Marquette coach Tom Crean noticed the changes as he prepared for his team’s Wednesday night rematch with DePaul.
The Blue Demons were clearly different from what they were 18 days ago when his Golden Eagles rocked them early and rolled to a 19-point victory.
On that afternoon the Demons were tentative and willing to let themselves be pushed around. But Wednesday Crean saw more certainty in their step and greater urgency in their efforts even if they eventually fell 73-60.
“There was a lot of improvement, number one on the defensive end,” he said. “They play with real purpose on defense. They understand what you’re trying to do and take it away. I’d say their demeanor is the next thing you see. No. What I should say is they’re confident in games, which translates into their on-court demeanor. The way they play.”
The Blue Demons had picked up that look while winning two of three after their loss in Milwaukee and for this rematch at their Allstate Arena home, where their record is still a sparkling 11-2. They proved to be a dangerous test for 11th-ranked Marquette.
But these Golden Eagles are hard-boiled and tough as stale bread. They withstood a determined DePaul challenge to escape with a win, with point guard Travis Diener limping off at the end with a twisted back.
Steve Novak and Dwyane Wade led Marquette with 17 points each.
Sam Hoskin did the same for the Blue Demons with 16, but it was the pace that was the biggest story. This was a game that crackled from the start, Marquette performing with all of its typical aggressive, DePaul retaliating with some of its own.
On their first possession, Golden Eagles forward Todd Townsend tipped in a miss of a Diener three-point attempt. On their first possession, Blue Demons forward Andre Brown tipped in his own miss.
That was the kind of effort that characterized this affair and even the usually moribund Allstate was roiling, the loyalties of the 11,154 fans evenly split between the two teams. The largest DePaul home crowd in three years included Ray Meyer.
The Blue Demons refused to give Marquette anything easy. Whenever the ball went down low, they met it with a double team. The Golden Eagles were equally adamant about not giving DePaul anything easy and whenever it attempted to run its offense, they jumped screens and disrupted its patterns.
The result, for long minutes, was a jump-shooting contest filled with air balls and shots clanging off the rim. DePaul hit only six of its first 20 shots, Marquette hit seven of its first 19.
The Golden Eagles eventually started hitting, ending the half with 50 percent shooting, but with only a 29-28 lead.
DePaul was not going to break easily in this game, not even as the pitch of its hill grew steeper. Here it was intent on proving that it was indeed different.
For 10 more minutes the Blue Demons did just that, trailing by only three, but then they were wobbled by a Novak three, a turnover and a three by Marquette forward Robert Jackson.
The Golden Eagles’ lead was nine, a lead they would nurse to the end.
