Walker's 21 helps DePaul down Ala. State
What to make of DePaul?
The Blue Demons' 58-50 victory over Alabama State on Wednesday night at Allstate Arena provides the program's best start since 2003-04, which happens to be the last year DePaul made the NCAA Tournament.
That's a good thing.
Then again, the Demons (5-1) nearly lost at home to an Alabama State team that lost its three previous road games by a total of 100 points - and endured a 945-mile bus ride to Rosemont after playing on Monday night in New Orleans.
Moreover, with road games against Vanderbilt and Mississippi State next on the docket, DePaul knows it must survive without junior center Mac Koshwal for another 3-4 weeks.
That's the latest rough timetable for Koshwal's deliberately vague "left foot injury" that has kept him out for the last three games.
An hour before Wednesday's game, though, a smiling Koshwal lofted 3-pointers with his teammates while wearing a walking boot to protect his boo-boo.
"The last day or two, he's come out of the blues," said DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright.
Koshwal and Co. continued to smile as DePaul raced out to a 15-2 lead against the Hornets (1-4). Then the Demons went 12 minutes, 27 seconds without a basket.
What started as a laugher became a 2-point game with 15:33 to play. Alabama State drew as close as 47-43 with 3:32 to go, but Eric Wallace followed Jeremiah Kelly's errant runner with a monstrous two-handed dunk.
"I don't know where he came from," Wainwright said. "It looked like he jumped off the ceiling."
DePaul hit 5 of 10 free throws in the final 1:41 - capping a dreadful 18 of 35 showing for the night - that proved to be enough to win.
In DePaul's defense, winter break began last week and the team has taken full advantage of limitless practice time.
The Demons went 3 hours on Tuesday, then went 1.5 hours full-tilt on game day.
That helps to explain why a smaller Alabama State team outrebounded DePaul by 11. It doesn't explain why the Demons committed just 4 turnovers (13 fewer than the Hornets) and shot 21 more free throws than the Hornets, yet never felt comfortable.
"Our standards have to be higher," Wainwright said. "We're not dysfunctional. We're fine. But I told them, 'I'm done with the patience.' "
And, yet, winning five out of six sure feels better than losing 18 straight as the Demons did last year.
"It was half-and-half," said senior guard Will Walker, who led everyone with 21 points. "Knowing that we had chances like this last year against teams and lost to them."