ROSEMONT, ILL. ? Mere mention of the word Kansas used to be worth something on the scoreboard because opponents would put the Jayhawks on a pedestal and battle the intimidation factor before getting down to business.

Parity in college basketball has killed such thoughts. Even a DePaul team that had lost in Hawaii by 10 points to Northwestern University didn’t feel it had anything to be nervous about facing Kansas University.

That confidence was justified Saturday in the Blue Demons’ 64-57 victory over Kansas before 16,922 fans in Allstate Arena.

“It’s not like it’s a shock that we’re going against Julian Wright and Darrell Arthur,” DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. “Those guys are really good, but (Purdue’s) Carl Landry’s really good. (Kentucky’s) Randolph Morris is really good. I think that really helped us. I think to (his players) it was, ‘Hey, that’s Kansas, we really respect them, but coach, we’ve been playing teams like that.’ And even though there was a good Kansas contingent here, this was our home court.”

Rod Stewart never got into the game for Kansas on an afternoon that KU coach Bill Self used only eight players. Self said he did not think fatigue was a factor in the loss. Wainwright, unaware Self had said that, expressed the opposite opinion after the Blue Demons used 11 players in the game.

“I thought our main guys were rested at a time when theirs weren’t,” Wainwright said.

Wainwright, whose Richmond team upset Self’s Jayhawks in January of 2004, anticipated inevitable criticism of the coach of a slain giant, an occupational hazard for any coach of a powerhouse.

“I have to say this because I mean it,” Wainwright said to open his postgame media session. “I am very privileged to have a personal and professional relationship with Bill Self that goes back many, many years. It was wonderful that he gave my team at Richmond an opportunity to play in a year we needed that game. We had a good team, and he didn’t shy away from that game. And this series obviously helps Julian Wright’s family, and it helps Sherron Collins’ family, and those things should happen. I feel confident that if I ever sign a kid from Lawrence, Kan., Bill will let me come back there. He’s a terrific coach. They’ve got a wonderful team. It’s very meaningful for our kids to play them and then to beat them.”

DePaul senior guard Sammy Mejia, who outscored KU sophomore Brandon Rush, 23-3, was asked if he took going against a first-team preseason All-American as a personal challenge.

“Definitely,” Mejia said. “It’s an opportunity to prove yourself. And that’s what (Saturday’s) game was. It was an opportunity. I was just glad to be able to be part of this opportunity. It could have went one way or another. When you play hard and you stick together, for the most part, good things are going to happen. We kept our heads up, and we were confident we were going to win the game no matter how many points we were down by.”

DePaul overcame a 14-point deficit to pull off the upset.