Northwestern and DePaul agree to five-year series beginning in 2015

By Mike Pendleton
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: June 2, 2014

The battle of Chicago? The Northwestern Wildcats and DePaul Blue Demons Men’s Basketball teams will begin that battle in 2015 according to the official Northwestern website. According to NUSports.com, both schools have agreed to begin a five-year series which will begin in the 2015-16 season.

Last season, DePaul’s Billy Garrett Jr’s game winner gave the Blue Demons a 57-56 win. The Blue Demons will host three of the games at home, while Northwestern will host two on their home court, Welsh-Ryan Arena. Both coaches released statements on the news today.

Northwestern coach Chris Collins:

“As a Chicago native, I think it’s terrific for basketball in the area to have Northwestern and DePaul play one another,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said in the release. “There have been some great games between the teams over the years and we look forward to that continuing.”

DePaul coach Oliver Purnell:

“Getting the DePaul-Northwestern series secured over this five-year stretch is great for both programs and basketball fans in Chicago,” said DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell. “Last year’s exciting finish was an example of the great competition we’ll see between the two teams.”

These two teams have split their last 14 meetings, dating back to 1987. According to College Basketball Talk, the two teams tried to make a game set for this season but were unable to agree to a date, pushing the start of this series until 2015.

This could, and should, help centralize some of the best Chicago high school basketball players to focus in on Chicago’s top two universities while on their recruiting journey.

Follow Mike Pendleton on Twitter @MP2310

Facebook.com/FullScaleSports Twitter:@FullScaleSport

Photo credit: (DePaulBlueDemons.com)