DePaul Basketball: Key 2020 offseason storylines for Blue Demons

4. Depaul’s Floor, Ceiling and Realistic Expectations

So, how do we expect the Blue Demons to fair this season? First, let’s look at this team’s ceiling.

The Blue Demons put together another solid non-conference schedule, and Moore is the star man. Romeo Weems makes a big jump and players like Ongenda and Elvis are able to be quality bench players. The Blue Demons use their failures from last season to do well in conference play, say about 12-8 in conference and 20 wins overall. The Blue Demons stay on the right side of the bubble and make the tournament anywhere from a 9 seed to the First Four play-in game. With the talent this team has, this is entirely within the realm of possibilities. Now, we can look at the floor for this team.

The Blue Demons drop some really winnable non-conference games as they did against Buffalo last year. Moore struggles with turnovers problems and inconsistency, Weems doesn’t take the step up that he’s expected too, and the transfers and bench players I mentioned in earlier slides don’t improve as we expect. The Blue Demons languish in conference play and don’t enjoy any postseason action.

So what do I expect for the Blue Demons?

I think they’ll start non-conference play slow as they try and integrate new players like Salnave. As players begin to understand their roles, the Blue Demons will improve, and they’ll play better than expected in conference play (and finish with 6-8 wins). They’ll never seriously contend for the tournament, but they’ll be good enough to compete night in and night out in the Big East.

So how do you think the Blue Demons will fair this season? Leave your comments below!