DePaul Basketball: 2018-19 Expecations for Blue Demons going forward

DePaul Basketball has been a surprising team in the Big East this season. What should be expected of the Blue Deacons going forward?

DePaul Basketball fans have learned over the last 10+ seasons to refrain from setting positive expectations for their “beloved” Blue Demons. Doing so tends to lead to disappointment unless the bar is set at around three Big East wins and 11 or 12 wins overall.

The 2018-19 Blue Demons aren’t in a position to make a deep postseason run. Nor is DePaul locked in to earn a postseason bid of any sort. However, this particular DePaul squad is different from most in recent memory because, for once, it isn’t impossible for the Demons to be playing games beyond the Big East Tournament.

So, with 11 games remaining in the regular season, where should the bar be set for Dave Leitao’s group? I’d say somewhere right around 16 wins, potentially earning DePaul a bid to the NIT.

18 games into the season and it is safe to say DePaul is genuinely a competitive program. Sure, there will most likely be a few duds moving forward, similar to the 95-70 loss in Notre Dame or 87-69 defeat to Butler at Wintrust Arena.

But, during a down year in the Big East, the Demons have established themselves as a team who will take its opposition to the end more often than not. And, as we’ve already seen, steal a few victories here and there.

The addition of Femi Olujobi and blossoming of Paul Reed have made DePaul a much-improved squad compared to last season. Still, the Demons tend to collapse late in games and disappoint similar to one year ago.

Though better in late-game circumstances as of late, Dave Leitao’s bunch has squandered quite a few opportunities this season. DePaul players feel as if they played well enough to earn victories over Boston College, Northwestern, and Xavier.

It is frustrating to think if the Demons found a way not to shoot themselves in the foot in those games, they would be 14-4 overall and have an above average chance of at least earning an NIT bid.

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Regardless, given the general peskiness of DePaul, and new-found dominance in the paint provided by Reed and Olujobi, making the NIT is still a realistic outcome.

Making the NIT isn’t usually anything to write home about. But, given DePaul hasn’t received an invitation to a postseason tournament since the 2006-’07 season, doing so would solidify legitimate progress for the basement-dwelling program. Which is something that hasn’t been achieved in years.

As a fan of DePaul, I’d love to see the Demons somehow earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. It just isn’t going to happen though. And there is no need to explain why.

Any logical DePaul fan should be extremely content with an NIT appearance though. Playing a few weeks into March would give the program some swagger when their highly touted 2019 freshman class arrives.

It would also give Leitao something solidified to point to when trying to convince other recruits to play at Wintrust Arena. The head coach was able to land two four-star recruits, as well as two solid transfers without any noticeable improvements occurring within the program. Well, making the NIT could be the stepping stone toward consistently landing big-name players.

While I believe making the NIT is a fine standard to set this season, doing so won’t be easy. Every game in the Big East is a dog fight. DePaul is going to have to win home games versus Providence, Creighton, and Georgetown. Then, find a way to win at least two more regular season games.

I’m going off of a hunch here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Demons pulled off the upset when No. 12 Marquette travels to Chicago in around three weeks. DePaul hung tight with the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee on Wednesday before suffering a 79-69 defeat. The Demons were very much in the game and only trailed by four with under six minutes remaining.

In the past, heavy favorites wouldn’t pull away from DePaul until the closing minutes merely because they didn’t take the Demons seriously. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday though.

Marquette undoubtedly respected the matchup considering DePaul accumulated 97 points in a road victory over Seton Hall in its last game.

With a little extra motivation in front of what should be a decent home-crowd, I think DePaul pulls off the upset over Marquette. Even if that happens, that would only give the Demons four more wins in this hypothetical scenario.

dark. Next. Biggest takeaways from this past week

If the Demons keep playing competitive basketball, and maybe start setting a few more ball screens for Max Strus, they should be able to earn that fifth win though. Optimistic thinking? Yes? But, impossible? No.

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