DE PAUL BASKETBALL 2007-08 SEASON-IN-REVIEW Nation’s ONLY PROGRAM IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP & WBCA ACADEMIC TOP 25 IN EACH OF LAST TWO SEASONS 16 20-WIN SEASONS H 13 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES H .845 WINNING PERCENTAGE AT McGRATH ARENA 2007-08 QUICK FACTS SCHEDULE/RESULTS DE PAUL UNIVERSITY November Location ............................................................................................................. Chicago, Ill. 10 at Southern Illinois ........................ W, 78-63 Founded .......................................................................................................................1898 DePaul Invitational (Chicago, Ill.) Denomination ............................................................................................. Roman Catholic 15 Florida International ..................... W, 89-77 Conference .......................................................................................................... BIG EAST 16 #18/19 Florida State ..................... W, 79-68 25 at Illinois State .............................. W, 80-75 Enrollment ................................................................................. 24,148 (14,740 undergrad) 29 Illinois-Chicago ............................. W, 74-35 Nickname........................................................................................................ Blue Demons Colors .............................................................................................. Royal Blue and Scarlet December Home Arena (Capacity) ................................................................... McGrath Arena (3,000) 2 Missouri State .............................. W, 80-48 President ......................................................................Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M. 8 Loyola-Chicago ............................ W, 93-51 Athletics Director .................................................................................. Jean Lenti Ponsetto 12 Chicago State ............................... W, 91-59 Associate Athletics Director/SWA ................................................................... Kathryn Statz 17 at Northern Illinois ........................ W, 90-58 20 at Northwestern .......................... W, 102-64 Maggie Dixon Surf N Slam Classic BASKETBALL INFORMATION (San Diego, Calif.) Head Coach.......................................................................................................Doug Bruno 28 vs. #19/19 Texas ........................... L, 81-91 Alma Mater ..................................................................................................... DePaul, 1973 30 vs. Appalachian State ..................W, 111-64 Career Record ...................................................................................454-272 (24 seasons) DePaul Record ..................................................................................414-242 (22 seasons) January Assistant Coaches ......................................Nicci Hays-Fort, Candis Blankson, Bart Brooks 2 #3/3 Tennessee (ESPNU) ............. L, 102-68 Director of Basketball Operations ................................................................ Tracy Buchholz 6 Pittsburgh* (ESPNU) ....................... L, 68-97 12 at Providence* .............................. W, 66-55 Overall Record.............................................................................................................20-12 15 St. John’s* ............................W, 91-80 (OT) Home ..........................................................................................................................9-6 19 at Marquette* ................................. L, 56-65 Away ...........................................................................................................................9-3 22 at #16/16 Notre Dame* (CSTV) ..... W, 81-80 Neutral ........................................................................................................................1-2 26 Cincinnati* .................................... W, 81-51 BIG EAST Record ...........................................................................................................8-8 29 #22/22 Syracuse* .......................... L, 66-69 Home ..........................................................................................................................3-5 Away ...........................................................................................................................5-3 February BIG EAST Finish ............................................................................................................t8th 2 Villanova* ..................................... W, 78-55 5 at USF* .......................................... L, 73-78 BIG EAST Championship Seed .......................................................................................9th 10 Louisville* (ESPN2) ......................... L, 68-79 NCAA Championship Seed .....................................................10th in New Orleans Region 16 at #11/11 West Virginia* (WV PBS) . W, 81-80 20 at Georgetown* ............................ W, 82-78 MEDIA RELATIONS 24 #14/14 Notre Dame* (ESPNU) ........ L, 64-66 Director ............................................................................................................... Scott Reed 27 at #4/4 Rutgers* (WNBC) ................ L, 46-60 Assistant Director (WBB contact) ................................................................Greg Greenwell March E-Mail ..........................................................................................ggreenwe@depaul.edu 1 #1/1 Connecticut* (CPTV**) ............ L, 76-77 Phone ..................................................................................................... (773) 325-7546 3 at Seton Hall* ............................... W, 97-74 Assistant Director ........................................................................................... Alicia Powers BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.) Graduate Intern .................................................................................................Jim Conwell 8 vs. Marquette (BETV) .................... W, 73-69 Fax............................................................................................................... (773) 325-7531 9 vs. #1/1 Connecticut (ESPNU) ........ L, 67-86 Web site ................................................................................. www.depaulbluedemons.com NCAA 1st/2nd Rounds (Baton Rouge, La.) 22 vs. #22/22 Marist (ESPN2).............. L, 57-76 *BIG EAST game all times are Central rankings = AP/USA Today-WBCA BETV = BIG EAST TV CPTV = Connecticut Public TV REMEMBERING RAY AND MAGGIE **televised in Chicago on CLTV DePaul’s 2007-08 uniform features a commemorative patch remem- WV PBS = West Virginia Public Broadcasting bering Ray Meyer and Maggie Dixon. Meyer, known as “Coach,” led the DePaul men’s program to 724 victories over his 42 seasons. Meyer passed away in March 2006 at the start of the NCAA Tourna- ment. After attending the wake for Meyer, the Blue Demons went and defeated Tulsa, 71-67, at the Allstate Arena to advance to the first Sweet Sixteen in women’s basketball history. Dixon served as an assistant coach at DePaul from 2001-05. Instrumental in DePaul’s recent success, Dixon was in San Antonio with the players she recruited for DePaul as they played LSU in the Sweet Six- teen. Following the Final Four in Boston, Dixon passed away tragically at the age of 28. The patch features a red, white and blue basketball with “Coach” in the center between “Ray” for Ray Meyer and “Maggie” for Maggie Dixon. DE PAUL MEDIA RELATIONS H SULLIVAN ATHLETIC CENTER H 2323 NORTH SHEFFIELD AVENUE H CHICAGO, IL 60614 H P: (773) 325-7546 H F: (773) 325-7531 WBB CONTACT: GREG GREENWELL H E-MAIL: [email protected] H WWW.DEPAULBLUEDEMONS.COM 2007-08 SEASON-IN-REVIEW 2007-08 SEASON-IN-REVIEW OVERALL RECORD: 20-12 | BIG EAST RECORD: 8-8 2008 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND Season Summary: The DePaul Blue Demons returned to the NCAA Championship for the sixth straight season and 13th time in the program’s 34 years while posting the 16th season with at least 20 victories. DePaul set a new record for three-pointers in a season with 252 in 2007-08 to break the previous mark set a year earlier at 250 three’s. The 2007-08 squad finished the campaign with 13 marks in the all-time top 10 for team season records. The Blue Demons opened the year with the program’s best start at 10-0. During the run, they posted wins over #18/19 Florida State and seven programs from Illinois. The seven straight wins over state schools increased DePaul’s streak to 30 straight victories over Illinois programs. The 10-game win streak also marked the eighth occurrence in school history of a run with at least 10 victories. Texas ended DePaul’s streak with a 91-81 defeat at the Maggie Dixon Surf N Slam Classic in San Diego, Calif. The Blue Demons answered in grand fashion two days later with a 111-64 win over Appalachian State in the consolation game. The 111 points marked just the sixth game in school his- tory with at least 110 points and ranks sixth in DePaul annals. BIG EAST STANDINGS The turn of the calendar proved to be unfriendly as the Blue Demons went 4-4 in January, 3-4 in (final standings) February and 2-3 in March. Top-ranked Tennessee and Pittsburgh delivered a pair of home losses BIG EAST Overall for the Blue Demons before the club won at Providence and in overtime against St. John’s. Those *^#&Connecticut 15-1 36-2 two