Horrendous Second Half Dooms DePaul

Fourteen second-half points were all DePaul (8-13, 0-8) could muster as #2 UConn (19-1, 8-1) coasted to a 71-49 victory over the Demons Wednesday night at the Allstate Arena.

The Huskies led by as many as 15 points midway through the first half, but the Demons headed to the locker room on the heels of a 15-6 run to cut the deficit to six at the half. However, in half number two, UConn turned up the heat defensively and erased any hope for an upset.

“In the second half, they [UCONN] got more physical on defense,” said head coach Jerry Wainwright. “They bumped us off screens and did a nice job of clogging up the middle and forcing us to the outside. They completely took Mac [Koshwul] out of the game.”

Ironically, UConn began to pull away from DePaul after the Huskies star center Hasheem Thabeet was taken out of the game after picking up his third foul. To that point, little used Demon center Kene Obi had done a nice job on Thabeet, limiting him to just 6 points and 5 rebounds, well under his season average.

In Thabeet’s absence, however, Jeff Adrien and Jerome Dyson combined for 30 points and 22 rebounds. The Demons grabbed just 21 rebounds the entire game.

Dar Tucker led all scorers with 20 points and Will Walker added 12 in the loss. Walker also led the Demons in rebounds with 6.

Up next for the Demons is a highly anticipated matchup tomorrow at Rutgers (9-11, 0-7) for all the wrong reasons: Neither team has yet to win a Big East game this season. Mounting pressure from fans and alumni and a schedule that includes six top-25 teams over the last nine games has put the Demons into must-win mode.

“We hear the media and the fans talking about it, no question,” Wainwright said. “It’s going to be hard to treat it like any other game, but we’ve got to try and focus and go in and play the way we know we can play. The situation is the same for Rutgers and they have the added pressure of playing at home, where you are always expected to win.”

In their last trip to Rutgers two years ago, DePaul won convincingly 60-37 and held the Scarlet Knights to their lowest point total in a home game in school history. Last season, DePaul was just able to hang on for a 75-73 victory at the Allstate Arena.

This coming Tuesday night, the Demons return home to face perennial rival Marquette. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Last Saturday, the Golden Eagles defeated the Demons 79-70 in Milwaukee.