CINCINNATI -- The Big East Conference schedule is unforgiving, but to this point, Xavier has held serve since losing point guard Edmond Sumner to a season-ending knee injury.
Much of that success can be attributed to the steady play of freshman Quentin Goodin, who replaced Sumner at the point, and hot-shooting Trevon Bluiett.
On Wednesday night at Cintas Center, Bluiett scored 20 points and Rashid Gaston added 14 as No. 24 Xavier won its fourth consecutive game, 72-61 over DePaul.
Bluiett, who earned Big East player of the week honors the past two weeks, appeared fully recovered from an ankle injury that limited him in practice drills this week. He went 3 of 5 from 3-point range Wednesday.
"He's playing as well as anybody in our league," Musketeers coach Chris Mack said.
Since losing the dynamic Sumner to an ACL tear, Xavier has won three straight games, including a signature road victory at Creighton.
Goodin has played well since taking over for Sumner. He had a career-high eight assists on Wednesday with just two turnovers while scoring five points.
"We know he's a very talented player," Gaston said. "Playing behind a point guard like Edmond Sumner, he didn't get the chance to showcase what he can do. He's getting more confident leading our team on the floor."
J.P. Macura had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Xavier (18-6, 8-3 Big East), and Kaiser Gates contributed a career-high 10 rebounds.
The true test for the Musketeers comes Saturday when they host No. 2 Villanova in a matchup of the top two teams in the Big East standings.
The defending national champs beat Xavier by 25 points in Philadelphia on Jan. 10. The Musketeers beat 'Nova at Cintas Center last year.
"I'm sure we'll be focused since we're playing one of the best teams in the country," Mack said. "We need to be a lot mentally tougher than the first time we played them. We need to come out swinging on Saturday."
Freshman Brandon Cyrus scored a career-high 18 points, and Eli Cain added 15 points for DePaul (8-16, 1-10 Big East). The Blue Demons lost for the seventh straight time.
"This is a tough place to play, but it was fun," Cyrus said. "It helped us up our game. I think we're trying to find our way as a team right now. We have a lot of good people. We just have to find a way to play together."
Xavier's Malcolm Bernard began the game 3 of 3 from 3-point range as the Musketeers hit five of their first seven attempts from long range to build a 22-14 lead. Bernard finished with nine points.
It was a sloppy performance at times for Xavier, which tied a season-high with 19 turnovers, leading to 19 points for DePaul. Macura, who is backing up Goodin at point guard, committed five turnovers.
"Any time you can win in this league, it's good," Mack said, "but 19 turnovers at home is too many. DePaul did a good job changing up defenses."
The Blue Demons converted 12 first-half turnovers by the Musketeers into 12 points, helping the visitors stay close.
Xavier's 11th turnover of the half resulted in a layup by Billy Garrett Jr. to tie the score 27-27. Garrett scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half.
A 3-pointer by Bluiett, who scored nine points in the half, sparked a late flourish to put the Musketeers ahead 41-34 at halftime.
"When you play on the road against a talented team like Xavier, you have to do everything right," DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. "You have to put your hard hat on."
Xavier continued rolling into the second half.
Goodin's no-look pass to Gaston for a dunk capped a 9-0 run early in the second half.
The slam gave Gaston his first double-figure scoring night since Jan. 16.
With one second left on the shot clock, Goodin lobbed to Tyrique Jones for a tip-in with his right hand, putting Xavier ahead 53-42.
The Musketeers are gaining more confidence each day without Sumner.
"We have a lot of competitive kids," Mack said. "We all feel bad for Ed, but it's a heck of an opportunity for some other guys."
NOTES:
-- Xavier F Tyrique Jones made his fourth start of the season. He scored eight points.
-- The series is now tied 9-9, but the Musketeers have a 6-1 mark since the teams became Big East rivals.
-- Xavier has won 18 of the past 19 games at Cintas Center and 27 of 29. The Musketeers are 278-32 all-time at their on-campus facility, fifth best among Division I schools.
-- DePaul is in the midst of three straight games versus ranked opponents: No. 24 Xavier, No. 23 Creighton and No. 2 Villanova.
