Creighton vs. DePaul game recap: McDermott etches 400th career win as Bluejays defeat Blue Demons

Greg McDermott began his coaching career in 1994 at Wayne State College in tiny Wayne, Nebraska, roughly two hours away from the Creighton University campus in Omaha.

Since then, he's been in charge of North Dakota State, Northern Iowa and Iowa State, and on Tuesday night, he earned win number 400 of his career.

The win was Creighton's 13th of the season and fourth in conference play, moving the Bluejays out of the basement.

Here are three things to take away from last night's contest:

1. Players don't quit on McDermott

There have been some tough losses this year for Creighton. Having lost four games by a combined seven points, things could be very different had just a shot each game gone a different way. The players could be sulking and they could have quit on McDermott. But as a testament to the culture that he has built and the pride that the players feel playing for a team that draws 17,500 fans per game, they have not lied down.

Sitting tied for last place and playing in front of only a couple thousand fans on a cold Tuesday night in Rosemont, Illinois, just across the street from an airport, it could have been very easy for Austin Chatman and company to not play to their potential.

This team is what it is.

Doug McDermott and Kyle Korver aren't going to magically suit up for them.

The team knows the deficiencies they have.

Despite all that, the team controlled the game from start to finish. The seniors combined for 45 points, leading the Jays to another bounce back victory.

Junior guard James Milliken led the Bluejays with 18 points while back-up center Will Artino chipped in with 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting while gathering seven rebounds.

2. Oliver Purnell has lost this team, again

DePaul began Big East play 3-0. They had just won in Omaha and were even being talked about nationally as a team that could compete in the Big East.

Since then, DePaul is 3-10 and looks like a shadow of a team that was surprising others.

Point guard Billy Garrett, Jr., scored just eight points while committing three turnovers. The team shot just 21 percent from three while getting destroyed on the glass, 38-22.

They also surrendered 12 huge offensive rebounds.

3. Austin Chatman is coming around, slowly

The senior point guard has had some brutal stretches of games throughout this season. However, in his last two games he has scored a combined 29 points on 44 percent shooting, better than his season average of 35 percent. Chatman has also cut down on his turnovers and taken smarter shots. He isn't where he needs to be just yet for the Jays to have a chance at making a run, but he's improved. And that's a welcomed sign for Creighton fans.