'Cats can't scratch 40-year itch/prepping for DePaul-ND

--First of all, Happy New Year's Eve.
If you're short on things for which to be thankful as 2008 closes out, be glad you're not on Northwestern's flight home from Penn State after the Wildcats squandered an 11-point second-half lead in record time.

If the Wildcats had clung to their 34-23 advantage -- instead of surrendering 29 points over the next seven minutes in a hail of open 3-pointers -- they would have won their first Big Ten opener on the road (meaning it was their first league game AND it was on the road) since the 1968-69 season.

--Second of all, don't drive impaired tonight. If you need inspiration to do the right thing, read this: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts_crime_fire/2008/12/20/woman_who_...

--After that sobering story, let's allow DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright to lighten the mood. We were sitting around talking on Tuesday when muscular Ohio State transfer Eric Wallace, who's sitting out this year, emerged from the locker room in his practice jersey and shorts.

"If I looked like him," Wainwright said, "I'd walk around naked."

--But seriously, I need to apologize for my weak article in today's paper about DePaul's Big East opener with Notre Dame. It was a rush job that didn't give much insight into the Blue Demons' last few weeks as they prepare for the Big East.

I haven't seen the Demons live since the Morgan State fiasco, so I was curious how they reacted to the loss (beyond winning 4 of 5 games since).

"After Morgan State, we were more angry than down. We didn't do what we were supposed to do in terms of following the game plan, especially in the clutch. I thought in some ways that helped us some."

What didn't help the Demons around that time were injuries to Mac Koshwal and the aforementioned Wallace, which left them with just nine players for an extended stretch.

"Our practice kind of eroded. And (Wallace) has risen...he is such...if you're Dar Tucker or Mac Koshwal and you don't go hard against Eric Wallace, you're going to be humbled in practice."

But Wallace is back and Koshwal says his foot is 100 percent and doesn't need treatment for plantar fasciitis. More important, Mario Stula became eligible to make things more competitive on the perimeter and freshman Devin Hill replaced senior Matija Poscic in the starting lineup.

Hill, the 6-foot-9, 210-pound freshman from Stamford, Conn., has started the last 5 games. During that stretch, which admittedly included games against weak sisters Southern and Alcorn State, Hill has averaged 26.8 minutes, 6.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.2 steals.

He still shoots too many 3s at this juncture of his career (he's 1 for 10 in the last 5 games and 6 for 28 on the year), but he has a decent-looking shot that will improve when he adds leg strength in the offseason.

If you've got nothing better to do around 11 p.m. tonight -- and even if you do -- check in here for a postgame report on the Demons and Irish. Could there be a better way to welcome in 2009?

LW