If you followed DePaul at all last year, you know how schizophrenic they could be. It was mainly home versus road. At home they could knock off Kansas and Marquette then go on the road and lose to Northwestern and UAB. This was expected to be and is a rebuilding year for the Blue Demons with the loss of Wilson Chandler and Sammy Meija. They haven't looked good this season home or away, as they have struggled with their defense. They have allowed 74 points or more in 4 of 5 games. There's potential with Draelon Burns and Karron Clarke to lead them, but it really hasn't shown up yet.
Vandy has been hot. They came in 9-0 with wins over Bradley, South Alabama, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. They were nationally ranked, and the only other SEC team ranked besides Tennessee. They have been scoring bushels of points -- 77 points or more in every game -- so they would be poised to take advantage of the DePaul defensive woes.
So naturally, DePaul came out playing great defense and held Vandy to only 30 points in the first half. DePaul built a 18 point lead with under 15 minutes left in the game. This, despite not hitting 3 point shots. They were doing it with penetration, drives to the basket and, crisp passing for open looks.
Then everything changed. DePaul completely relaxed, as a young inexperienced team will. Vandy started to score quickly, and the Blue Demons started rushing shots. They could never get the intensity back.
It also helped that DePaul is an absolutely woeful free throw shooting team. They averaged 60% FT shooting coming into the game and couldn't even match that for the game. That was vital in the final minutes. Vandy could score, foul DePaul without it really costing them. It stretched the game, and Vandy was finally able to tie the game at 79 in the final minute to force overtime.
At that point, there was no doubt Vandy was going to win. The DePaul players were hanging their heads, slumping their shoulders and just gave up. They knew they had blown the game, and didn't have it in them to rally. Coach Jerry Wainwright couldn't convince them they still had a chance. Vandy cruised in the OT to a 91-85 win.
The Commodores are the first team to reach 10 wins and are one of only 14 teams to still be unbeaten.
