The history of the USF-DePaul basketball rivalry has been thoroughly explored here and here. So this post will be about the future.
The Blue Demons have only won seven games this season. But they won those seven games with three freshmen, Brandon Young, Cleveland Melvin, and Moses Morgan, playing important roles. Jeremiah Kelly has had a hot couple weeks; he'll be back next season. The team was competitive in recent games with Louisville, Connecticut, and Villanova. First-year coach Oliver Purnell has a long history of success building programs like DePaul's.
At USF, the future is a little harder to see. Ron Anderson is a hard worker in the frontcourt. Hugh Robertson has been consistent. Jawanza Poland has shown flashes of true explosiveness. Transfer Victor Rudd was a highly touted recruit. But USF's only freshman, LaVonte Dority, isn't getting on the court. Shedrick Haynes hasn't seen meaningful minutes since Shaddrick Jenkins did. Coach Stan Heath is continuing to recruit despite having used all available scholarships, hinting at roster turnover.
Yeah, Saturday might be an evenly-matched game for 15th place, with USF going for a season sweep. But if you could have either team's future right now, whose would you take?
With that in mind, the Queefcore anthem for the DePaul return game is "Higher" by Creed. It's a song that asks a simple question, a question that fans of countless losing sports teams ask of their current leadership: Can you take me higher? By which I mean, in the standings. DePaul's probably feeling pretty good about that. But USF? I don't know. I just don't know.