DePaul endured 11 straight losing seasons before last season, hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2004 and is generally recognized as the biggest punchline in the sport. If you want to make a music joke, you include a Nickelback reference. If you want to make a college basketball joke, you tie it to DePaul.
Which is why Wednesday was so cool.
The Blue Demons entered their showdown with Texas Tech, last season’s national runner-up, undefeated and with some buzz — evidence being that they received 18 points in this week’s AP Top 25 poll thanks to upsets of Iowa and Minnesota. So Wednesday provided an opportunity to win as an underdog again.
In dramatic fashion, DePaul did it.
Final score: DePaul 65, Texas Tech 60 in OT.
So, just like that, the Blue Demons are surprisingly 9-0 for the first time since the 1986-87 season. And, looking at the schedule, they could reasonably be 13-0 when they host Seton Hall on Dec. 30. What a story. And, yes, I know Texas Tech had just lost to Iowa and Creighton — and that the Red Raiders’ star freshman, Jahmi’us Ramsey, is sidelined with a hamstring injury. But let’s not let those little details ruin this because it’s much more fun to just focus on the fact that DePaul is 9-0 with victories over two top-40 KenPom teams, one of which (Texas Tech) was ranked 13th in the preseason AP poll.
Again, what a story.
The Blue Demons are No. 25 in Thursday’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Louisville, which will play Pitt on Friday, remains No. 1 for the ninth consecutive morning.