https://loyolaramblers.com/news/2020/4/ ... maVfLd-IHQ

Surely one of the four horsemen? Which one are we on by now?

They just scheduled us because they know there is a decent chance next season isn't played!

But really, glad to see it being renewed. Can't wait to watch Krut drop a triple-double on them.

YES! Also looking forward to the brawl brot gets into.

It's a really good thing that Leitao's buyout is apparently large enough to save him from the hot seat after next season cause the last thing I'd want is a big LU win in their barn followed by a new DPU coach buying out the return game in Gentile. HBig scheduling accomplishment for the program. Should be fun.

This is good for college basketball in Chicago.

I'm just hoping they dont buy out of making the return game.

I'm happy to get two games. But it could be none if this year's game is cancelled and next year's is bought out. That aside, I wonder why DePaul would take only two years if they decided this was a good deal for them. And it is. What's good for Chicago basketball is good for everyone in Chicago basketball.

I think that was the first thought of everyone who was paying attention in 2017-18. Presumably we've taken steps in contracts to make sure it doesn't happen.

But, a season ticket holder can ask Porter about it on Zoom next week!

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It could be good for Chicago basketball but really horrible for DPU and in particular their coach/AD.

Maybe I'm not putting away my biases, but I think a realistic scenario could be this:
Loyola is up 20 with a minute to go. After giving virtuoso performances, Krutwig and Williamson (2 local players who they didn't even look at) are coming off the court and soaking up a rousing curtain call from the fans wearing maroon and gold who constituted 60% of the near sell-out crowd before the game and 100% of the fans remaining in their arena for the final whistle.

I don't think there's any DPU-affiliated person who wouldn't want to fire the coach and AD on the spot.

Also, has their AD gotten a contract extension too? If they have a new AD between now and 2021, then I think the game at Gentile could get cancelled.

I think it’s a smart series for them. Assuming everything is back to normal by December, Wintrust Arena
holds 10,000, and I see us bringing anywhere between 3500 to 4500. Some people might think that’s unreasonable, but with the expectations next year, and what I assume will be a huge Promotions push by our athletic department, I think it’s possible. I’m not worried about our fans showing up as much as they should probably worry about theirs. Their non-con attendance has been pretty rough. It will be one of their bigger draws of the year.

The DePaul vs. Northwestern game at Wintrust game this past season shows an official attendance of 6,357, at 61% occupancy. Under normal circumstances, I think the attendance for our game would beat that.

Obviously the logic for them is - get them while they are good at home, and we either win and get recruiting bragging rights, or lose and they’ll be a 20+ win team and the loss won’t hurt us.

For the next year, they probably figure our roster will be pretty depleted and it’s a good opportunity to grab a non-con road win without any expense.

If we blow them out bad in their gym I think it’s 90% likely they don’t come to Gentile the next year, and I bet the buyout isn’t nearly as bad as what we would hope it would be. Porter needs this game for the upcoming year because:

1) with our talent, national reputation, and history of 3 straight 20+ win seasons, getting a power conference opponent is going to be unbelievably hard, and scheduling has been the worse headache he’s inherited from our Final Four success;

2) With Williamson, Clemons, Krutwig, Hall, and Uguak all serving their last tour of duty, recruiting local, Chicago area talent is going to be KEY to fill those positions next year, and this Wintrust game very well might determine a decision or 2 for recruits.

3) It gives Porter a chance to tout the program for a week to build local enthusiasm or interest for the Chicagoland area - it’s gonna be on TV (probably ESPN or ESPN2), it’s gonna get local radio and television coverage during the week lead-up, etc.

The buyout is probably minimal as DePaul had some decent negotiating power.


If DePaul backs out on the second game, at least Porter got a shot to showcase our team in Chicago (particularly the media), get a Big East opponent on our resume, use the game for local recruiting, and give our fans an extra game to be able to see live instead of traveling to a far away power conference bottom-feeder.

Whether we get the return game or not, I’m happy this got done.