DePaul Blows 12 Point Lead to Providence (but then again, is water wet?)

Demons Can’t Win Conference Games at Wintrust

First, first thoughts, I went to the game, and it was an interesting crowd. Super loud Friars fans, and a bunch of semi-engaged Demon fans. 2nd thought, now that I have had a chance to watch the replay, FX1’s ‘All Access’ is hypnotic. You know how you watch a good fight on HBO, and the best part is the corner men conversations?

I enjoyed the hell out of listening to Ed Cooley; I’ve been on his band wagon for a while. Davy boy kept reiterating points that he’d obviously been pointing out pregame.  You can tell both of these guys are trying to teach the game still.  It was cool seeing that.

I loved that Davy boy had a nice F bomb towards the end of the 1st half that slipped past the censors.  Good Times.

This was a game of runs.  DePaul went on a 26-4 run, which was followed by a 24-1 run by Providence.  Huge Roller Coaster.  This is what that looks like.

Potential Tying Possession Miss

Ok, let’s talk about the potential tying possession.  I really didn’t have a problem with Leitao not calling a timeout.  With where the shot clock compared to game clock was, it was best to save the timeout in case the Demons did tie, and on the subsequent possession the Friars scored or missed.

I did like that Max Strus actually got the ball in a game tying situation.  I did like that he got a pick by Maric.  I did like that he got a decent look.  I did like that he took it early enough to where if he missed DePaul might rebound the shot and have another attempt to tie.

However, I did not like that he may or may not have been fouled.  The fact that he threw an airball, seems to represent that he most likely got touched on his shooting elbow, but our friends at FS1 never showed a replay.  I did not like that Strus ignored his responsibility to stop ball after missing.  Instead, he complained to the referee that he was fouled.  Based on positioning on the floor, either Strus or Brandon Cyrus should have had ball stopping responsibilities, but Cyrus crashed the boards, and next thing you know, nobody is back and a fast break dunk occurred.

Of course the next possession went the way that most bad last possession go with Eli Cain missing a runner that effectively ended the game, since Providence shoots free throws well.

The Setup

Half blue seats, Half humans.

Gambling Corner

If you had Providence at -2 and under 150  (135 were scored), you would be a happy human.

The Player of the Game:  Isaiah Jackson

Providence had 4 guys in double digits, Jalen Lindsey, who lead all players with 18 points, Alpha Diallo, Rodney Bullock, and game MVP, Isaiah Jackson.  Jackson gets the nod due to his 2-2 from 3 pt land, 3 assists, 0 turnovers, 2 steals, and 5-6 from the line for 15 total points.

The Good

Very Few Turnovers

DePaul’s only had 13 turnovers.

Cyrus had a decent game

Brandon Cyrus had 4 assists to 1 turnover, plus 5 offensive rebounds.  He only took 4 shots making 2.

DePaul Competed

The Demons came back from a double digit deficit, and then again came back from a 13 point deficit to put themselves in position to tie with less than a minute to go.

DePaul also held Providence without a field goal for the final 8:42 in 1st half until 16:40 in the 2nd half.  DePaul went up 12 going on a 26-4 run.

The Bad

Providence Has a Pretty Great 3 Point Defense

If you read my  Preview to this game you would’ve seen that Providence was 39th in the country at stopping the 3 coming into this game.  DePaul shot 23.8% making 5 on 21 attempts.

After Going Up 12 with 17:02 left in the game, Get a Load of These Crappy Possessions

Right before the Providence comeback, I stupidly tweeted this:

Providence Finally scored with 16:40 left in the 2nd making the score DePaul 46-Providence 36.  Here is what transpired next.

• 16 secs left on Shot Clock:  Maric Airball from the Corner (he had made his last few shots, so he must have said, “I’m never missing.”  Of course this was the beginning of an epic crap storm.  Missed 3FG
• 16 secs left on Shot Clock:  McCallum fade away from the left elbow, Rebound by Cyrus, who takes an ill advised shot that pops in the air, which Strus grabs to restart the shot clock.  Missed FG, Missed FG
• 6 secs left on Shot Clock:  Strus takes a long 3 point shot that misses  Missed 3FG
• 13 secs left on Shot Clock:  Cain takes a left-handed leaner from middle of the lane.  Terrible shot.  Leitao can be heard screaming “GOOD SHOTS ELI!  GOOD SHOTS!’  Missed FG  Providence misses a shot, and somehow Maric does not grab it, which leads to a basket plus a foul.  DePul only up by 6.
• 16 secs left on Shot Clock:  Strus Walks.  Turnover
• 14 secs left on Shot Clock:  Cain tries to lob a pass into McCallum, Lindsey gets a hand on it for another turnover.  Turnover
• 15 secs left on Shot Clock:  Strus Misses a 3 pointer.  McCallum  rebounds and throws back to Strus who is cutting to the basket.  Strus missed the runner.  Not sure how.  Missed 3FG, Missed FG Leads to Corner 3 by Lindsey.  Providence is now ahead. Timeout DePaul
• 10 secs left on Shot Clock:  Roberts takes a contested 3.  Rebound Cyrus.  Maric does a terrible pass that leads to a layup by the Friars.  Missed 3FG, Turnover
• 13 secs left on Shot Clock:  Strus takes a whirling right hand take to the basket.  Missed FG
• 20 secs left on Shot Clock:  Cyrus Turnover.  Turnover  Under 12 Timeout.  Leitao says “Bad execution, fast break baskets.” Down 5.
• • Friars hit a 3.  Down 8.
• 16 secs left on Shot Clock:  Roberts misses from the corner.  Missed 3FG
• 2 secs left on Shot Clock:  McCallum misses a point blank shot.  Not sure how he misses.  Missed FGProvidence with an And-1.  Friars up 10.
• 17 secs left on Shot Clock:  Cain fouled on a jump shot.  Made Free-Throw!  Missed Free-Throw.  First point in 7:30 minutes
• 14 secs left on Shot Clock:  Crap pass by Cain.  Turnover 
• 22 secs left on Shot Clock:  Cain miss on driving jumper.  Missed FG
• 8 secs left on Shot Clock:  Roberts sweet pass to Paul Reed, who mercifully makes a layup.  MADE FG!  8:04 on the clock.  58-47 Providence.  24-1 run by the Friars.  Nearly 9 minutes without a Field Goal.

My feelings at the time:

Strus Was Not Loose

Providence game planned Max Strus real well.  He did not have many open looks, and when he did, he missed plenty.  He had his worse offensive rating as a Blue Demon, with a 76 (100 is average).  He played all 40 minutes, so I am sure he was dead tired.  He finished with 8 points on 3-11 shooting, including 2 3-point shots.  Even though closely guard, Strus drew zero foul shots.  Zero.

Cain Was Suboptimal

Eli Cain was 3-13 from the field.  1-8 from 2 point range.  4 assists (yeah) but 3 turnovers, including 2 soft passes during the decisive 24-1 run.  If your lead guard cannot finish at the hoop, he gets scared of going to the hoop, which means fouls are not generated.  Bad business all around.

Maric with Too Many Turnovers and Foul Trouble

Marin Maric was on fire as he was dominating the game as DePaul went up 12.  His air ball started the downward trajectory of the game.  He ended up with 4 turnovers and zero assists.  He also got himself in foul trouble during the dreaded run.  He missed his last 3 shots and committed 2 turnovers after the 3 pointer that put DePaul up by 12.

DePaul Did Not Get to the Free Throw Line Much

DePaul had 16 less attempts than Providence.  The preview mentioned that the Friars get to the line early and often.  Providence shot 18-27 while the Demons went 7-11.

Tweets of the Game

Best of from the coaches being mic’d up.

Leitao Calling out the Demons after they went up 12

Leitao Did call out His Guy’s Crap Shots Several Times:

No comment:

Flynn Cameron Update:

And Finally, We’ve got to start winning at Wintrust, or we might need to change the name:

In Conclusion

For the 4th time this season, DePaul gave up a late lead.  If they had flipped the script, they’d be 12-5, and we’d be one of the happiest dormant fan bases in the country.  Instead, DePaul went 0-4 in those games, and the Demons sit at 8-9.

Crap.