Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big East Basketball: Buy or sell Butler, St. John’s and other bubble teams

By Eddie Herz

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 14: A general view during the championship game of the Big East basketball tournament between the Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 14: A general view during the championship game of the Big East basketball tournament between the Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 8
Next
VILLANOVA, PA – JANUARY 02: Max Strus #31 of the DePaul Blue Demons reacts in front of Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21 and Eric Paschall #4 of the Villanova Wildcats after the game at Finneran Pavilion on January 2, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the DePaul Blue Demons 73-68. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
VILLANOVA, PA – JANUARY 02: Max Strus #31 of the DePaul Blue Demons reacts in front of Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21 and Eric Paschall #4 of the Villanova Wildcats after the game at Finneran Pavilion on January 2, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the DePaul Blue Demons 73-68. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

DePaul Blue Demons – Sell

I’m getting a kick out of even discussing the Blue Demons as a bubble team right now. It has been more than a decade since DePaul was worth mentioning this late in the season.

Demon fans have good reason to be optimistic right now. Not only is Dave Leitao bringing in one of the best group of recruits and transfers in the conference next season, but one of the most impressive in the country. For a team that often struggles to win more than 10 games, it is cool to think how if DePaul finds a way to win four or five more games, it really may be considered for an at-large bid.

That won’t happen, so I’ll stop building up the Blue Demons. The odds of the Demons defeating Georgetown on the road are slim to none. And considering how poor DePaul’s perimeter defense is, Creighton could easily beat the Demons twice this season. Not to mention DePaul still has to face St. John’s again. I doubt the Demons will be as fortunate this time around with Shamorie Ponds in the lineup.

The combination of Paul Reed and Femi Olujobi in the low post keeps DePaul in most games. So, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Demons pull off another unexpected win or two. Doing just that and making the NIT is a realistic aspiration. After all, the NIT bubble is the only bubble the Demons are truly on.

I’m going to wait until next season to consider tagging DePaul as a team possessing March Madness potential. For a program finally starting to trend in the right direction, the NIT is a great consolation prize and something to build on for next the future.

Home/Bracketology