With the host DePaul Blue Demons and Seton Hall Pirates struggling to stay out of the Big East Conference basement, a victory in their matchup on Sunday in Chicago could do wonders for morale.
The Blue Demons (10-12. 1-10 Big East) and Pirates (6-15, 1-9) enter on a collective nine-game losing streak.
Plenty of close calls have piled up along the way.
The Pirates are on a six-game skid after Tuesday’s 69-67 home loss to Providence. A rally from a 15-point deficit in the last 15 minutes wasn’t to be, as Seton Hall lost by one score for the fifth time this season.
Coach Shaheen Holloway described the locker room as “super down” and said many players were crying after the game. He wants the Pirates to transform that emotion into perseverance and progress.
“I told them it should sting, it should hurt, because that shows you care,” Holloway said. “I gotta be honest with you; I wanna cry every freakin’ game.”
DePaul surely shared that sentiment when it visited Seton Hall on Jan. 8. The Blue Demons appeared on the verge of snapping a 37-game conference regular-season losing streak before faltering. The Blue Demons led by 19 points early in the second half and by 11 with 4:12 to go, but the Pirates rallied to win 85-80 in overtime.
Seton Hall needs Isaiah Coleman to return to the form he displayed in that matchup when he had 24 points. The Pirates’ leading scorer returned Tuesday after missing one game due to back spasms and finished 0-for-10 from the field. His only two points came from the free-throw line.
DePaul has lost three straight conference games since defeating host Georgetown on Jan. 17. Also, the Blue Demons led No. 25 UConn by 14 in Hartford, Conn., on Wednesday, but couldn’t hold on in a 72-61 defeat.
DePaul coach Chris Holtmann said he “thought it was in a lot of ways a really clean game for our guys.” Layden Blocker paced DePaul with 18 points, and CJ Gunn chipped in 14.
Gunn scored a team-high 21 points at Seton Hall last month and has finished in double figures in seven straight Big East games.
The Pirates have won 10 of the past 12 matchups.
–Field Level Media
