Some of the best rivalries in college basketball involve schools from the same state.
Think Duke and North Carolina, Louisville and Kentucky, Wisconsin and Marquette, Kansas and Kansas State, Michigan and Michigan State, and Indiana and Purdue.
It’s difficult to replicate the fiery passion encapsulated within in-state rivalries, and for a long time DePaul basketball has been missing out. But, it’s not DePaul’s fault. Most of the rivalries mentioned above involve teams that share both a conference and the same state simultaneously and DePaul is the only team in the Big East that makes its home in Illinois.