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It’s been a rough start to conference play for the DePaul Blue Demons. Despite opening the season at 12-1, they have seen results starting to go against them. DePaul is currently on a four game losing streak and is now back at the bottom of the Big East standings.. They’ve dropped games to Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Villanova. While two of those games have come against Top 25 opponents, DePaul needs to win some of these games where they are the underdog. Especially now given their poor start to January. DePaul They are coming off a close loss to No.14 Villanova in overtime. Despite the loss, Paul Reed recorded another double double, 18 points and 19 rebounds, while Charlie Moore scored 29 points. It would have a big win for the Blue Demons and a moment in which they bounced back from a bad stretch of games. Now they return back to Wintrust Arena to face another ranked opponent. This will be the toughest opponent DePaul has faced so far this season.
The Butler Bulldogs have exceeded all expectations so far with a record of 15-2. LaVall Jordan’s team is ranked No.5 in the AP Poll and are one of the best teams in the country let alone the Big East. However they weren’t able to slow down the Seton Hall Pirates and saw a six game winning streak get snapped. Myles Powell is back and is a big part of SH’s resurgence. He made Butler pay with 29 points and seven rebounds. It was the Bulldogs first loss at home this season and now they have to bounce back with a solid road performance. Despite being one of the best five teams in the country, Butler only has only two players who average double digit point averages. Kemar Baldwin and Sean McDermott are the only ones while the duo of Bryce Nze and Jordan Tucker are averaging 9.6 and 9.4 respectively. While they don’t score a lot, the Bulldogs don't give up a ton of points either. Butler currently is 4th in the country with an average of 55.8 points allowed per game. DePaul is going to have to work for their baskets. This might be a very low scoring game between these two. Both have top defenses and points will be hard to come by.
After this one, Butler has to travel to Philadelphia to play Villanova in what looks to be the Big East game of the season thus far.
How to watch, listen, or stream
Game Time: 1PM EST
TV: Fox Sports Networks
Radio: WIND 560 AM (DePaul)
Stream: Fox Sports Go (where available)
Gamblin’ Odds
Odds: Butler opened as a 3 point favorite but it’s since gone up to -4.5 in favor of the Bulldogs (via Oddsshark.com).
Record ATS: DePaul (8-8-1) || Butler (11-5-1)
O/U: The over/under total is set at 229.
Last Time They Met
Butler has dominated in this series so far. They have won the last 11 meetings and have a 12-6 advantage all-time. This will be the 19th meeting between the two schools.
By the Numbers
DePaul is ranked 67th via KenPom’s overall metrics. They have an adjusted offensive efficiency score of 104.1 (104th in the country). Their defense has done much better this season and it reflects in the rankings. The Blue Demons defense has an adjusted defensive efficiency score of 92.8 (48th overall).
Sitting at 7th overall, Seton Hall has an AdjO score of 110.5 (23rd) and a AdjD score of 87.1 (9th in the country).