DePaul Hosts No. 5 Butler Saturday at Wintrust Arena

CHICAGO - The Blue Demons open a three-game homestand over an eight-day stretch with a Saturday matinee against No. 5/5 Butler. Start time at Wintrust Arena is set for Noon. The homestand continues Wednesday against Creighton before St. John's makes the trip to Chicago on Jan. 25.

Saturday's game can be seen on FOX Sports Networks with Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play) and Dickey Simpkins (analyst) handling the broadcast duties. In Chicago, the game can be seen on WCIU The U. DePaul's radio tandem of Zach Zaidman (play-by-play) and Dave Corzine (analyst) can be heard on WSCR (670 AM) and online on DePaul All-Access at depaulbluedemons.com/live. In-game updates can be followed on Twitter at @DePaulHoops and live stats are available at depaulbluedemons.com.

Butler - No. 5 in this week's AP poll and 5 in the coaches top 25 - is 15-2 overall and 3-1 in the BIG EAST following a 78-70 loss against No. 18/18 Seton Hall on Wednesday. DePaul stands at 12-5 and 0-4 in league play after a 79-75 overtime loss at No. 14/15 Villanova on Tuesday.

Blue Demons vs. Top 25: Butler is DePaul's second straight ranked opponent of the season following Tuesday's game at No. 14/15 Villanova. A year ago, the Blue Demons posted a 1-3 record against ranked opponents.

With its No. 5 ranking, Butler is the highest-ranked opponent to visit Wintrust Arena since No. 3/4 Xavier on March 3, 2018. The Musketeers defeated the Blue Demons, 65-62, in that game. The 2017-18 season also saw No. 1-ranked Villanova at Wintrust Arena.

DePaul's last win over a top five team was a 64-57 victory at Allstate Arena over No. 5/5 Kansas on Dec. 2, 2006.

Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul's 79-75 overtime loss at No. 14/15 Villanova on Wednesday:

Villanova was the first ranked opponent of the season… dating back to last season, the Blue Demons have dropped four straight to ranked opponents.
DePaul is 1-1 in overtime games this season.
The Blue Demons have blocked at least five shots 14 of 17 games including seven games with at least seven rejections... over the three previous seasons (2017-19 - 99 games), the team blocked at least seven shots in three total games... in that same period, DePaul blocked at least five shots in a game a total of 23 times.
Jaylen Butz passed the 500-point mark for his career in the first half and the 400-rebound plateau in the second half.
Jalen Coleman-Lands scored his 900th career point in the first half (630 at Illinois/276 at DePaul).
Paul Reed passed the 800-point mark in his career… he has 12 double-doubles this season...he grabbed at least 15 rebounds for the third time this season... Reed took sole possession of sixth on the career blocked shots list.
Tuesday was the 37th meeting between the programs... Villanova leads the series, 29-8.

Trendy: DePaul is 20-for-75 (.267) from three-point range in four BIG EAST games... the four conference losses are by a combined 20 points... the Blue Demons have blocked at least five shots 14 of 17 games including seven games with at least seven rejections... over the three previous seasons (2017-19 - 99 games), the team blocked at least seven shots in three total games... in that same period, DePaul blocked at least five shots in a game a total of 23 times... the Blue Demons have posted 8-1 records at Wintrust Arena in non-conference games in each of the last two seasons... in three total seasons at the facility, DePaul is 21-4 in non-conference games... Paul Reed's 12 double-doubles lead the BIG EAST and are third nationally entering Friday's schedule... three players have not missed a shot this season with at least six attempts... Jaylen Butz went 7-for-7 against Chicago and 6-for-6 at St. John's, Reed went 6-of-6 against Alcorn State and Devin Gage went 6-for-6 at Iowa... prior to this season, at least six attempts without a miss occurred just 11 times in program history... Butz is the only player in program history with at least three games of five or more attempts without a miss.

It Could Happen: Devin Gage needs three assists for 200 career... Charlie Moore needs three points for 800 career and three three-pointers for 100 in his collegiate career... Paul Reed (584 rebs.) needs 13 rebounds to pass Sammy Mejia (596 rebs., 2003-07) for 27th on the all-time list... with two blocked shots (120 blocks) he passes Jeff Stern (121 blocks, 1990-92) for fifth all-time.

The Opponent - Butler Bulldogs: Butler stands at 15-2 overall and 3-1 in the BIG EAST... the Bulldogs are No. 5 in both of this week's national polls... a 78-70 loss to Seton Hall on Wednesday snapped a six-game win streak... Kamar Baldwin leads the team with 15.1 points per game... Sean McDermott adds 11.6 points per game with a team-high 36 three-pointers... Bryce Nze adds a scoring average of 9.6 with a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game... head coach LaVall Jordan is in his third season at Butler.

The Series: Saturday is the 19th all-time meeting between the two programs... Butler leads the series, 12-6... Butler has won 11 straight in the series including two wins last season... Butler won the first meeting during the 1938-39 season by a score of 39-29 at the Chicago Armory... the two sides met in the 1940-41 season, twice during the 1970's and twice in the 1980's... since Butler joined the BIG EAST, the Bulldogs have won 11 of 12 meetings... DePaul's win in that stretch was a 99-94 win in double overtime on Jan. 9, 2014 at Hinkle Fieldhouse... that game was the first BIG EAST meeting between the programs.

Up Next - Jan. 22 vs. Creighton: The Blue Demons and Bluejays meet for first of two regular-season matchups.

The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m... radio coverage will be on WIND (560 AM).
Creighton holds a 13-5 overall record and 2-3 mark in the BIG EAST... the Bluejays are ranked No. 25 in this week's AP poll and host Providence on Saturday afternoon before traveling to Chicago.
The game is the 37th meeting between the programs... Creighton leads the series, 20-16.

DePaul Hosts No. 5 Butler Saturday at Wintrust Arena

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaylen Butz

Jalen Coleman-Lands

Devin Gage

Charlie Moore

Paul Reed

DePaul University Athletics

DePaul Hosts No. 5 Butler Saturday at Wintrust Arena

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaylen Butz

Jalen Coleman-Lands

Devin Gage

Charlie Moore

Paul Reed

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