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Butler Basketball: Keys to success on the road at DePaul in 2019-20

By Lukas Harkins

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JANUARY 15: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs posts up against Myles Cale #22 of the Seton Hall Pirates in the first half at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 15, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JANUARY 15: Kamar Baldwin #3 of the Butler Bulldogs posts up against Myles Cale #22 of the Seton Hall Pirates in the first half at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 15, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 21: The Bulldogs mascot is shown. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 21: The Bulldogs mascot is shown. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Pregame Hark’s Bark

1. McDermott needs to get back on track.

Butler leads the Big East in 3P% so far in conference play but its best shooter is yet to truly show up. Sean McDermott, one of the most feared snipers in the nation, is just 7-for-25 (28.0%) since the beginning of the Big East season and the Dawgs absolutely need to get him back on track. The senior wing is still making impacts in other ways as an all-around threat but is mostly known as a marksman.

Kamar Baldwin (39.1% in BE play) and Jordan Tucker (58.8%) have filled the void as of late but McDermott is the go-to shooter at all times. It would be great to see him bury a few on the road to steady the Dawgs with his sniping as well as his leadership.

2. Will strong play away-from-home continue?

This might seem like a surprise but Butler has actually performed at a higher level away-from-home compared to inside Hinkle Fieldhouse so far this season by efficiency standards. This is true across several different facets of the game but is especially obvious offensively.

The Dawgs are 6-1 in neutral/road games this season while scoring at a higher clip than most teams away from home. They are also collecting offensive boards on 33.9% of misses (24.8% at home) and are consistently playing at slower paces in hostile environments. Butler’s adjusted offensive efficiency away-from-home (seven games) is at 115.8 while it is at 106.5 in 10 home games.

DePaul is the same way in that it has performed better away-from-home as well so far this season. If both teams continue those trends, that might give Butler a bit of an advantage. It might also be important to mention that the Dawgs have been historically successful against the Blue Demons. This is, though, a much better DePaul team than most of the past.

3. This is a really big game.

Butler should compete for the Big East regular-season title this season. That’s pretty much the expectation following a strong non-conference schedule and the emergence of being an AP Top 10 team. While losing at home to Seton Hall certainly hurts, it isn’t a bad loss by any stretch. The problem is that three of Butler’s next four games all come on the road. While I have indicated already that the Dawgs have performed better away-from-home so far this season, it is still much easier to win at Hinkle than anywhere else for this team.

With a tough road matchup with Villanova looming on Tuesday, this game with DePaul is a very big deal. Butler certainly has the potential to defeat Nova next week, but it could also be in danger of a three-game losing streak if it does not take care of the Blue Demons. This is a tricky spot for Butler to be as this is arguably its toughest stretch of schedule for the season.

Next. Big East Power Rankings. dark

Butler came out and immediately dominated Southern followed by defeating Purdue in its two games following its first defeat of the season. Will the Dawgs show that same resolve following their loss to Seton Hall?

Final Prediction: Butler Bulldogs – 65 | DePaul Blue Demons – 60