gave up the most points to a conference opponent this season (90). 

If the Blue Demons play with more effort this time, it will likely translate to defensive success. This will be key against the highest scoring team (in terms of points per game) in the Big East. 

2. Paint looks or be able to score off opponent turnovers. 

In their win over Creighton, the Blue Demons scored 46 points in the paint. 

In the victory over Seton Hall, they scored 20 points off turnovers. 

If the Blue Demons can find success in one of these areas, it should spark their offense.