For a DePaul men’s basketball team that had lost 11 of its past 13 games, including eight by double-digits, an upset of the No. 11 Providence Friars seemed highly unlikely. Considering the Blue Demons’ struggles closing out games this season, it appeared even less plausible.
But on a night when everything fell into place, DePaul did just that, picking up a signature win that the program desperately needed.
The Blue Demons have consistently collapsed down the stretch of games this season, most recently in losses to Creighton, Butler and Xavier. They found themselves within striking distance during each of these three games, but ended up allowing a close contest to turn into a rout on every occasion.
During a 77-70 victory over Providence on Tuesday night, this did not occur. The Blue Demons controlled the tempo of the game from start to finish, and when faced with adversity, responded unlike a team that has made a comfortable home in the cellar of the Big East standings in recent years.
“For this year, just trying to persevere and what we’ve been going through, it was a really good win,” DePaul head coach Dave Leitao said after the game.
Three major factors played into DePaul’s victory over the Friars: composure, tremendous post play and, most notably, a stifling defensive performance that forced a potential top-5 NBA Draft pick in Providence guard Kris Dunn into one of the worst performances of his decorated collegiate career.
Dunn, the reigning Big East Player of the Year and a legitimate contender to claim the prestigious Wooden Award, honoring the top player in college basketball, hit just 5-of-20 shots against a Blue Demon defense that threw constant pressure at the
6-foot-4 point guard throughout the evening.
Although Dunn compiled 14 points during the game, his inefficiency — which included a 13:23 dry spell and a 0-for-6 shooting performance to start the second half — thew the Friars into complete disarray.
“You gotta credit their defense,” Providence head coach Ed Cooley said. “They did a really good job. They crowded him. Made him give the ball up. But the shots aren’t always going to go in. I was more disappointed in our effort and our level of concentration.”
For one of the first times this season, the Blue Demons did what great teams do regularly.
They established an identity. They found a star and allowed him to take over. In this case it was senior forward Myke Henry, who finished the night with a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds. And when the game was on the line and in danger of slipping out of their hands, they buckled down and showed poise beyond a team that is sitting second-to-last in the Big East standings.
“We played hard,” Henry said. “We played together. We hit a little adversity, but we stuck through it and got the win.”
When junior guard Darrick Wood threw down a breakaway slam off an outlet pass from freshman Eli Cain to send the Allstate Arena crowd into a frenzy with 10 seconds remaining, it signaled more than just a Top 25 upset. It was the finishing touch to arguably the biggest win for DePaul since joining the Big East more than a decade ago. It was their biggest win since they beat No. 2 Kansas in 2006.
