March Comes in Like a Demon

NEW YORK -- Most of the scalpers still hadn't found their way to the Madison Square Garden foyer when the first miracle of March began taking root inside the old joint on 33rd street. The sleepy crowd barely tipped into the hundreds, and the squeak of sneakers kissing parquet could be heard above the sound of individual claps.

Then a kid with the lyrical name of Matija Postic slipped in a putback and whispers oozed into a low roar. Could it be? Were the DePaul Blue Demons on the verge of authoring the month's earliest moments of madness?

With two minutes remaining in the opener of the Big East Conference Tournament, Mac Koshwal's two-handed dunk unlatched the gates. A minute later, Dar Tucker went coast-to-coast, a free throw icing his layup, and that is when we were reminded that March is indeed the most joyous, most deliriously unpredictable time of the year.

DePaul, losers of all 18 conference games this season, upset Cincinnati, 67-57, and if the next three weeks are anything like early Tuesday afternoon at the Garden, an afternoon akin to having cups of ice water thrown in the face, it ought to be an exhilarating ride.

From now until early April, sports fans can be forgiven for spontaneously bursting out of their work cubicles. It will do us all some good to focus not on the Dow but on the brackets, to sub snarls with high-fives. March Madness is chicken soup for the soul.

Those who argued the Big East tourney, aka The Beast, had to be super-sized this year seem like geniuses today, now that the bloat has bared its upside. Some Big East officials chafed at expanding The Beast, which had previously invited only its top 12 finishers rather than all 16 teams. A bottom-feeder like DePaul, had no business coming to NYC, or so the officials sniffed before heading out to Rollie Massimino's favorite Italian restaurant.

If it meant the tournament had to expand an extra day, so be it. Turns out it was like adding an extra scoop of chocolate ice cream to double-layered chocolate cake. What's not to like? No matter what befalls them the rest of the week (and stay away from Union Square temptations, kiddies), the Blue Demons, only the third Big East team to trip through an entire conference schedule without a victory, can finally hold their heads high, while the Cincinnati Bearcats find themselves starring smack in the middle of one of The Beast's juiciest plot lines.

We thought we'd have to wait until Friday to experience the true buzz. That is when four legitimate Final Four contenders -- Louisville, Pittsburgh, University of Connecticut, Villanova -- are expected to be on show at the Garden in the semifinals, but if the month always went as expected, Dick Vitale would never lose his voice. Because of DePaul's win, and because only fools dare predict March's bounty, The Beast is now as twisted as the brambles in Central Park.



Before being wiped out by DePaul, ninth-seeded Cincinnati had only a slim hope of grabbing a NCAA tournament bid. The Bearcats' stunning loss not only erases their chances, it muddies the road for Providence, the only team here still wobbling on the bubble. A win over the Bearcats in Wednesday's second round would have carried more weight for the Friars in the eyes of the selectors come Sunday, when the NCAA seeding is announced.

Cincinnati is out of the conversation, Providence is still in, and if the Big East is not the most powerful conference in college basketball, it sure is close. Depending on how the next four days roll, Pitt, UConn and Louisville could all garner No. 1 seeds; Marquette, Villanova, Syracuse and West Virginia should all be clenching teeth Sunday, waiting for invites to the dance. The Beast began with a sleepy yawn Tuesday, with the Garden seats empty and the scalpers few, but it is always one of the best events in New York, second only to baseball's Subway Series, and this year's talent assures its place in the sporting spectrum.

Most of the DePaul players were born after Villanova beat Georgetown for the 1985 NCAA championship, the game that defines "upset" in any proper dictionary. But the Blue Demons know, through osmosis and playground chatter, what it means to defy expectations, to toss aside doubt and shake off the questions.

"If we lost, we would have the longest losing streak in the country," Tucker was saying in the Garden hallway, after matching Will Walker for the team high with 17 points. "We didn't want that. We couldn't have that. We're young but we won in New York, in Madison Square Garden, and we're never going to forget that. Never."

The Blue Demons trailed by two at halftime, and soon they were down by seven to start the half, but they rallied with a 15-2 run as Cincinnati missed 13-of-14 shots from the field. A team that was considered too young and inexperienced to handle the pounding of the Big East conference -- DePaul lost senior guard Jabari Currie, to injury, earlier in the season -- finally proved it could close out a game without freaking. They hadn't much depth or experience, but they did have Walker's penetrating drives, Jeremiah Kelly's outside shooting (we'll forgive his foolhardy behind-the-back pass on a three-on-one break that led to a turnover), and Tucker's leadership despite spending the first half mired in foul trouble.

On the 19th try, after going oh-for-18 in the conference, DePaul picked a fine time to grab history by the throat.

Later, coach Jerry Wainwright joked that it took his wife nearly three years to learn how to cook, so he's familiar with patience being a virtue. "It has been a long time without a win," Wainwright said, "and it's nice to get a little bit of sugar."