DePaul rolled into its game against North Carolina-Charlotte on Wednesday with lots of confidence.
The Blue Demons were coming off road victories over South Florida and Tulane, and they had reason to believe that if there was a corner to turn, they were turning it.
But just around the corner was another example of a young team that can’t quite finish what it began, especially against quality opponents.
“Having done so well on the road for two games, that’s what’s a little tough right now for our guys to swallow,” coach Pat Kennedy said.
The 11-9 Blue Demons have seven games left before the Conference USA tournament, and to have a chance for a postseason bid, they’ll need something in the way of a minor miracle. That’s because they have home games against No. 3 Cincinnati (Saturday) and No. 1 Duke (Feb. 24) on the schedule.
“We still have a good chance (for a postseason bid),” said guard Willie Coleman, who scored 12 points Wednesday. “We’ve got to come out and try to win the rest of our games. We can’t afford to lose any of them.”
Remember him? Quentin Richardson came into the game leading the nation’s freshmen in scoring (19.4) and rebounding (11.2). He finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but wasn’t as big a part of the offense as he normally is.
He took just 11 shots. Part of that was a very active zone defense by the 49ers and part of it was that the Blue Demons didn’t move the ball particularly well.
“Sometimes the offense runs through you, and sometimes it doesn’t,” Richardson said. “You’ve got to roll with the punches.”
Who? The Blue Demons got killed by somebody named Jobey Thomas, who certainly flew in under their radar.
Thomas, who entered the game averaging 6.4 points a game, scored a career-high 14 points. He hit four three-pointers in the second half, including one down the stretch.
He might not be DePaul’s high-profile three freshmen–Richardson, Lance Williams and Bobby Simmons–but he was good enough for one night.
“This guy right here I guess wanted to show he’s a pretty good freshman too,” said UNC-Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz, nodding to Thomas.
Thomas came into the game shooting 28.7 percent from the floor.
“I hit a few shots today, and something just felt right,” he said. “I felt like maybe I could make them. I had confidence. But I always have confidence, no matter how badly I shoot.”
