DePaul scraps, but misses a chance to secure Big East milestone
DePaul had a chance to do two things that hadn't happened in a decade — win the Big East opener and possess a winning record in conference play.
But it wasn't meant to be this time. The Blue Demons squandered a late lead, missed 8 of 10 shots in overtime and lost their Big East opener to Providence 70-63 on Tuesday at Wintrust Arena.
Back in 2014-15, with Oliver Purnell at the controls, DePaul started 3-0 in Big East play before finishing 6-12. That team had a very Chicago-centric roster led by Billy Garrett and Myke Henry.
The story of this game was how scrappiness put the Blue Demons in position to succeed but couldn't carry them home. When it got to crunch time, DePaul had trouble getting good looks. David Skogman, a 6-11 grad student from Waukesha, Wisc., led the Demons with 22 points, hitting 6 of 10 3-pointers. Mundelein native Conor Enright was their only other player in double figures with 12.
“I think tonight we showed we can compete in the Big East, but that's not good enough,” Skogman said. “We want to win in the Big East.”
With new head coach Chris Holtmann on board and a new roster from last year, there is hope the Blue Demons will finally take a step toward staying competitive in the Big East. Their all-time win percentage in league play is currently .195.
“This is a really good DePaul team, a dangerous offense,” Providence coach Kim English said. “They're going to win some Big East games this year, no question. Chris is going to get this thing going. This was a fun game, great crowd.”
DePaul grabbed momentum with a 10-0 run late in the second half. It started with a corner 3-pointer and 4-point play by Enright. A couple of turnovers led to baskets and the Blue Demons had a 56-48 advantage with 3:37 left after a layin by Jacob Meyer.
Providence picked up the pace on defense, though, and eventually tied it at 58-58 on a 3-pointer by Jayden Pierre with 53.3 seconds left. Enright and Troy D'Amico missed 3-point attempts on the other end and the Friars gained possession with a chance to win. Guard Bensley Joseph bulled his way to the hoop, missed the shot, then Bryce Hopkins' point-blank putback rolled off the rim at the buzzer.
DePaul looked like it might have pulled off a steal with 12 seconds left. Meyer dove on a loose ball and appeared to have sole possession when he called time out, but the officials ruled a jump ball and the possession arrow gave the ball back to Providence.
The Blue Demons fell behind 15-5 at the start, made just 2 of their first 11 shots and looked like they might be more comfortable in the Great Midwest Conference.
But they settled down and dominated most of the first half, leading 30-20 with 3:45 left, before the Friars went on an 11-0 run that continued into the second half.
Before the DePaul players run onto the court before the game, highlights are shown on the video board of Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings playing before packed houses at the Rosemont Horizon. There are even a few clips at Alumni Hall, which stopped serving as full-time host of men's basketball in 1980.
That era certainly feels like a few lifetimes ago for current DePaul students, who barely remember the Max Strus era. School officials hyped the move to Wintrust as a quick trip on the Red Line from campus, but not many students made the trip Tuesday.