Thanks to a bit of luck, I had found a free ticket via Twitter and met the generous gent, a DePaul alumnus and season ticket holder, about 15 minutes before the game. Though with DePaul at 1-12 in the Big East and visitors Georgetown at 5-8, generous might be a bit much. For me though, I knew it would be the best basketball I would see all weekend and was excited to complete the trifecta in style. Thanks Dave for the ticket!
Wintrust Arena was opened in 2017 amid controversy for its use of public funds, particularly given the 50 public schools were being closed around the same time. It is part of the McCormick Place convention center complex, a short walk along Cermak Avenue from Red and Green Line stations. Security was surprisingly quick because you don't have to take anything out of your pockets; only bags were being inspected. Did you read that every other sports venue out there? You don't have to take anything out of your pockets! In Chicago! Update: this type of security has become more common and should be used everywhere.
Inside, there is a large lobby that leads to two escalators -the first takes you to the main concourse, while the second goes up to the second level. I did a quick tour around the lower concourse and spotted a display case filled with plaques celebrating athletic accomplishments (above) The women have made the Sweet 16 three times, while the men have not had much recent success, with an NCAA second-round appearance in 2004 the latest. Unless you count the CBI runner-up trophy from last year. Which I don't.
The Blue Demons joined the original Big East conference in 2005 and since then, their conference record is 84-227 (37%). This is a far cry from the Independent team coached by Ray Meyer from 1942-84 that made the tournament 13 times, including a Final Four appearance in 1979, losing to Larry Bird's Indiana State team.
Moving up to the second level, I enjoyed the large banners hanging over the lobby and escalators (above).
What I appreciated most about the venue was the unique seating setup in some areas. In the upper level at one end, there is a Demon Deck, a standing area that caters mostly to students but is open to all. Below this is a seating area that hangs almost right over the court and provides an unusual angle (above).
I also liked the separated sections such as 205-207 at the top of the photo above. I've begun to enjoy sitting in the corners for basketball and I spent a few minutes here. I even think I saw former Georgetown coach John Thompson sitting here just before halftime. The view from these sections is below. Not bad as you can stretch out and have an entire row to yourself.
This is a relatively compact arena and there really aren't any bad seats in the place.
There are two level of suites along one side of the upper level that are not open to the general public, visible above the ribbon boards in the photo below.
During halftime, I continued to tour and grabbed a picture from the upper deck at midcourt. This is the best place to see the Chicago skyline on the floor. Notice the Chinese dancers; it was Lunar New Year celebration and there was quite a nice show put on during the intermission.
The scoreboard is impressive, as you would expect for a Big East team.
Another thing I liked was seeing the ribbon boards for more than just advertising. Specifically, plenty of detailed stats that give you an idea of how the game was progressing.
For the second half, I moved down to a corner seat just a couple of rows from the floor. Ushers were nowhere to be seen and I spent the entire half there.
Overall, I really enjoyed Wintrust Arena, particularly after the poor experience that afternoon at UIC. Concessions were plentiful with no lines, and I was able to move around and sit in a variety of spots.
The game turned out to be decent as well, a nice way to end a very busy day.
The Game
For the third time in as many games, there was a starter from Canada as Brampton's Jahvon Blair suited up for the Hoyas. DePaul also has a Canuck on their roster, Nick Ongenda from Mississauga, who came off the bench. The first half was evenly played, with both teams taking small leads only to find the other climbing back. The referees were auditioning for the tournament, calling 23 fouls, plus a technical against Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing for complaining about their crap officiating. There were 23 total free throws as the teams finished the half all even at 36.
The second half was much better as the refs relaxed a bit, calling only 11 fouls in the first 19 minutes, while the teams kept things close. Leading 58-57 with 5:51 to go, De Paul went on a 6-0 run over the next 90 seconds. Georgetown then went cold, missing six shots and turning the ball over twice, with only offensive rebounding keeping them in the game. Down 66-61 with just over a minute to go, they began to foul. They needed three fouls to put De Paul in the bonus and Jaylez Butz missed the first of the one-and-one but Romeo Weems grabbed the offensive board, forcing Georgetown to foul again. Charlie Moore sank both, but Terrell Allen responded immediately for the Hoyas with a layup. Another foul on Moore, who missed one of the two shots, and then stupidly fouled Allen on a three-point attempt. Allen made all three to get it to 69-66 with 32 seconds left, but the Hoyas had to continue to foul. Paul Reed made two, and when Jamorko Pickett missed a three for Georgetown, the rest was academic as DePaul won 74-68, only their second conference win of the season.
I questioned the wisdom of fouling down 5 with a minute to go, but it was actually a good strategy except Georgetown couldn't grab the rebound off the missed free throw. The 1-and-1 does lead to some interesting endgames in college hoops, though this was not one of them. Still, I enjoyed it immensely and returned to my hotel happy to have completed my first true tripleheader.
Notes
The DePaul women play some games at McGrath-Phillips Arena, which means I will be there at some point. I expect that is where most of the history and memorabilia can be found. Loyola-Chicago is the other school in the Windy City, and Northern Illinois is about 65 miles west. So I'll be looking for a weekend next season when all three are home to complete the Chicagoland portion of my unofficial Quest for 388. Update: COVID prevented all that, now the women play exclusively at Wintrust, and I added Loyola and Northern Illinois in late 2023.
As part of the Lunar New Year celebration, there was a chopstick contest where the two participants had to move M&Ms from a bowl to a cup using chopsticks. Not as easy as it sounds. Sitting right there, I found this very amusing, especially the mascot DIBS' intense observation. It would have been funny if he had participated as well. Or maybe that would be cultural appropriation, as Demons don't normally use chopsticks.
Best,
Sean
No comments:
Post a Comment