There is a basic formula for beating Cincinnati. All DePaul has to do Saturday is follow the directions North Carolina-Charlotte laid out in a 62-60 victory Jan. 14.
Let UNCC coach Bobby Lutz describe what needs to happen for anyone to pin a second loss on the Bearcats, with perhaps the most emphasis being put on the first ingredient:
“They didn’t play particularly well. Part of it, though, is we came out very aggressive and did everything we could to establish the fact that we weren’t going to back off. I think we got the first 10 or 12 rebounds that came off the rim.”
To summarize the keys to victory: Hope Cincinnati plays like the junior varsity. Hope your players find the warrior within. Hope to grab the first 10 rebounds of the game.
No problem.
This is probably not the best time for the Blue Demons to be playing host to Cincinnati, not at a time when their NCAA tournament chances seem to be breathing only with the aid of a ventilator. DePaul fell 66-61 to UNC-Charlotte on Wednesday night, a disappointing loss that dropped the Blue Demons’ record to 11-9 overall, 5-5 in Conference USA.
“You have to get to 17 or 18 wins or else you have no shot for a bid,” coach Pat Kennedy said. “That’s just reality. To me, that’s the minimum. If you don’t have that, forget it. Based on where we are now, it would be quite a task here.”
If Kennedy’s analysis is correct, the Blue Demons need to win at least five of their last seven regular-season games and go fairly deep into the conference tournament in early March. Two of those games are against soon-to-be No. 1 Duke (Feb. 24) and soon-to-be No. 2 Cincinnati. Another two are against St. Louis, which is ahead of DePaul in the Conference USA standings. Another is a road game against UNC-Charlotte.
This won’t be easy. The first step is perhaps the hardest. The young Blue Demons went to Cincinnati on Jan. 6 and had their birth certificates handed to them in an 87-64 loss. They missed 15 free throws.
The Bearcats (21-1) are a scary team, capable of the kind of runs that shake up even established clubs. It wasn’t surprising that DePaul, with three freshman starters, rattled a month ago while Cincinnati rolled.
“Especially as a young team, we came in there kind of in awe of the whole situation with the crowd and them being that highly ranked,” freshman Quentin Richardson said. “It took us a while before we got rolling. Then when we started hanging with them, it seems like we kind of ran out of gas in the second half.”
They ran into Melvin Levett and Kenyon Martin, is more like it. Martin, in particular, will be a big problem for the Blue Demons. Besides Richardson, he might be the quickest jumper in the league. Worse for DePaul, he’s 3 inches taller than DePaul’s freshman and he’s more than happy to simply play defense and rebound.
“He affects the game so much,” Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said. “Even when he doesn’t block shots or change shots, I think people are looking for him. And they hesitate a little.”
The Bearcats appear very aware of their situation and the way opponents look at them. They are expecting more out of the Blue Demons this time.
“They’re going to be jacked up and ready to go out there,” Levett said. “When a team beats you by 20, you want to prove that you’re not that bad.”
Helping out: Before Saturday’s game, DePaul will be collecting blankets, quilts, comforters and sleeping bags to benefit Warm Wishes, an organization that distributes the items to shelters, needy families and the homeless.
