GAME NOTES: The DePaul Blue Demons will attempt to halt a six-game losing streak as they open up Big East Conference play against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Allstate Arena on Wednesday.

Marquette will be looking to spoil that homecoming for DePaul, as the Golden Eagles have won four straight contests, most recently knocking off Morgan State (81-53). The Eagles come into this clash sporting an 8-4 record, but are 0-1 away from home this season.

DePaul went into the Diamond Head Classic on a three-game losing streak, and emerged out the other side having lost six in a row, with a most recent loss to Loyola Marymount, 72-69. The Blue Demons are 6-7, but own a 5-2 mark at home.

These two conference rivals have quite the history on the basketball court. Marquette leads the all-time series, 70-44, and took the most recent decision between the sides, 96-90, in February of last season.

Talk about an offensive explosion for Marquette against a lowly Morgan State team on Sunday. The Golden Eagles played eight players in the contest, and six of them recorded scoring figures in double digits in the nearly 30-point win. Luke Fischer netted 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds to pace the team in both categories. Juan Anderson (14 points), Jajuan Johnson (13 points) and a combination of Duane Wilson, Matt Carlino and Sandy Cohen III all added 11 points apiece. Carlino, the BYU transfer, dished out seven assists in the huge win.

Fischer has only played in four games this season for Marquette, but in those four games he's managed to post a 15.5 ppg total, with a team-leading 12 blocked shots. And he hasn't even started a game yet. Otherwise, it's Carlino that leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 ppg with a team-best 49 assists. Wilson (11.8 ppg) and Anderson (11.2 ppg) round out the team's double-digit scorers this season for the Golden Eagles, who are netting 70.6 ppg as a unit. The Eagles defensively are allowing opponents to score 64.6 ppg on 43.7 percent shooting.

Although five players recorded a point total in double-digit scoring for the Blue Demons, DePaul wasn't able to collect a win to end its losing streak against Loyola Marymount in the finale of the Diamond Head Classic. Billy Garrett netted 16 points to pace the team, although he did turn the ball over five times. Jamee Crockett added 15 points, Tommy Hamilton and Durrell McDonald each added 12 points, and Myke Henry chipped in with 10 points before fouling out of the game. Hamilton led the way with eight rebounds in the defeat - the team's sixth in as many games.

Offense hasn't generally been a problem for DePaul this season. In fact, the Blue Demons built a 6-1 record early in the season thanks to some dominating offensive performances (albeit against some not-so-tough competition). The Blue Demons enter this matchup scoring 74.8 ppg, but have been abysmal on the other end of the floor by allowing opponents to net 75.5 ppg on a 47.1 percent shooting touch. Henry leads DePaul with 14.5 ppg, followed by Hamilton's 13.1 ppg mark (he leads the team with 7.4 rpg), Garrett's 12.8 ppg total, and Crockett's 12.2 ppg. The team has turned the ball over (197 times) more than it has recorded assists (171).

The Blue Demons may have stored up a decent record at home, but DePaul has hardly played anyone of note, save for perhaps Stanford. But against competition comparable to what the team will face in Marquette and the rest of the Big East, DePaul has faltered mightily.