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The 50 or so DePaul fans who left the Blue Demons’ 62-51 win over East Carolina on Saturday sound like a future item for a late night zinger from Jay Leno — even if they don’t deserve the national attention.

They set up the walkout because they don’t think former Florida State mentor Pat Kennedy should continue coaching the program.

After six straight losses, they planned to leave during the DePaul-ECU game. Maybe they should have waited until February 12 when DePaul hosts Louisville — or certainly February 19 when Cincinnati comes to town.

If they’d known that ECU hasn’t won on an opponent’s court in over a year, they might have left looking less like a misguided element from the lunatic fringe. The Blue Demons were in command 29-12 with about four minutes left in the first half when the protesters left in a single-file line.

They were reportedly chanting, “Pat must go and Bradshaw, too,” referring to DePaul athletics director Bill Bradshaw.

DePaul was leading by 17 points? Custer had better timing at the Little Big Horn.

Maybe if their team was losing big to the Bearcats, they could have garnered more support. Fifty fans out of a crowd announced at 4,651 isn’t too impressive. Do the math. There are that many folks going to the concession stands or the rest rooms at any juncture of most games.

The 4,601 or so that stayed should have given those filing out a pat on the back with one those little “Kick me, I’m stupid” post-it notes attached.

I know DePaul has struggled. I don’t know the circumstances and I’m not a particularly big Pat Kennedy fan. But when a small, disgruntled segment walks out on their team when they’re winning, it’s not much of statement other than how spiteful some so-called supporters can be.

“The fans who have a problem, it’s their problem quite frankly,” Kennedy said. “The people who support DePaul will continue to do it.”

From my distant vantage point, DePaul would probably be better off if those fans keep going and Kennedy stays. With backstabbing backers like that, it’s no wonder Kennedy missed the ECU game in Greenville with back pain.

Does this pitiful little display portend future action? Maybe Bobby Bowden will lose favor with Florida State fans and they’ll organize a walk-out next season ... during the Duke game.

Maybe fans of the New England Patriots should acknowledge the inevitable demise of their team at some point and abandon ship now. The exodus at DePaul was reportedly organized through the Internet and e-mail, proof perhaps that some folks do spend too much time in those team chat rooms.

State Line Hoops Report© — 02/11/02

THE TOP TEN

1. Duke ... The Blue Devils won their tenth game in a row, 95-63, at Georgia Tech on Saturday as Jason Williams scored 28 points and Mike Dunleavy added 23. Duke improved to 22-1 overall and 10-1 in the ACC to surpass its best start ever. Both the 1991-92 and 1998-99 Duke teams started 21-1. Since a 78-77 loss at Florida State on Jan. 6, the Devils have won every game by at least 10 points. WIlliams leads the team with a 21.5 scoring average and 5.4 assists. Dunleavy is averaging 18.1 points and 7.0 rebounds. Carlos Boozer is averaging 17.7 points and 8.4 rebounds. Chris Duhon is the assist leader with a 6.2 average. Duke hosts N.C. State at 7 p.m. on Thursday and visits Maryland at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

2. Wake Forest ... Deacons coach Skip Prosser had planned to put 6-foot-6 Josh Howard on six-foot Cincinnati guard Steve Logan when the Bearcats played in Winston-Salem on Saturday, but Wake had to make other plans after Howard sprained his left ankle in practice on Thursday. Logan scored 30 points in a 103-94 Cincinnati win as the Bearcats hit 36 of 62 from the field for 58.1 percent. Howard’s status for upcoming games at Clemson at 9 p.m. on Wednesday and at home against Virginia at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday has not been determined. Howard is averaging 14.9 points and 7.8 rebounds for Wake (17-7, 7-3 ACC).

3. N.C. State ... Archie Miller scored 17 points and Scooter Sherrill added 16 as the Wolfpack tuned up for the trip to Duke with a 76-67 win at Florida State. NCSU (18-6, 7-4 ACC) hit 26 of 31 free throws for 83.9 percent, as Miller and Sherrill each went 8 for 8 at the line. On Wednesday, the Wolfpack won 85-68 at home over Virginia as Anthony Grundy had 25 points and Sherrill scored 20. NCSU athletic director Lee Fowler expressed approval on Thursday of the job coach Herb Sendek has done this season, one that was thought to be pivotal in terms on Sendek’s job security. The Pack appears bound for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991. State hosts Clemson at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

4. South Carolina ... The Gamecocks bounced back from a 72-63 home loss to Florida on Tuesday to down Tennessee 72-54 on Saturday night as Aaron Lucas led the win with 20 points. South Carolina is 14-9 overall and 4-6 in the Southeastern Conference going into a home game at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday against Alabama. Jamel Bradley, who has overcome hearing difficulties with state-of-the art hearing aids, leads coach Dave Odom’s club with a 14.3 scoring average and he’s connecting on 43.5 percent of his three-point attempts. USC visits Vanderbilt at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The Gamecocks have two wins over Tennessee this season by a total of 52 points.

5. Charlotte ... It wasn’t a good week for the 49ers, who were dusted 85-66 at home by Cincinnati in a matchup between teams tied for the top spot in Conference USA’s American Division. Then Charlotte went on the road and fell 73-54 at Saint Louis as the Niners dropped to 14-8 overall and 8-3 in the league. Coach Bobby Lutz’s club has opportunities to regroup at home this week against Memphis at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday and against DePaul at noon on Saturday. Jobey Thomas leads Charlotte’s scoring with an 18.6 average. He’s hitting 90.1 percent of his free throws and 43 percent of his threes.

6. College of Charleston ... Leighton Bowie scored a game-high 16 points to lead College of Charleston to a 79-55 home win over Appalachian State on Saturday as the Cougars recovered from a 60-58 loss at The Citadel on Monday. This week’s schedule sends coach John Kresse’s club to Western Carolina tonight and then the Cougars host Chattanooga at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a matchup of two teams that start the week tied for first in the Southern Conference’s South Division. Jeff Bolton leads the Cougars (17-6, 7-5) with a 17.0 scoring average.

7. UNC Wilmington ... The Seahawks are living up to their role as preseason favorites in the Colonial Athletic Association. UNCW topped Drexel 63-50 last Monday in a showdown of league leaders. Then coach Jerry Wainwright’s club won 69-61 at James Madison on Saturday as Craig Callahan had 17 points and eight rebounds. Going into tonight’s game at George Mason, the Seahawks lead the league by 2 1/2 games over the second-place Patriots. Junior guard Brett Blizzard is averaging 17.9 points for UNCW (16-7, 11-2 CAA). The Seahawks are home against William & Mary at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and visit Delaware at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

8. UNC Greensboro ... The Spartans (15-8, 8-4 Southern Conference) lost for the second time this season to Davidson as the Wildcats moved into sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference’s North Division with a 53-48 win on Tuesday. UNCG regrouped to win 81-68 at home against The Citadel on Saturday as Courtney Eldridge led the way with 18 points. David Schuck and James Maye scored 15 each as the Spartans hit 23 of 45 field goal attempts for 51.1 percent. Coach Fran McCaffery’s club visits East Tennessee State at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and returns home to face VMI at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

9. Davidson ... After winning the showdown with UNCG, the Wildcats saw a three-game winning streak halted with an 85-78 loss at East Tennessee State despite 19 points by Michael Bree. Emeka Erege leads the Wildcats with a 13.6 scoring average while Wayne Bernard is scoring at an 11.9 clip. Chris Pearson is Davidson’s top rebounder with a 7.7 average. Bree leads Davidson (16-7, 9-3) in assists with a 4.7 average. The Wildcats have 7 p.m. home games this week against Georgia Southern on Wednesday and Appalachian State on Saturday.

10. Clemson ... The Tigers fell to 11-13 overall and 2-9 in the ACC with an 85-71 loss at Virginia on Sunday as 18 points from Jamar McKnight were not enough. The Tigers had beaten the Cavaliers 68-52 at home on Jan. 8 as McKnight scored 25 points. Clemson has lost eight straight since then. Coach Larry Shyatt’s club will try to recover at home against Wake Forest at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Clemson’s Ray Henderson is third in the ACC in rebounding with 9.3 per game and Edward Scott is second in the league in assists with 7.3.

THE NOT-SO-SWEET 17

11. The Citadel
12. North Carolina
13. Gardner-Webb
14. Furman

15. East Carolina ... The Pirates shot atrociously in a 62-51 loss at DePaul on Saturday, going 19 of 58 from the field for 32.8 percent. The only ECU player to hit better than 50 percent from the floor was reserve Bryan Foxx, who made 5 of 7 shots as he led the team with 14 points, the only player to reach double figures. Point guard Travis Holcomb-Faye didn’t score in 25 minutes, going 0 for 6 from the field. The Pirates (8-15, 2-9 Conference USA) have shot well in their league wins over Louisville and Saint Louis. Considering that the wins over Rutgers and Northwestern were played on a neutral floor, the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, ECU hasn’t had a true road win since January 20 of last season when the Pirates won 74-64 in overtime at American. There have been 16 straight road losses since then, counting a loss to State at the ESA in the season-opening tournament this season. The good news is that the Pirates are at home for two 7 p.m. games this week, Southern Miss on Tuesday and Birmingham Southern on Saturday. The game with the Golden Eagles is crucial to both teams’ hopes of making the C-USA Tournament, which takes the top 12 of the league’s 14 teams. The two teams are currently tied for the 12th spot.

16. Wofford
17. Western Carolina
18. Winthrop
19. Appalachian State
20. UNC Asheville
21. South Carolina State
22. Campbell
23. Elon
24. Charleston Southern
25. N.C. A&T
26. Coastal Carolina
27. High Point