Demons continue to struggle; lose 11th straight
DePaul has won the rebounding battle exactly one time in Big East play this season.
Not coincidentally, the Blue Demons delivered their only conference victory that night against Marquette.
DePaul's inability to seize its fair share of rebounds Tuesday night led directly to its 11th straight loss - a 63-59 South Florida victory before a sparse crowd at the Allstate Arena.
The Blue Demons owned a 5-point halftime lead, but then came the opponents' customary fast start to the second half. The Bulls recorded putbacks on their first two second-half possessions to spark a 9-0 run.
"The start of the second half, I thought, was the difference," USF coach Stan Heath said. "We cranked it up a little bit. Got some rebounding. Got some defense. We desperately needed that win, and I'm glad we got it."
South Florida (18-11, 8-9) outscored DePaul 18-6 on second-chance points for the night while outrebounding the Demons 43-31.
DePaul junior center Mac Koshwal (24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks) tried to do it all, but the Bulls seemed to have twice as many players on the glass as the Demons (8-21, 1-16) on any given miss.
"It's been tough the entire year," said DePaul interim coach Tracy Webster. "We talk about team rebounding. The guards have to get 4-5 rebounds when the ball is long.
"I know Mac probably gets tired of me saying, 'Man, Mac, you have to get that rebound. You have to get that rebound.' He cannot get them all."
Despite their rebounding woes, the Blue Demons rebounded from an 8-point deficit to pull into a 56-56 tie on Devin Hill's free throws with 2:32 to go.
DePaul then shifted into a zone for the first time all night - which made sense since the Bulls were 1-for-8 on 3-pointers - but long-suffering Demons fans could have predicted the law of unintended consequences would take over.
"We wanted to catch them off-guard and keep the ball out of the paint," Webster said. "We wanted them to have to beat us from the perimeter."
USF's Mike Mercer tried to slash baseline, but quick DePaul reactions forced the ball to fly out of his hands 25 feet away to teammate Dominique Jones.
Jones, the Big East's No. 2 scorer at 21.4 points per game, stood for a few seconds and then swished a 3-pointer with one second left on the shot clock to give USF the lead for good.
"Plays like that happen," Webster said. "You wish they wouldn't happen. It happened. Sometimes that's how the ball bounces."