1986 DePaul: From The Bubble To The Sweet 16
1986 marked the second year of Joey Meyer’s tenure at DePaul, since taking over from his father, the legendary Ray. After seven years running with the national elite at the end of Ray’s career, Joey’s first year of 1985 was a step back, as they scraped into the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round. Much of 1986 went the same way, with the Blue Demons dangerously on the bubble of the NCAA field. But this time, when they got in, they made it count.
A NEW ARRIVAL
A dynamic point guard in Rod Strickland, with an NBA future ahead of him, was a big addition to the DePaul lineup. The freshman point guard averaged 14 points/5 assists per game.
Dallas Comegys was the go-to player down low. The 6’9” junior forward averaged 14 points/6 rebounds per game.
Comegys was the lead actor in a frontline cast that had a lot of rebounders. Marty Embry averaged seven boards a night. The coalition of Kevin Holmes, swingman Tony Jackson, and center Lemone Lampley all combined to get 15 more rebounds per game.
The cupboard was not bare at DePaul. But in the preseason, after the disappointment of 1985, and Strickland an unknown commodity, the Blue Demons were unranked in the preseason polls.
EARLY WARNING SIGNS
After a 6-0 start against non-descript competition got DePaul as high as #18 in the rankings, they paid a visit to Georgetown on the Saturday before Christmas. The Hoyas were retooling in their first year post-Patrick Ewing, but this was still a good team that would be a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Demons lost decisively, 85-70.
DePaul went on to lose to a pretty good Purdue team, again by double digits. The Blue Demons went on to Atlanta for a two-day tournament between Christmas and New Year’s. They dropped a 67-64 decision to David Robinson’s Navy, who ended up in the Elite Eight in March.
Now reeling and on a three-game losing streak, DePaul was able to nip a respectable Texas team 63-62. They came back home after the New Year and beat Dayton, who made the NIT. The Blue Demons then hosted Pepperdine, coached by Jim Harrick, and headed for the NCAA bracket. DePaul got another win.
The Blue Demons were 9-3 and in position to make something of their season. But the flaws were apparent.
UNEVEN PLAY AT HOME
Notre Dame was, along with Marquette, was DePaul’s pre-eminent rival in an era when the three Midwest Catholic schools were all independents. The Irish were good in 1986 and bound for a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They came to Rosemont Horizon on a Saturday in January and handed the Blue Demons a decisive 70-54 loss.
Four nights later, DePaul suffered another bad home loss—90-75 to Cleveland State. While this loss would look better by March, after Cleveland State had upset Bob Knight’s Indiana in the NCAAs and reached the Sweet 16. But in the moment, it looked awful. And in either case, it continued the pattern of DePaul not simply losing to good teams, but losing decisively.
UAB was a consistent NCAA Tournament team in this era and were ranked #12 in the country when they came to Chicago. The Blue Demons needed to play with some urgency and they did, getting a badly needed 70-61 win.
A January schedule that kept them at home for the entire month ended with easy wins over crosstown rival Loyola-Illinois and Northern Iowa, both mediocre teams.
DePaul was 12-5, and their status was the same as it had been when the month began—question marks, but still a chance to make something happen.
FEBRUARY COLLAPSE
The Blue Demons spent much of February seemingly determined to squander that chance. They went to Dayton and lost by 13 points. DePaul went to Marquette, who was on the NCAA bubble themselves and lost 70-65. The Blue Demons traveled to face NCAA-bound Old Dominion and again lost by 13. A home date with Louisville, the eventual national champion, ended with 72-53 defeat.
All of those losses, while disappointing, particularly with the margins, were at least to competitive teams. The same could not be said of a trip to lowly Creighton. That also ended in a 13-point defeat. The only win DePaul got in this six-game stretch was against a bad Evansville squad.
The Blue Demons were reeling, and their hopes of the NCAA field were rapidly fading.
A SEASON SAVED
On February 22, St. John’s came to the Windy City. The Redmen were led by Walter Berry and en route to a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. It was a chance for DePaul to make a statement to the Selection Committee. They took full advantage of that opportunity and got a huge 81-72 win.
The victory didn’t necessarily lead to more momentum—the Blue Demons followed it up by losing 70-59 in their rematch with Notre Dame, and then dropping a two-point decision at mediocre UCLA.
But what the win over St. John’s did do was keep DePaul in play, as they hosted Marquette in the season finale. Both teams were squarely on the bubble. The Blue Demons won 95-87. Given that the Warriors missed the field, while DePaul snuck in as a 12-seed, it’s fair to speculate that this was probably a winner-take-all for a bid.
It hadn’t been pretty, and there weren’t expectations for much going forward, but Joey Meyer was now 2-for-2 in making NCAA Tournaments.
BREAKTHROUGH IN GREENSBORO
The Blue Demons were in the East Regional and sent to Greensboro for the opening weekend. They were paired up with 5-seed Virginia, who was anchored by center Olden Polynice.
In a game that was evenly played, DePaul consistently got to the free throw line, converting 20/29 attempts to 12/23 for Virginia. The Blue Demons were also getting stellar rebounding work from Embry, who hauled down 11 boards. Comegys chipped in 12 points/5 rebounds.
While Strickland didn’t have a notable game, Jackson dished out seven assists. And down low, Lampley picked up some slack, with a 15/7 line. DePaul got a 72-68 win.
MAKING THE SWEET 16
Oklahoma was the 4-seed and the opponent in the Round of 32. Head coach Billy Tubbs had the Sooners on the rise as a national contender, with a high-octane style of play and explosive scorers in Daryl Kennedy and Tim McCalister.
But the Blue Demons shot the lights out in Greensboro, hitting 58 percent of their shots from the floor. Strickland scored 15 and handed out seven assists. Jackson hit the boards, with seven rebounds. But the story of the game was Embry—with 19 points/11 rebounds, he concluded a fabulous weekend on the March stage. DePaul won 74-69.
In an outcome no one would have foreseen in the dark days of February, the Blue Demons were going to the Sweet 16.
ONE SHOT AT GLORY
Duke was the 1-seed in the East and the top-ranked team in the country. This was Mike Krzyzewski’s first year of being in the national elite. The Blue Demons went to the Meadowlands in New Jersey to try and pull another upset.
And they again shot the ball exceptionally well, at 59 percent. The defended, holding the Blue Devils to 40 percent from the field. The problem is that they struggled most everywhere else. DePaul committed 20 turnovers. They only got 13 free throw attempts compared to Duke’s 33. And the rebounding that had been so successful all year long wasn’t present here, as the Blue Demons lost the board battle 35-22.
The end result was a 74-67 loss. DePaul’s Cinderella ride was over. If they had managed to survive this one, a winnable rematch with Navy would have been ahead.
A LYNCHPIN FOR THE FUTURE
It’s tough to look at the overall season arc of DePaul’s 1986 season and call it a success, given what the program had accomplished this decade. But a school that had also gotten accustomed to some March heartbreak, had certainly earned their right to have a shining weekend in the NCAA Tournament.
Moreover, the success of that weekend in Greensboro carried over into 1987. With Strickland and Comegys back in the fold, DePaul had a dominant regular season and returned to the Sweet 16.