# 2003–04 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team

2003–04 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team represented DePaul University as a member of Conference USA during the 2003–04 men's college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Dave Leitao and played their home games at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The Blue Demons finished in a 5-way tie atop the conference regular season standings, reached the championship game of the Conference USA Tournament, and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Playing as the No. 7 seed in the Phoenix regional, DePaul defeated Dayton in overtime in the opening round before losing to eventual National champion Connecticut in the second round 72–55. The team finished the season with a record of 22–10 (12–4 C-USA).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 21, 2003* | | Loyola–Chicago | W 73–61 | 1–0 | Allstate Arena (7,354) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Nov 25, 2003* | | Northwestern | W 65–53 | 2–0 | Allstate Arena (7,122) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Nov 29, 2003* | | vs. Indiana State Spartan Classic | W 78–66 | 3–0 | Breslin Student Events Center (14,759) East Lansing, Michigan |
| Nov 30, 2003* | | at No. 3 Michigan State Spartan Classic | L 81–89 | 3–1 | Breslin Student Events Center (14,759) East Lansing, Michigan |
| Dec 7, 2003* | | Bradley | W 77–74 | 4–1 | Allstate Arena (8,033) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Dec 9, 2003* | | at Ohio | W 63–60 | 5–1 | Convocation Center (2,043) Athens, Ohio |
| Dec 14, 2003* | | Notre Dame | L 69–82 | 5–2 | Allstate Arena (14,198) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Dec 20, 2003* | | Toledo | L 81–93 | 5–3 | Allstate Arena (6,621) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Dec 27, 2003* | | at Seton Hall | L 62–76 | 5–4 | Continental Airlines Arena (7,431) East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Dec 31, 2003* | | Southeast Missouri State | W 57–50 | 6–4 | Allstate Arena (6,086) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Jan 3, 2004* | | Chicago State | W 81–74 | 7–4 | Allstate Arena (6,237) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Jan 6, 2004 | | Charlotte | L 70–75 | 7–5 (0–1) | Allstate Arena (7,155) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Jan 10, 2004 | | at No. 11 Cincinnati | L 65–90 | 7–6 (0–2) | Fifth Third Arena (13,176) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 13, 2004 | | Memphis | W 82–73 | 8–6 (1–2) | Allstate Arena (8,228) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Jan 17, 2004 | | UAB | W 75–64 | 9–6 (2–2) | Allstate Arena (8,098) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Jan 20, 2004 | | at TCU | W 61–54 | 10–6 (3–2) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (4,084) Fort Worth, Texas |
| Jan 24, 2004 | | at Marquette | L 62–70 | 10–7 (3–3) | Bradley Center (18,645) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 31, 2004 | | at East Carolina | W 70–65 | 11–7 (4–3) | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (5,329) Greenville, North Carolina |
| Feb 3, 2004 | | Tulane | W 72–58 | 12–7 (5–3) | Allstate Arena (7,851) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Feb 7, 2004 | | Marquette | W 84–78 | 13–7 (6–3) | Allstate Arena (16,693) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Feb 11, 2004 | | at Saint Louis | W 70–68 | 14–7 (7–3) | Scottrade Center (9,148) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Feb 14, 2004 | | at Houston | W 66–54 | 15–7 (8–3) | Hofheinz Pavilion (2,194) Houston, Texas |
| Feb 21, 2004 | | Saint Louis | L 62–69 | 15–8 (8–4) | Allstate Arena (9,843) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Feb 25, 2004 | | at No. 21 Louisville | W 60–58 $^{OT}$ | 16–8 (9–4) | Freedom Hall (19,505) Louisville, Kentucky |
| Feb 28, 2004 | | Southern Miss | W 80–51 | 17–8 (10–4) | Allstate Arena (8,861) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Mar 4, 2004 | | No. 13 Cincinnati | W 68–65 | 18–8 (11–4) | Allstate Arena (13,235) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Mar 6, 2004 | | South Florida | W 78–66 | 19–8 (12–4) | DePaul Athletic Center (3,356) Chicago, Illinois |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 2004* | | vs. TCU Quarterfinals | W 89–65 | 20–8 | Riverfront Coliseum (11,777) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Mar 12, 2004* | | vs. UAB Semifinals | W 75–74 $^{OT}$ | 21–8 | Riverfront Coliseum (14,867) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Mar 13, 2004* | | at No. 13 Cincinnati Championship game | L 50–55 | 21–9 | Riverfront Coliseum (13,787) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 18, 2004* | (7 PHX) | vs. (10 PHX) Dayton First Round | W 76–69 $^{2OT}$ | 22–9 | HSBC Arena (18,698) Buffalo, New York |
| Mar 20, 2004* | (7 PHX) | vs. (2 PHX) No. 7 Connecticut Second Round | L 55–72 | 22–10 | HSBC Arena (18,686) Buffalo, New York |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. PHX=Phoenix. ||||||