Saturday’s matchup against DePaul was the get-right game the Butler Bulldogs desperately needed.
Marred in a five-game losing skid, the Bulldogs (17-13, 8-11) went from in the NCAA tournament to completely out of it.
The Dawgs will likely have to run the table through the regular season and into the Big East tournament to qualify for March Madness. The first step toward doing so was their commanding 82-63 win over the Blue Demons (3-26, 0-18).
DePaul hung with Butler early. K.T. Raimey’s 3-pointer put the hosts up two with 14:06 left in the first, then the Dawgs closed the half on a 30-4 run.
DJ Davis led Butler with 24 points. Jalen Thomas scored 15 points and Pierre Brooks II added 16 points.
Here are three observations from the win.
DJ Davis breaks out of slump
Every Butler starter struggled with consistency during its losing skid, but Davis’s shooting slump made it nearly impossible for the Dawgs to compete. Davis has game-changing range, and when he’s shooting with confidence, the entire offense can operate more efficiently.
The 6-1 guard had four straight 20-point performances from Jan. 27 to Feb. 10. Since then, Davis hadn’t topped 12 points, averaging 8.0 points per game while shooting 5-for-33 (15%), including two games without a single 3-pointer against Villanova and St. John’s, respectively.
Against DePaul, Davis’s deep 3-point range was on full display. He caught fire in the second half, knocking down his fourth 3-pointer of the game from the deep right wing. After adding a floater, Davis put Butler up 21 with a dagger from the deep left wing. He finished with 24 points, on 5-for-8 from 3.
Butler protects the ball
Turnovers, lots of them, oftentimes unforced ones plagued Butler during its losing skid. Protecting the ball is a crucial part of winning basketball, and the Dawgs finally valued each possession against DePaul.
Butler committed just one turnover in the first half. The Dawgs finished with an 14-6 turnover advantage, leading to a 14-7 advantage in points off turnovers. Davis and Posh Alexander combined for four steals.
Andre Screen leads second unit
Butler needs someone outside of its starting five to get it a boost if it wants to be competitive. Against the Blue Demons, Screen’s size was too much for them to handle. The Butler guards did a great job of finding the big man down low, setting him up for easy dunks in the paint.
Screen finished with 13 points and five rebounds. The 13 points tie the second-highest scoring output of his Butler career. Screen scored a career-high 14 points in the Bulldogs Nov. 30 win over Texas Tech.
As a team, Butler’s bench outscored DePaul 16-11.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 3 reasons Butler basketball beat DePaul to snap 5-game losing streak
