The crowd, gathering at 1870 court next to Carnesecca Arena, was much larger than usual. Fans milled about, grabbing spoonfuls of a buffet dinner and chatting about the upcoming game with the DePaul Blue Demons.
No one at the buffet knew about the injury to Shamorie Ponds that would keep him on the sidelines for the game. Fans, instead, were concerned about the ability of the Red Storm to rebound against a taller Blue Demon team.
One fan thought, “we have to run and push the offense in order to counter DePaul’s strength on the boards.