No. 19 DePaul takes on No. 13 Texas A&M today in season opener
Although college basketball schedules have been rolled out in a slow, methodical, and cautious pace that fits the COVID-19 world we live in, the DePaul women will be jumping into the season head first.
The Blue Demons, ranked No. 19 in The Associated Press preseason poll, will be hosting No. 13 Texas A&M Saturday at Wintrust Arena in their season opener.
Unfortunately, no fans will be allowed to watch yet another high quality matchup that DePaul coach Doug Bruno, entering his 35th season, has been known to orchestrate during the nonconference season.
Bruno has never shied away from national powerhouses, and has regularly scheduled teams such as Connecticut, Notre Dame and Tennessee during the Pat Summitt years to test his players early. DePaul also has had an annual nonconference showdown with Northwestern, which is ranked No. 17 in the preseason Top 25 poll. However, that series might be in jeopardy this season due to all of the COVID-19 scheduling irregularities.
"Challenging our team every year by playing a very demanding nonconference schedule is a major and vital component of our DePaulBall culture," Bruno said prior to last season. "Our schedule is always full of Top 25 opponents."
The Blue Demons, who went 28-5 last season, will again be known as one of the most dangerous three-point shooting teams in the nation with the return of junior guards Lexi Held and Sonya Morris, who poured in 78 and 76 3-pointers respectively last season. That was nearly half of DePaul's 363 total 3-pointers, which ranked second in the nation.
DePaul also ranked second in the nation in scoring last season, with 85 points per game. Leading scorer Chante Stonewall (17.4 ppg) has been lost to graduation, but four of the next top five scorers are back, including: Morris (15.6 ppg), Held (15.4 ppg), senior guard Deja Church (10.8 ppg) and senior guard Dee Bekelja (7.8 ppg).
Leading playmaker Kelly Campbell (201 assists for 6.1 apg) also graduated, but Morris, Held and Church all had more than 70 assists on the season.
Bruno also will be anxious to work in a couple of local rookies with promise.
Darrione Rogers of Lake Park and Kendall Holmes of Benet are both freshmen from top high school programs in the suburbs.
"We're always excited to receive a Top 25 ranking, and it's a tribute to the players on our team," Bruno said. "You never want to take that for granted. No one is entitled to a Top 25 spot, and earning one is never easy.
"We'll have an opportunity to affirm our ranking once we start playing high-quality basketball against premium competition and attaining success. Despite this strange and unpredictable world, I am cautiously optimistic we will continue to fight on and earn one of the most significant Top 25 rankings and reviews in the history of DePaul women's basketball."
DePaul's partially rolled-out schedule is projecting out only through Dec. 22 right now. But there is another high-profile matchup on the calendar so far.
On Dec. 16, DePaul is hosting No. 11 Kentucky at Wintrust Arena. That, along with Texas A&M, gives the Blue Demons two top-tier teams heading into Big East play, when they will have to take on perennial power Connecticut, ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll.
Twitter: @babcockmcgraw