The DePaul student section was chanting, “This is our house.” Fans gleefully chugged beers when they appeared on the Wintrust Arena video board.
And DePaul fans still were cheering at the end of the game, even streaming onto the court.
Something certainly felt different — make that, better — Wednesday night in Chicago, another sign of the Blue Demons’ changing fortunes.
The Blue Demons defeated Texas Tech, last season’s NCAA runner-up, 65-60 in overtime and played themselves into national relevancy.
When was the last time basketball games were this fun at DePaul?
“We’re going to enjoy it because we need to,” coach Dave Leitao said. “We need to. It’s been a long road. But we’re at the starting gate.”
The victory extended the undefeated Blue Demons’ winning streak to nine — their best start since winning 16 straight in 1986-87. It’s their longest winning streak at any point in a season since 1993-94.
Allstate Arena, DePaul’s former home court in Rosemont, was often desolate. Even after building a gleaming multimillion-dollar downtown arena that opened in 2017, attendance was meager.
Frustration boiled over with fans calling for administrative and coaching changes with online hashtags after 15 straight seasons of missing the NCAA Tournament. Now they’re tweeting #RankDePaul.
The win against Texas Tech strengthened a resume that already included three road wins against power-conference opponents (Iowa, Boston College and Minnesota).
“We’re trying to exorcise the demons of the past,” Leitao said.
These new Demons seem capable of doing so, fighting toe to toe with the Red Raiders (5-3) throughout.
Jalen Coleman-Lands led the way with 18 points, hitting three 3-pointers down the stretch and making two other clutch plays in overtime.
“The ups and downs allowed me to cherish these moments this year,” he said.
Coleman-Lands, a former Illinois transfer who missed 27 games last season with a broken hand, nailed a 3 with 8.3 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
He took a charge and made two more critical 3-pointers in overtime, providing a 61-60 lead with 55 seconds left.
“This is us,” he said he told himself after hitting the 3 at the end of regulation. “We’re going to win. No ifs, ands or buts. We were determined.”
After Charlie Moore lost the ball, Coleman-Lands raced down the court after the loose ball and was fouled, making both with 13 seconds left.
Moore added two more to end the game and spark a downtown party, with fans rushing the court and joining the players in lifting Coleman-Lands for some crowd surfing.
Terrence Shannon Jr., a freshman from Lincoln Park who was committed to DePaul at one time, led Texas Tech with 24 points. The Red Raiders were without leading scorer Jahmi’us Ramsey.
Paul Reed had 18 points and seven rebounds for DePaul, and Jaylen Butz added 17 and seven. Moore, the Blue Demons’ leading scorer entering the game, suffered through a 2-for-15 shooting night and finished with only six points, but he had 10 assists and five steals.
Leitao praised his players’ defensive effort. Despite a low-possession game, DePaul forced Texas Tech into 22 turnovers. Leitao said he couldn’t recall back-to-back defensive lapses at any point in the game.
A friend recently mentioned a metaphor to Leitao about plants taking root and blooming.
“We’re starting to see the bloom,” he said. “It’s a brand-new start, a brand-new era.”
