Butler basketball takes care of business, exploits DePaul's miscues to snap skid

INDIANAPOLIS — Butler broke its two-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon, taking down DePaul (3-15, 0-7), 74-60, at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs (12-7, 3-5) are still ninth in the Big East with the 3-5 conference record, sitting behind Providence.

Here are three observations:

DJ Davis returns to form

Starting senior guard DJ Davis has been in a funk in his past three Big East games, going a combined 2-for-20 for 10 points against Marquette, Seton Hall and Xavier. It was a stark turnaround from the three games before that, where he scored over 20 points in each game.

On Saturday, Davis rebounded.

The UC Irvine transfer put up 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting against DePaul, including a 2-of-6 mark from 3.

He was also a stingy defender, going to the ground multiple times to force the ball out of his opponents hands. He finished the game with four steals — all in the first half.

Bulldogs exploit Blue Demons’ miscues

DePaul was not taking care of the ball, and the Bulldogs easily used that to their advantage in the first half.

The Blue Demons turned the ball over nine times in the first half, with seven of those coming in a five-minute stretch near the end of the period. The Bulldogs turned those miscues into points, racing down the court for 11 points off turnovers.

Most of DePaul’s turnovers happened near midcourt, when the Blue Demons were just starting to put their offense in motion. Both Butler guards Posh Alexander and DJ Davis easily intercepted the motion, racking up four steals each by the end of the first.

Butler dominates offensive boards

Butler took 60 shots on Saturday afternoon — five more than DePaul's 55 — for two reasons: turnovers and offensive boards.

While DePaul turned the ball over a total of 13 times, Butler created more shots by dominating the offensive boards. Butler won the overall rebounding battle, 37-29, as well as the offensive board fight, 13-6.

At times, the offensive rebounding looked like it came easy to the Bulldogs. Butler's Pierre Brooks and Jalen Thomas easily overpowered the Blue Demons, jumping high enough to be nearly eye level with the basket as their opponents waited below.

By the end of the game, Butler turned its 13 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball rebounds with win over Big East cellar-dweller DePaul