UD men hope to ride upset streak and win first-ever NCAA game

PITTSBURGH – The University of Delaware is a longshot in its NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament game against Villanova Friday, just as it has been in all five of its previous appearances.

The Blue Hens went into each of those with momentum from winning league championships, then learned there is a talent gap between the mid- and major conference levels of college basketball.

Two of those defeats were by single digits, though Delaware still really wasn’t in position to pull an upset in the final minutes of either.

That challenge will continue in the 2:45 p.m. (CBS-TV) game against Villanova, as Delaware is 0-15 all-time against the sixth-ranked Wildcats and 0-34 against nationally ranked foes.  

But to prepare you for this year’s game, here are details of the Blue Hens previous NCAA games:

1992 (Dayton) No. 4 Cincinnati 85, No. 13 Delaware 47: The winningest team in UD history roared into the school’s first NCAA Tournament on a 20-game win streak. But the Blue Hens were quickly dismantled by the Bearcats, who began their own march to the Final Four with a one-sided win at the Dayton Arena. Cincinnati’s full-court pressure led to 33 Blue Hen turnovers. Anthony Wright scored 16 points and Mark Murray 13 for Delaware, which finished 27-4. But the Blue Hens were outrebounded 60-45, with Cincinnati grabbing 20 from the offensive glass, and shot 39.5 percent to the Bearcats’ 45.6. Nick Van Exel’s 18 points led Cincinnati.

1993 (Indianapolis) No. 4 Louisville 76, No. 13 Delaware 70: Down 18 with 7 minutes to play at the Hoosier Dome, Delaware put a late scare in the Cardinals but it was ultimately futile, leaving the Hens feeling as if they’d missed an opportunity. Clifford Rozier and Dwayne Morton scored 20 points each for a Louisville team that shot 51 percent from the field. But the Blue Hens had a five-minute second half scoring drought that ultimately cost them. Anthony Wright scored 17, Brian Pearl 13 and Spencer Dunkley 12 for Delaware.

1998 (Chicago) No. 2 Purdue 95, No. 15 Delaware 56: No. 11-ranked Purdue’s frontcourt size was a big problem but so was the Boilermakers’ ability to defend and get up and down the court. That led to a humbling afternoon for the Hens, who fell behind 18-0 at the start and 53-17 at halftime. Purdue cooled off, but still shot 56 percent for the game. Mike Pegues scored 17 points, Keith Davis 13, Darryl Pressley 12 and Tyrone Perry 11 for Delaware, which was hurt by 3-for-16 aim on 3-pointers.

1999 (Charlotte) No. 4 Tennessee 62, No. 13 Delaware 52: Coach Mike Brey’s Blue Hens, with 10 players from the previous year’s NCAA rout, confidently carried a 13-game win streak into this encounter, with visions of their first NCAA tourney win. The 20th-ranked Vols had two wins over defending NCAA champ Kentucky and were a tough customer, but Delaware led by as many as six points in the first half. Then the Hens couldn’t get enough shots to fall, which was out of character. After a Mike Pegues hook shot pulled Delaware within 36-35 with 11:21 left, the Vols pulled away. Delaware shot a chilly 32 percent (18-for-57) and, worse, just 2-for-15 on 3-pointers. Pegues’ 23 points made him the Hens’ only double-digit scorer.