# 2017–18 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team

The 2017–18 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team represented DePaul University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by third-year (sixth overall with DePaul) head coach Dave Leitao and played their home games at the new Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 11–20, 4–14 in Big East play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the first round of the Big East tournament to Marquette.

## Previous season

The Blue Demons finished the 2016–17 season 9–23, 2–16 in Big East play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the Big East tournament to Xavier. That season marked the Blue Demons' final season at Allstate Arena

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| R. J. Curington | 0 | G | 6'5" | 199 | Senior | Dyer, IN | Graduated |
| Darrick Wood | 1 | G | 6'5" | 178 | Senior | Alexandria, VA | Graduated |
| Billy Garrett Jr. | 5 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Erten Gazi | 12 | G | 6'4" | 212 | Sophomore | Northern Cyprus | Transferred to Fordham |
| Al Eichelberger | 23 | F | 6'7" | 251 | Freshman | Saginaw, MI | Transferred to Cleveland State |
| David Leitao III | 32 | F | 6'5' | 220 | Senior | Virginia Beach, VA | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Levi Cook | 44 | C | 6'10" | 300 | Freshman | Clarksburg, WV | Transferred to Marshall |
| Chris Harrison-Docks | 51 | G | 5'10" | 189 | RS Senior | Okemos, MI | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jalen Coleman-Lands | 5 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Junior | Indianapolis, IN | Transfer from Illinois. Under NCAA transfer rules, Coleman-Lands will have to sit out the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Marin Maric | 34 | C | 6'11" | 250 | RS Senior | Split, Croatia | Transferred from Northern Illinois. Will be eligible to play immediately since Maric graduated from Northern Illinois. |

### 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Justin Roberts #32 PG | Indianapolis, IN | Pike High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jun 13, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jaylen Butz #58 PF | Fort Wayne, IN | North Side High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Oct 6, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Paul Reed SF | Apopka, FL | Wekiva High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Dec 4, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 DePaul Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. "2017 DePaul Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. ||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2018) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| John Diener SG | Cedarburg, WI | Cedarburg High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | May 4, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 DePaul Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. "2018 DePaul Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. |||||||

## Preseason

The Blue Demons were picked to finish in last place in the preseason Big East poll.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 5, 2017* 3:00 pm | | IU Northwest | W 121–65 | – | 22 – Strus | 11 – McCallum | 6 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (4,751) Chicago, IL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 3:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 14 Notre Dame | L 58–72 | 0–1 | 14 – Tied | 5 – McCallum | 3 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (10,194) Chicago, IL |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, FS2 | | Delaware State | W 81–57 | 1–1 | 17 – McCallum | 13 – Butz | 8 – Gage | Wintrust Arena (4,527) Chicago, IL |
| Nov 17, 2017* 7:30 pm, BTN | | at Illinois Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 73–82 | 1–2 | 19 – Roberts | 7 – Butz | 5 – Roberts | State Farm Center (11,254) Champaign, IL |
| Nov 23, 2017* 10:30 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 4 Michigan State PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Quarterfinals | L 51–73 | 1–3 | 12 – Tied | 4 – 3 tied | 2 – 3 tied | Moda Center (13,439) Portland, OR |
| Nov 24, 2017* 8:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Oregon PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Consolation 2nd round | L 79–89 $^{OT}$ | 1–4 | 22 – Maric | 9 – McCallum | 4 – Cain | Veterans Memorial Coliseum (8,853) Portland, OR |
| Nov 26, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Portland PK80–Phil Knight Invitational 7th place game | W 82–69 | 2–4 | 21 – Strus | 13 – Maric | 6 – Gage | Veterans Memorial Coliseum (2,771) Portland, OR |
| Dec 2, 2017* 1:00 pm, FSN | | Youngstown State | W 89–73 | 3–4 | 20 – Strus | 7 – Cain | 4 – Strus | Wintrust Arena (4,732) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 6, 2017* 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Central Connecticut | W 85–57 | 4–4 | 17 – Cain | 9 – Butz | 5 – Roberts | Wintrust Arena (4,458) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 9, 2017* 3:00 pm, NBCS CHI | | at UIC | W 65–55 | 5–4 | 24 – Strus | 8 – Cain | 8 – Cain | UIC Pavilion (3,229) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 11, 2017* 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Alabama A&M | W 83–59 | 6–4 | 14 – Strus | 6 – Reed | 8 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (4,508) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 16, 2017* 1:00 pm, FS1 | | Northwestern | L 60–62 | 6–5 | 33 – Strus | 11 – McCallum | 5 – Cyrus | Wintrust Arena (7,001) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 21, 2017* 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Miami (OH) | W 83–66 | 7–5 | 22 – Maric | 8 – McCallum | 4 – Tied | Wintrust Arena (4,890) Chicago, IL |
| Big East Conference regular season |||||||||
| Dec 27, 2017 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | No. 1 Villanova | L 85–103 | 7–6 (0–1) | 20 – Strus | 10 – Maric | 6 – 3 tied | Wintrust Arena (8,323) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 30, 2017 1:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 6 Xavier | L 72–77 | 7–7 (0–2) | 33 – Strus | 8 – McCallum | 6 – Maric | Cintas Center (10,436) Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 2, 2018 8:15 pm, FS1 | | Georgetown | L 81–90 | 7–8 (0–3) | 19 – Strus | 7 – McCallum | 10 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (5,190) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 6, 2018 1:00 pm, FSN | | at St. John's | W 91–74 | 8–8 (1–3) | 25 – Maric | 11 – Maric | 5 – Maric | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| Jan 12, 2018 7:30 pm, FS1 | | Providence | L 64–71 | 8–9 (1–4) | 15 – Maric | 9 – Strus | 4 – 3 tied | Wintrust Arena (5,354) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 15, 2018 8:00 pm, FS1 | | at Marquette | L 52–70 | 8–10 (1–5) | 15 – Cyrus | 8 – Maric | 4 – Strus | BMO Harris Bradley Center (12,278) Milwaukee, WI |
| Jan 20, 2018 1:00 pm, FS1 | | Butler | L 67–79 | 8–11 (1–6) | 27 – Strus | 8 – McCallum | 7 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (6,802) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:45 pm, FS1 | | at Georgetown | W 74–73 | 9–11 (2–6) | 27 – Cain | 9 – Reed | 4 – Strus | Capital One Arena (4,828) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 28, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Seton Hall | L 70–86 | 9–12 (2–7) | 16 – McCallum | 8 – Strus | 6 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (5,650) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 3, 2018 11:00 am, FS1 | | at Butler | L 57–80 | 9–13 (2–8) | 15 – Maric | 7 – McCallum | 4 – Roberts | Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,879) Indianapolis, IN |
| Feb 7, 2018 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Creighton | L 75–76 | 9–14 (2–9) | 23 – Maric | 11 – Reed | 6 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (5,010) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 10, 2018 3:30 pm, FSN | | at Providence | W 80–63 | 10–14 (3–9) | 18 – Maric | 10 – McCallum | 5 – Cain | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,892) Providence, RI |
| Feb 14, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | St. John's | L 76–77 | 10–15 (3–10) | 19 – Cain | 9 – Maric | 11 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (4,690) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 18, 2018 3:00 pm, FS1 | | at Seton Hall | L 77–82 | 10–16 (3–11) | 23 – Maric | 8 – Maric | 5 – Cain | Prudential Center (10,110) Newark, NJ |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 3 Villanova | L 62–93 | 10–17 (3–12) | 21 – Strus | 8 – Reed | 8 – Cain | Wells Fargo Center (10,007) Philadelphia, PA |
| Feb 24, 2018 11:00 am, FSN | | Marquette | W 70–62 | 11–17 (4–12) | 20 – Strus | 13 – Maric | 3 – 3 tied | Wintrust Arena (9,053) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 27, 2018 8:00 pm, FS1 | | at Creighton | L 57–82 | 11–18 (4–13) | 14 – Strus | 7 – Maric | 6 – Strus | CenturyLink Center Omaha (18,191) Omaha, NE |
| Mar 3, 2018 11:00 am, FOX | | No. 3 Xavier | L 62–65 | 11–19 (4–14) | 20 – Cyrus | 5 – 3 tied | 4 – Cain | Wintrust Arena (7,972) Chicago, IL |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| Mar 7, 2018 8:30 pm, FS1 | (10) | vs. (7) Marquette First round | L 69–72 | 11–20 | 22 – 2 tied | 10 – Maric | 10 – Cain | Madison Square Garden (16,866) New York City, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||