Butler insider David Woods breaks down Butler's 79-67 win over DePaul David Woods/IndyStar
CHICAGO – Not since the 1985 Bears has a team been so unbeatable in Chicago.
Eighteen-and-oh. Heck, the Bears were 18-1.
You could claim Butler, a five-point favorite, merely did what it should have done in beating DePaul 79-67 Saturday in Big East basketball at the new Wintrust Arena.
That would miss the larger picture. Not only did the Bulldogs (14-7, 3-3) come through, they did so in ways they need to maintain as they continue a yearlong pursuit of an NCAA tournament bid:
>> Better defense: Butler is last in the Big East in every meaningful defensive metric. DePaul shot 28 percent in the first half, and improved only to 35 percent.
>> Bounce-back from Kelan Martin: The Big East scoring leader had 24 points, tying a career high of five 3-pointers, after his worst game of the season Monday at Providence.
>> Improved ball movement and shooting on the road: The Bulldogs had been shooting 40 percent away from Hinkle Fieldhouse, and 24 percent on 3s. They shot 51 and 40 percent, respectively, and collected 16 assists on 24 field goals. Freshman guard Aaron Thompson had a career-high eight assists, most by a Butler player this season.
Defenders sag off Thompson, who has attempted three 3s all season. Yet he has often exploited that tactic for layups or assists.
“You have to have a high IQ, which Aaron does,” coach LaVall Jordan said. “And you’ve got to be able to think a play ahead, which Aaron does. And then you have to have film study.”
As Jordan suggested, Thompson follows in sneakerprints of two other Butler playmakers, Ronald Nored and Roosevelt Jones, who were not outside shooters, either. Now Thompson, Nored and Jones have all contributed to the Chicagoland streak.
The Bulldogs have not lost here since a 73-67 overtime defeat at UIC on Jan. 10, 2007. The streak covers six arenas (two each for DePaul and Loyola) and includes five wins at DePaul, two at Northwestern, six at Loyola and five at UIC.
Jordan said Chicago is important to Butler for student admissions and because so many alumni live in the area. Coincidentally, Butler clinched the Midwestern Collegiate Conference title in 2001, when Jordan was a senior, by closing the regular season with wins at Loyola and UIC. He told the Bulldogs they would be hearing from their fans.
“We needed them late to make a little noise to calm us down,” Jordan said.
DePaul cut into Butler’s 41-19 halftime lead but never pulled closer than 12 points. Martin conceded he could hear Butler cheers in the crowd of 6,802.
Butler coach LaVall Jordan addresses the media after the Bulldogs won at DePaul Saturday afternoon. David Woods/IndyStar
“We knew we’d have a lot of support,” he said. “We just wanted to play hard in front of those guys and get a win.”
The Bulldogs needed a win since losing four of five in the aftermath of their upset of No. 1 Villanova. Until DePaul, they were 1-4 on opponents’ courts. Now the Bulldogs don’t play again until next Saturday against St. John’s, which is 0-8 in the Big East.
Jordan said the Bulldogs were more resilient than they were in squandering double-digit leads in losses to Seton Hall and Providence. The only one perhaps losing his cool was Jordan, who picked up the first technical foul of his Butler tenure with 6:02 left.
By the time eight minutes had elapsed in the second half, Butler was shooting 1-of-8 with eight turnovers and six fouls.
The Bulldogs continued to get stops, though, and Martin’s fifth 3-pointer extended their lead to 51-36 when they were wobbling. Kamar Baldwin sealed the outcome by shooting 8-of-8 on free throws in the final 85 seconds.
It would be difficult to locate a stat line more efficient than Baldwin’s: 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting, plus nine rebounds, two assists and one turnover.
Five other Butler players scored between six and eight points. Eight had field goals by halftime.
“They’ve been doing it the same way for a long, long time,” DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. “They play basketball. They don’t get too high or too low.”
Max Strus scored 27 points and Eli Cain 14 for DePaul (8-11, 1-6). The Blue Demons were without two post players, 6-11 Marin Maric and 6-9 Jaylen Butz, for medical reasons.
The 6-6 Strus was limited to seven points in the first half when guarded by 6-2 Paul Jorgensen.
“He set the tone for us. Paulie is not known for his defense,” Jordan said. “But he’s gotten so much better.”
For the Bulldogs, the schedule gets better. After opening the Big East with five of eight on the road, they have six of eight at home.
The only thing better would be to play them all in Chicago.
Call IndyStar reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
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