I don’t know where you were December 8th, 2018. I know that my poor son and I were in Evanston, Illinois to watch the Blue Demons visit Northwestern. You know, great bonding moments between father and son. Nice seats, easy drive from the Northwest ‘burbs, why wouldn’t I go?
#BlueDemon fan in enemy territory. #dpubb #DePaul pic.twitter.com/b6aJxCHeJ0
— Patrick Sperry (@erinpogmothoin) December 8, 2018
DePaul came out beautifully, taking a 41-29 lead into half-time. Now, I have been to too many games where things have been flowing excellent, and then the Demons have gotten their teeth kicked in, so I always have my guard up, and never get too high.
With 10 minutes to go in the game, DePaul held a 57-42 lead. According to the win probability charts, the Demons had an 89% chance to win. And then it happened. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong, you know, like most of the past 15 years of DePaul basketball.
3 Pointer, Layup, 3 Pointer, free-throw, Free-throw, Made Jumper, (finally a miss), Free-throw, missed free-throw, 3-Pointer, 3 Pointer, 3 Pointer, 3 Pointer.
Northwestern had gone on a 25-0 run. Going 6-6 from 3 Point Land, 2-3 from the 2 Point land, and 3-4 from the free-throw line.
Finally, with 2:39 left in the game Jalen Coleman-Lands made two free throws to end the streak.
Only DePaul could be up 15 and in a matter of minutes, be down 10.
The Demons got as close as 3 points down with 1:20 to go, but it was too late, and they lost by 7.
Jaw dropping awful. My giddy son was now in tears. So once again, my son and I are bonded by pain instead of joy. I believe it was the worst run I have seen in person.
I guess what I am saying is that if that is my memory of the game, I am sure Paul Reed, Jaylen Butz, JCL, Devin Gage, and the rest of the returners will be super motivated for revenge.
The Setup
DePaul takes on Northwestern Saturday, December 21st at 7:30PM at Wintrust Arena.
The game will be on FoxSports Channel 237 on Comcast and on Radio 670AM.
Fun Facts
Founding member of the Big Ten conference
Back when there were 10.
Northwestern is Chicago’s Big Ten Team
Not really. Evanston is not Chicago. You would think that the one private school in the Big Ten could read a map, but then again, you would think that such an esteemed school could count the following schools:
Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Rutgers, and Maryland and come to the conclusion that the number equals 14. You are the Big 14.
Amended slogan for Northwestern:
Northwestern, Evanston’s Big Fourteen Team
Many of their Alumni Make me Laugh Regularly
- Stephen Colbert
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Seth Meyers
Tale of the Tape
DePaul, coming off a closer than it should have been victory against Cleveland State, are favored by 6.5. Let’s check out the major ranking sites.
Kenpom.com: DePaul 64th Northwestern 98th
Sagarin: DePaul 60th Northwestern 115th
BartTorvik: DePaul 78th Northwestern 103rd
NCAA Net Rankings: DePaul 42nd Northwestern 171 (I’m going to say this is an outlier)
As can be derived by the awful eye chart above, Northwestern’s defense matches up well with the Blue Demons. When DePaul has the ball, it should be a quality matchup, except that the Demons do not shoot free-throws well.
When the Wildcats have the ball, DePaul’s defense is overwhelmingly better. There is a worry that NU will get a ton of Offensive Rebounds, like Buffalo did, but so far the Cats have not shot well from two or three. The team can shoot free-throws lights out.
Winner of the Tape: Your DePaul Blue Demons
Who Can Hurt the Demons?
Northwestern has some players with high volatility.
Daniel ‘Boo’ Buie
In the last 4 games, Boo Buie has been the game MVP twice, including the game with Michigan State. 26 points. 154 Offensive Rating on 5-7 3 point shooting.
Against BC, Boo had 20 points and 141 Offensive Rating on 2-3 3 point shooting.
Boo was also quality against Pitt with 16 points, 118 rating, and 1-4 from 3 point land.
He is a high usage guy, and he will be introduced to Romeo Weems on Saturday.
AJ Turner
I am giving this guy a special call out, because he murdered DePaul during the 25-0 run last year by scoring 13 of the damn points. This year, he has made only 3 pointers through 10 games. He is seeing the bench for half of the game. This bastard made 6 three pointers against DePaul in a single game. Sure seems like he had his career game last year while making my son cry. After looking through his entire game log from last year, he had his Northwestern career day against the men in Blue. That checks out.
What is Going to Happen on Wednesday?
DePaul plays to the level of their opponent. Be prepared for an ugly game.
I truly expect to see Mr. Paul Reed, JCL, Butz, and Gage out for blood.
Do it for Max Strus, Eli Cain, and Femi Olujobi. They will all be watching and seeking revenge.
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