About midway through the second half, I started to wonder who was going to be the Negative Nancy following a complete domination of an obviously inferior team. I didn't think it'd be the OP.
"Oh No!!! DePaul won the second half!! Obvious lack of focus!!"
Sure, they didn't extend the 32 point half time lead, but they didn't give it back either, a la the first Seton Hall contest. A lack of focus would have been forcing shots and allowing DePaul to get back to single digits or low doubles. The lead never got smaller than 26 in the second half, before immediately popping back up to 29.
I'm also willing to cut Joey C. some slack. He's played just about as much in the last 4 days than he had in the games since Xavier at the end of January, combined. A lead in the high 20s/low30s allows a team to take chances they normally would not.
What is more impressive is they were so efficient offensively (55% FG, 24 assists on 35 makes), while their offensive straw - Hawkins - went 1-9 (for whom, incidentally, are typically why those screens are set away from the basket.). His shot wasn't falling. It happens. His teammates picked him up in a big way.
Karaban continues to bring his lunch pail. Daily. Offensively, he is already Kevin Freeman with range, and continues to develop into a quintessential Husky on the defensive end.
