Cold Shooting and 23 Turnovers Doom DePaul at Butler

DePaul Blows Early 11-5 Lead by Allowing Butler to Go On a 20-1 Run

Let’s get this over.  DePaul had a nice stretch from 17:16 in the first half to 14:24 in the first half, when they went on a 9-0 run and took a 6 point lead.  Then it turned into a world of shit.

Over the next 10 minutes, DePaul managed 1 point, while the Bulldogs scored 20.  The rest of the game was forgettable.

If you read  my awesome preview, it mentioned that the main man to fear was Kelan Martin.  Martin let all scorers with 26 points, on fast break layups, uncontested layups, 2 threes and a ton of free throws.

I also mentioned that:

The Bulldogs have been doing it through improved defense.  After starting 3-4 in conference play, Butler has put in 3 dominate defensive performances, holding their last 3 opponents to effective field goal percentages of 43.3, 33.6, and 51.0.

So what happened?  Bulter forced DePaul to have their 3rd worst offensive performance of the year, trailing the awful Marquette game in Milwaukee, when no one could shoot, and the game against Michigan State, when no one could shoot.  Butler held the Demons to 41.3% effective field goal percentage.

Today, only one Blue Demon who played at least 10 minutes, had a positive offensive rating.  One.  That would be personal favorite, Paul Reed.  He lead the Delta Class with a 104 offensive Rating (100 being average.)

Starters Max Strus and Eli Cain both had their worst games of the year.

Butler decided to take Strus out of the game early, and allow the Blue Demons to throw it inside to Marin Maric.  Maric was relatively effective with a team high 15 points on 6-10 shooting from the field.  However, he was rather weak on a few possessions that lead to missed shots and 4 turnovers.

Turnovers were the story of the game, as DePaul had 23 magnificent giveaways, tying the pathetic ball handling of the Xavier game.

The Setup

Just short of a sell out.  I really need to make it to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a game.

Gambling Corner

If you had Butler and the under, you were a happy human.

The Player of the Game:  Kelan Martin

Kelan made 10 free throws to go along with 7 for 13 shooting.  He had 6 assists and only 1 turnover.  That is how it is supposed to be done.

Paul Reed

In only 15 minutes of playing time, Paul Reed went 3-3 to end with 7 points.  Reed has now made his last 11 shots that he has taken over the past 4 games.  He had 2 turnovers, both when driving to the basket, and he had a steal and block.  He is long and effective.  I wish that the DePaul staff would find a way to get him more playing time.

Jaylen Butz Played

Butz missed 4 games due to sickness.  It was great seeing him back in limited playing time.

The Bad

The Turnovers

In the last meeting with Butler, DePaul had 13 turnovers in the entire game.  THIRTEEN!

In the 1st half alone, the Demons had 12.

In the 2nd half, the Demons had 11.

Team honors went to Eli Cain and Justin Roberts with 5 each.  Maric and Cyrus tried to keep up, but fell short with only 4 turnovers each.

Time for some hate watching!

First Half Low-Lights (All 12 Turnovers)

2nd Half Low-Lights (All 11 Turnovers)

Strus and Cain Combined for One Damn Basket

Strus and Cain rank 2nd and 3rd in usage for the Blue Demons, meaning, other than Maric, most possessions end with them.  If both have a bad night, DePaul is going to lose.  Both had a bad night.  DePaul lost big.

Max Strus Made 1 freakin’ Basket

Max Strus, the season long team MVP,  had his worst game of the season.  Butler clearly keyed on him, and as a result, shut him down.  Strus went 1-8 and made 4-4 from the free throw line, for an awesome 7 points.  His offensive rating was a 73.

Strus was forcing shots early.  He didn’t get squared to the basket until his 4th shot of the game.

Eli Cain Did Not Score a freakin’ Basket

Eli Cain also had his worst game of the season.  He smartly knew that his shooting was off today, and finished 0-6 with 2 free throws, for a grand total of 2 points, and 5 turnovers. This lead to a glorious 31 Offensive Rating.

In fairness to Cain, if you watch the ‘turnovers’ videos, you will see that the charges called on him (2 of them) were crap.  If either of them are not called, and this game gets a little closer, like 4 points closer.

Tweets of the Game

There were a lot of unhappy DePaul fans, so there are plenty of tweets to choose from.

This is probably true:

Not Optimal

Agreed:  Maric needs to work on his grip

Nope

I agree 100% with this

Making Opponent’s Walk-Ons Dreams Come True since 2007

In Conclusion

All around awful week for Blue Demon Nation.  With the February 1st fiasco (which deserves its own post), and this garbage game, I finally know what the D in DIBS stands for…Dumpster-fire!