88 is exactly right. There's lots of talk on this board about how great Wichita State was and how they dominated the Valley - which is true.

But if you look at the numbers, during their last 6 years in the MVC, Wichita State did the following:
6 NCAA tournament appearances
5 regular season MVC
1 Final Four
10-6 record in the NCAA tournament

That's a dominant team.

But in Arch Madness:
2 Championships
1 Runner-up
3 Semifinal losses

The fact that a dominant team watched as many championship games as they played in goes to show that weird things happen in conference tournaments. You can't judge the success of a program by how they play in conference tournaments.

Also, only 2 of the last 8 NCAA champions won their conference tournaments.

You raised some good points there. Arch madness is a beast of its own. Look at what happened last year on Friday. No one could have predicted that Drake (who got swept by UNI) and Valpo (who were swept by us) would knock us out in the first round. And honestly, we could get knocked out on Friday this year as well. I just hope to god that fucking Bradley doesn't somehow win it three years in a row.

It's obvious that this team is tired, the performance yesterday was a tell tale sign of it. We need this week and a half to rest, recover, and learn. SIU should be an easy series for us. When it comes to Arch Madness, there are multiple teams that are legitimate threats to us. While it may not be necessary this year to make it to the ncaa tournament, it is always a team goal to win the conference championship.

Something I found extremely fun was going to the DePaul 247 message board. They have a thread on there titled "ramblers."

https://247sports.com/college/depaul/board/103822/Contents/ramblers-159922081/

This one is a fun read because it now makes me no longer feel bad for DePaul fans one bit. For years I actually did feel bad for them because I knew what it was like to root for a school whose administration had no foresight and direction (Planek years), and it seemed like DePaul had the same problem with Jean Lenti Ponsetto. I didn't blame their fans for their lack of success (and unwillingness to play us) as much as I blamed their administration. Given what they've put on the court, I certainly didn't envy them though...

But the thread begins by asking, "Does DePaul look at Porter Moser?" After that, the posts from their fans make it abundantly clear that they have no sense of reality. Some of my favorite posts include:

"Is this a joke. Common you wouldn’t hire a small business owners to be a 500 ceo."

"DePaul is in the BE. Loyola is a low major"

"PM would be one of the most uninspiring hires I could think of."

"PM would be another crap hire. I don’t see Peevy hitching his wagon to that type of hire."

They seem to think that they can get a coach like John Beilein or Rick Pitino. Okay... For some reason they are also under the impression that Porter had a lucky run in 2018 and, other than that, he's not a good coach.

What's even funnier to me is the demeaning and belittling way they perceive Loyola, almost exclusively because they are in the Big East. They seem to think that just by the fact that they are affiliated with good conference, it makes them a better program than ours. That is absolutely laughable.

In the Big East over the past 4 years, DePaul is 15-50!!!!!

In 2017-2018 they beat:
1) Saint John's (16-17, 4-14 BE)
2) Georgetown (14-18, 5-13 BE)
3) Providence (21-14, 10-8 BE)
4) Marquette (21-14, 9-9, BE)

in 2018-2019, they beat:
5) Seton Hall (20-14, 9-9 BE)
6)Saint Johns (21-13, 8-10 BE)
7)Seton Hall (20-14, 9-9 BE)
8) Providence (18-16, 7-11 BE)
9) Xavier (19-16, 9-9 BE)
10) Saint Johns (21-13, 8-10 BE)
11) Georgetown (19-14, 9-9 BE)

in 2019-2020, they beat:
12) Butler (22-9, 10-8 BE)
13) Georgetown (15-17, 5-13 BE)
14) Marquette (18-12, 8-10 BE)

This year, they beat:
15) Marquette (10-12, 6-10 BE)

IN FOUR YEARS, THEY HAVE ONLY 2 WINS AGAINST TEAMS THAT FINISHED WITH A WINNING RECORD IN THEIR CONFERENCE! Do their fans think that Porter Moser's Loyola teams the past 4 years couldn't have won at least 15 of those 65 games? Do they think that those DePaul teams would have beaten up on Loyola's past 4 teams????

In the MVC over the past 4 years, Loyola is 54-16. Do they think DePaul's last four teams would have lost less than 16 games if they were in the Valley? I sure don't think so.

I quite enjoy the fact that DePaul fans think that Porter would want their coaching job and that he doesn't deserve it... Even though he already turned down a team in their conference who is a better program than them.

The truth of the matter is, with the state of DePaul basketball and their program compared to what Porter has going on at Loyola... even if they reached out to him, I seriously doubt that he would take the call...

It's amazing to me that the overwhelming amount of their fans think that 1) they can easily do better than Porter Moser, and 2) that they deserve better than Porter Moser.

Good luck to them.

Oh wow--that thread is a hilarious read. DePaul is one of the biggest laughingstocks among P6 programs---a punch line of fans and commentators across the country. And yet, their fans are talking about bringing in Beilein and Thad Matta (who literally have their pick of the litter if they wanted to get back in to coaching) and filling up Wintrust Arena so it is like Cameron Indoor. I was laughing out loud reading that thread so thank you for sharing.

Loved some of the comments from just a month ago---along the lines of "no way Loyola gets ranked", "Loyola is the third best team in the Valley", "Loyola has no chance to make March Madness unless they win the MVC tourney." They'd kill to have an ounce of the success and spotlight Loyola has had over the past few years.

KenPom currently ranks Loyola ahead of EVERY Big East team. All 11 of them, including our former conference rival Butler (who DePaul can't beat even in Butler's worst year since 2005), Creighton (the team we replaced in the MVC), and Villanova (one of only two teams in the country that had a better year than us in 2018).

Yeah, that's ridiculous. Makes me lose respect for DePaul fans, and I would consider myself one. I think we could beat them any day of the week. I'd rather be the best team in a mid major, than the worst in a p6. I would love to see DePaul have a good year and have some relevance, but that won't happen for a while. I think Porter would do a good job there, but I'm not quite sure he would want the job.

You know who could beat Butler this year? SIU

Loyola vs. DePaul at this point, in terms of prominence, isn’t even close. What’s even more interesting to me is what they think they can attract as far as coaching candidates. The truth of the matter is, in the event that we are both without coaches at the end of this season, we are in far better position than them to get a better coach.

First - lets knock them back down to reality. They can’t get a “big name” coach. They aren’t going to shell out 3+ million dollars to anyone, and even if they did... they are not going to convince a 68 year old John Beilein or a 68 year old Rick Pitino to start from the bottom and get their asses beat in the Big East for the last 3 years of their career. If they were to go anywhere, they would go some place where they had a realistic chance at making the tournament IMMEDIATELY. So you can knock those ridiculous names off the list. Gregg Marshall is poison for at least another year, and he’s not gonna go to a school that won’t throw endless money at their basketball program anyway (which is not DePaul).

From there, if you want a “name coach,” you have to look at major school coaches that might be on their way out. Patrick Ewing? He’s already proven he can’t win in the Big East. Jerry Stackhouse? Bust. Jim Boeheim? He’ll retire. Izzo? He’s never taking another job. The best shot they have at a “name” coach would be Mike Brey (old and more of the same), Tom Crean (who would probably go back to Marquette if that opens up), Bruce Weber? Ha. Richard Pitino? Maybe he would come.

The truth is, for the rebuild that needs to be done at DePaul, they can’t take a coach over 60 years old. You have to have the fire and will to go non stop, 24-7, 365 days to turn it around. That takes Brey, Weber, Pitino, Beilein out of the running. Their best shots at a name coach would be Tom Crean, Archie Miller, Chris Collins and Richard Pitino. Realistically, I think the could only GET Collins or Richard Pitino off that list. Also... when it comes to big names ... you have to remember that they are at the BOTTOM of that list if/when those other jobs open up. Notre Dame, Marquette, Georgetown, Kansas State, Indiana, northwestern, Iowa State, Minnesota. All of those schools are in better shape than DePaul to succeed and any “name” coach would choose to go to those schools over DePaul. Also - all of them can offer as much or more money than DePaul can. AND ... coincidently, all the schools I’m mentioning on this list WILL be calling Porter Moser to interview if they have an opening.

DePaul’s best day is getting Tom Crean. After that - there’s not going to be anybody left to choose from to make the “splash” DePaul fans are apparently hoping for.

So then you need to look at young, up-and-coming coaches - and THAT’s where a potential Loyola opening would hurt DePaul. You’re looking at big time assistant coaches - John scheyer (duke) Luke Murray (Louisville), Jerrence Howard (Kansas), Gerry McNamara (Syracuse), Joel Justus (Kentucky) Joe Krabbenhoft (Wisconsin), Kyle Neptune (Villanova). You’re also looking at a cavalcade of successful young coaches from “low” league schools. All of these coaches have dreams of coaching major programs. Loyola and DePaul would BOTH be perceived “stepping stone” destinations by all of them. So the interesting hypothetical for them is “where can I go and have the most success and make a name for myself in the next 3 to 5 years to put myself in position for a big time coaching gig?”

If any of those guys have the option of Loyola vs. DePaul - the choice seems fairly obvious...

Loyola is turn-key. It’s got a national reputation now. It’s been to the final four recently. It’s achieved a national ranking recently. It’s won its conference title or finished second all four years. It has basically brand new facilities. The administration has committed to winning. The cupboard won’t be empty on arrival. And it’s in a league that is winnable.

DePaul is in shambles. It consistently finishes last in the Big East. It has an off-campus arena that doesn’t draw fans. It has a brand new unproven AD. it’s in a league filled with talent and you inherit essentially nobody (who stays) that’s even close to competing.

Let me put it this way... if John Scheyer sat down with his mentor, Mike Krzyzewski, and said, “I’ve got offers from Loyola and DePaul to be their next head coach. I want to be a big time head coach like you. Where should I go?” I think he tells John Loyola.

DePaul is a mess. Loyola is flying high. If Porter leaves, it will be rough, but we are definitely going to have options ... and if that happens, our options will be better than DePaul’s. From there, we would just hope that our administration makes the right call.

But none of that matters because Porter is going to stay and win us a national championship at some point in the next 10 years.

Love that you highlight my friars. I have been following the Big East for a while because I went to providence. I just feel bad for DePaul, their admin is terrible. But I do not think Moser would work in the big East. It’s a completely different game. Recruiting is way different and moser would definitely have to play dirty and I don’t see him being like that.

Moser seems like a good old fashion coach. No bs just hard work and skill. That’s why the mvc seems to be his domain. He is killing it rn, why leave when it’s good and it works.

Look at Cooley he was in the same boat before joining the friars. He has had some success in the early big East but he is starting to fizzle out.

I do think that DePaul will have to have a home run hire. They have been so bad for like the 20 years they been in the Big East. I’m surprised they even have fans anyone. Who has stuck around. I went to a game at wintrust and it was empty. I feel so so so bad because it seems no one at DePaul cares.

Agree with everything said here about DePaul. How is it possible they have a nationally ranked top 10 recruiting class in 2021?