Loyola-Chicago among 5 of the greatest NCAA Tournament runs in Illinois history
By Ryan Heckman
The 1978-1979 DePaul Blue Demons gave their fans the greatest run in their school’s history during their respective NCAA Tournament. This team featured the future first overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft, Mark Aguirre, who tore through that season on a rampage.
Aguirre averaged an astonishing 25.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game — it’s no wonder the Dallas Mavericks took him at the top spot in 1981.
The Blue Demons’ regular season finished on a record of 21-5, including two separate winning streaks of eight and nine games each.
Their tournament run that year began with a bout against the University of Southern California, in which they came away victorious by a score of 89-78. In the second round, DePaul faced off against Marquette in a much lower scoring affair, which they won 62-56.
Their next battle came against a familiar foe in UCLA. The Blue Demons had lost their season-opener to the Bruins by a whopping 23 points. This time, though, would be different. DePaul ended up with a 95-91 victory, sending them to the Final Four.
In the following game, DePaul was defeated by a guy you might have heard of before — Larry Bird — and his Indiana State Sycamores, in close fashion, 76-74. To this day, it is only their second Final Four appearance in school history.