Just one game can save DePaul from a historic level of futility.
The Blue Demons will strive to avoid becoming the first team to go 0-20 in Big East Conference play when they visit Seton Hall on Saturday in Newark, N.J.
When Georgetown went winless in the league in 2021-22, it finished 0-19 as one game was canceled due to COVID-19. The DePaul program also posted an 0-18 season in 2008-09 before the schedule expanded.
Since beating Division I independent Chicago State 70-58 on Dec. 30, the Blue Demons (3-27, 0-19) have dropped 18 games in a row — all by double-digit margins except for two close losses to Georgetown. They fired coach Tony Stubblefield on Jan. 22 and brought in Matt Brady in the interim.
DePaul finished its home slate last week with an 82-63 defeat to Butler and a 104-77 blowout at the hands of St. John’s.
“(The season) wasn’t ideal, obviously,” Jaden Henley said after the Butler game. “No one came here thinking that we were going to lose this many games. Coach Brady has been doing a great job just keeping with effort, keeping good tendencies and habits.”
Chico Carter Jr., who put up 23 points, six assists and five rebounds Tuesday against St. John’s, leads the Blue Demons with 11.0 points and 3.8 assists per game.
When DePaul hosted Seton Hall (19-11, 12-7) on Jan. 30, the Pirates held the Blue Demons to 11-of-50 shooting (20 percent) and their season-low scoring output in a 72-39 result.
Fans of the Pirates are feeling good about the team’s NCAA Tournament hopes these days. After a pair of lopsided losses at current top-10 teams Creighton and UConn, Seton Hall defeated Villanova 66-56 on Wednesday.
That gave the Pirates nine wins against opponents from Quadrants 1 and 2, a good sign they’ll get an at-large bid to the tournament — so long as they don’t make a massive gaffe on Saturday.
“I look at every game as a must-win game this time of year,” Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said. “I don’t look at it and say, ‘OK, we need to win this game more than that game.’ Obviously, we want to come back and play better than we played the last two games on the road, right?”
Kadary Richmond put up 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals against Villanova. He paces the Pirates with 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
–Field Level Media