Butler basketball got off to a double-digit lead in the first half and never relinquished it against the DePaul Blue Demons.
After dropping four of their last five games, Butler basketball was in need of a road win over the DePaul Blue Demons. Everybody on the team knew it and they come out firing in the first half. The team used a couple of major runs in the first 20 minutes to enter the break with a 41-19 advantage. Although there were times in the second half where it seemed like DePaul was creeping back into it, Butler’s lead never dropped into single-digits.
The game included a steady dosage of Butler’s Kelan Martin. After struggling mightily in Butler’s loss against Providence earlier in the week, Martin showed up in a big way against DePaul. In his best 3-point shooting game of the season, the senior finished with 24 points on 5-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc. The leading scorer in Big East play was clearly the best player on the floor in the game.
This win was about more than just Martin, though. Butler’s defense, which has been porous at times this season, showed up for the most part against DePaul. While the 48 second-half points allowed were far from ideal, the Dawgs forced the Blue Demons into just 35.0% from the field. If it wasn’t for the fact that DePaul shot 10-for-21 (47.6%) from 3-point range, this game could have been a huge blowout.
In addition to the play of Martin and the Bulldogs’ defense, Kamar Baldwin had a great under-the-radar performance. While Kelan led the way with his 3-point shooting, Baldwin picked his spots to score by probing the inside and drawing fouls. He finished the night with 18 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. The sophomore sensation also snagged a game-high nine rebounds.
In total, eight of the nine Bulldogs who saw minutes in this game scored.
On the DePaul side of the ball, Max Strus was the clear offensive leader. Although he did not catch fire until the end of the game, his final stat sheet was impressive. He finished the game with 27 points thanks to 5-for-10 shooting from 3-point range. The other double-digit scorer for the Blue Demons was Eli Cain, who scored 14 points and dished out seven assists.
What does this mean moving forward for the Bulldogs?
This was a massive win. They are now 4-4 in conference play and can use this game as a stepping stool for their future. The Bulldogs have NCAA Tournament potential and needed to show that they can win on the road. This “road game” may have had more of a Butler contingency than a DePaul one but still goes on the resume as such.
With a favorable schedule approaching, Butler has a chance to not only move up the Big East rankings but to also improve their possible NCAA Tournament standing. Now that this win is the bag, LaVall Jordan‘s team will have this entire week to look forward to their home game with St. John’s next Saturday.
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This might just seem like a road win over a bottom-feeder in the Big East but it is more than that. This game will hopefully set the Bulldogs up for more success down the stretch and a future NCAA Tournament bid. Behind the play of Martin and Baldwin, the team is talented enough to go dancing but they need to keep compiling wins.