After Impressive Run, DePaul Has Now Dropped Back-to-Back Games

After a sluggish 2-3 start to the season which included loses to Gardner-Webb and Western Kentucky, DePaul seemingly got hot around late November and carried their success into the remainder of their non-conference schedule.

However, the two aforementioned losses and a recent defeat at the hands of Loyola (IL) are more than a cause for concern. On Wednesday night, the Blue Demons suffered their second consecutive loss as part of their Big East Conference opener against Seton Hall. The back-to-back losses have come directly on the heels of that seven-game winning streak that highlighted the end of the non-league play.

Everything aside however, DePaul most re-focus on their realistic goals this season.

Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young form a solid one-two punch for the Blue Demons, but it’s just not enough. Road contests at Providence and UConn are next on the schedule and once again any team that plays DePaul looks at the game as one they need to win. It’s been the same story for the Blue Demons for a number of years now.

Nobody said that rebuilding the program would be easy, but improvements must be made here in 2013. DePaul has found themselves on the basement floor in the Big East in each of the past few seasons, yet honestly, that doesn’t have to be the case this season.

It’s highly unlikely that DePaul will be a tournament team come March, but continued strides forward are what’s equally important, especially in terms of looking ahead with the dismantling of the Big East Conference from a realignment perspective.

The Blue Demons have totaled just five conference wins in the past four seasons, but their goal should be to equal that, at least, in 2013.

But will they?

 

Paul Seaver is the College Basketball Network Manager at Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS