DePaul stumbles in inaugural game, loses to Notre Dame
DePaul men's basketball spent its last 37 years playing in the Allstate Arena, formerly known as the Rosemont Horizon. On Saturday, the Blue Demons opened up Wintrust Arena, their new home in the South Loop, with a 72-58 loss to No. 14 Notre Dame in the season-opener for both programs.
DePaul shot just 33.8 percent from the field, including a 3-of-13 shooting performance from Division II transfer Max Strus, who sat out the 2016-17 campaign because of NCAA transfer rules. He also missed two dunks within the first five minutes of the second half, one which would've handed the Blue Demons their first lead of the game.
"That play (Strus' first dunk attempt) was a microcosm of a mentality that we had most of the night," coach Dave Leitao said. "We were this much off in our understanding in our belief of each other."
Blue Demons' forwards Eli Cain and Tre'Darius McCallum tied for a team-high 14 points apiece.
Fighting Irish coach Mike Brey's unit pulled away in the second half with 4 threes in less than three minutes, taking a 60-47 lead with 7:47 left. Sophomore guard Temple Gibbs hit two of his four triples during that sequence, as he scored a game-high 21 points.
Overall, Notre Dame shot 75 percent from behind the arc in second half after hitting just a 20 percent clip over the first 20 minutes.
"We got lethargic," Leitao said. "We start pressuring the ball. We got lower in our gaps, and when guys like (Matt) Farrell and even (Rex) Pflueger put the ball on the floor, it drew a second defender too late, so it affected our help and recovery."
Senior forward Bonzie Colson, who was named a preseason AP All-American, finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
The two programs were once historic rivals, playing for the 105th time against one another. Nevertheless, Notre Dame left the Big East Conference, along with seven other schools, following its realignment before the 2013-14 season.
"It's (Wintrust Arena) probably 20 years overdue," Brey said. "This is what DePaul needs. When they reached out a couple years ago, I thought, 'Even though you're not supposed to open up on the road and you're not supposed to challenge yourself,' I said, 'It's bigger than that.'"
A crowd of 10,194 fans was announced within the 10,387-seat arena. The venue even has 22 suites and 479 premium club seats, as well as showcasing NBA-like locker rooms and training facilities for DePaul's men and women's basketball teams.
"The atmosphere was great," McCallum said. "The student section was packed. The fans were behind us the whole time. If they keep coming out to our games supporting, it'll help us out a lot more."
Note: 2018 five-star recruit Tyler Campbell was in attendance amid his official visit with DePaul. Early-signing period ends on Wednesday.
• Eli Hershkovich is a producer for WSCR 670-AM radio and a regular contributor to WeAreDePaul.com, where he covers DePaul men's basketball. He also writes about fantasy football for FantasyInsiders.com and is a contributor at Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @EliHershkovich.