The collective effort produced by DePaul’s Blue Demons on Wednesday night was built on a resolve that enough was enough. These Demons may never meet the expectations they inherited. So they constructed one of their own.
They came as close to pitching a shutout as the sport’s modern era will allow. DePaul’s 55-35 victory over Marquette, in a meeting of teams hoping for spots in the NCAA tournament, created a numerical link to the days of satin shorts and extended stalls.
Marquette’s 20 percent shooting was the lowest by a Conference USA team. The 35 points scored by the Golden Eagles marked the lowest total in any Conference USA matchup in the league’s five seasons. The Blue Demons held Marquette to a single 2-point basket in the final 29:37.
The Marquette point total matched the fewest in more than 51 years, since the 1948-49 Warriors scored 34 in a loss to Wisconsin. DePaul had only once allowed fewer points in three seasons under coach Pat Kennedy, holding Alabama State to 34 in the first game of the 1997-98 season.
But that was the beginning of a 7-23 season. This effort came at the start of a four-game stretch against opponents that have already defeated the Demons this season. DePaul (17-8, 7-5 Conference USA) has won four of its last five games. Marquette (13-10, 6-6) lost a chance to sweep DePaul and gain advantage for postseason consideration.
“This is definitely what we needed,” said Quentin Richardson, the sophomore whose 16 points made him DePaul’s only double-figure scorer. His points were an afterthought, because his relentlessness beneath the backboards created a sense of dominance.
“It was the rebounding,” said Tom Crean, the Marquette coach. “`It was a Quentin Richardson difference.”
He had begun the season appearing more and more on the perimeter, with an opportunity to expand his game with more frequent outside shooting. But late last month, with the Demons injured and frustrated, Kennedy and Richardson agreed he would go back where the Demons need him the most.
At the same time, the Demons committed themselves to a man-to-man defense that gave them their best chance to succeed. With point guard Rashon Burno gaining strength following his early-season knee problem and forward Lance Williams gaining confidence after returning from his broken foot, DePaul gradually began to build its confidence.
And an identity built upon defense and rebounding began to take shape. “Our preparation was just go get the ball,” Burno said.
“We don’t have five Bob Cousys running around out there,” Kennedy said. “This is not the best passing team in America, by any means.”
But the DePaul approach–“our continual formula”–Kennedy called it, offers insurance on those nights when the shots fail to drop.
In an odd first half, the Demons shut out all but one of the Golden Eagles. Brian Wardle out of Hinsdale Central, whose 18 points were a central factor in Marquette’s victory over DePaul on Jan. 12, was the only Golden Eagle to score. Wardle made 5 of 8 shots and scored 14 points. His teammates missed a total of 11 shots.
If nothing else, Wardle’s shooting–and the struggle his teammates faced– simplified any defensive adjustments at halftime.
“I didn’t know what to tell them at halftime,” Kennedy said, and smiled.
But Wardle added just six points in the second half. Marquette made just 5 of 32 shots after halftime. At the end, having been hit with an elbow under the offensive boards, Wardle was sitting on the bench, holding his head, a picture of his team’s frustrating night.
