A quick and efficient offense coupled with a pesky defense vaulted Butler to an upset of then-No. 18 Marquette on Saturday.
The Bulldogs stopped a three-game skid with that formula, and will aim to channel it again Tuesday as they visit DePaul to open a stretch of four road games over their next five.
“We’ve just been talking about sticking with the process as much as anything,” Bulldogs coach LaVall Jordan said. “Just continuing to stay the course, believe in each other and play the way that we know we can play.”
Butler (12-13, 5-9 Big East) dished 18 assists on 29 made field goals Saturday. Aaron Thompson had five assists to move to 541 for his career, setting a program record, while Bryce Golden scored a season-best 22 points to lead five Bulldogs in double figures.
“The ball was moving tonight,” Golden said. “We were sharing the rock, and coach always says, ‘The best man is the open man,’ and we did a good job of capitalizing.”
The Bulldogs boast a four-game series winning streak against DePaul (12-11, 3-10), which is coming off Saturday’s 76-73 overtime loss at then-No. 11 Providence.
The Blue Demons led for a majority of the game and were ahead by as many as 13 points in the second half but were unable to hold on to complete their first three-game winning streak since nonconference play concluded.
“I thought we were right there. Had a couple bad possessions offensively to end the game in regulation, and they got a couple offensive rebounds that really hurt us,” DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield said. “But I thought our guys played with great effort. We gave ourselves a chance to win.”
As with Butler in its previous game, DePaul played seven players on Saturday, with five finishing in double-figures. David Jones registered a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds as the team was without leading scorer Javon Freeman-Liberty (groin) for the seventh straight game.
“I’m not going to use fatigue as an excuse,” Stubblefield said. “We have everything that it takes to get it done. We have enough to get it done. We’ve just got to find a way.”
Butler edged visiting DePaul 63-59 on Dec. 29 in both schools’ conference opener.
–Field Level Media
