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INDIANAPOLIS – The midway point of the conference schedule is here as the Bulldogs play host to the DePaul Blue Demons on Wednesday night. The month of January will come to a close with a 7 PM tip on FloHoops.com.
 
GameDay
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. - Hinkle Fieldhouse
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com – Statbroadcast
Watch: BEDN on FloHoops.com
 
Bulldog Bits
- Caroline Strande made the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second-straight week.
- Strande leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage (51.9% / 28-54).
- Strande ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in rebounding (7.5) and 12th in scoring (15.0).
- Strande is the seventh-best free throw shooter in the conference (82.9%).
- Strande hasn't missed a free throw over Butler's last five games (14-for-14).
- Butler is only the fourth team this season to hold a halftime lead over Marquette (31-25).
- Saturday was just the second time this season that BU lost after having the lead at half.
- Butler outscored Marquette 16-8 in the second quarter to build their first half lead.
- The setback to Marquette was the second time BU lost to a team while holding them under 60 points.
- The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to tie the game in Milwaukee.
- BU freshmen accounted for 17 of Butler's 30 rebounds at Marquette.
- The Bulldogs rank second in the BIG EAST in made 3-pointers per game (8.3) and third in 3-point percentage (38.3).
- Rachel Kent scored 12 points at Marquette to reach 1,500 in her career. She has made a 3-pointer in 11-straight games.
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 9-0, 17-4
Creighton 7-2, 16-3
St. John's 7-3, 13-9
Villanova 6-3, 13-7
Marquette 5-4, 16-4
Providence 5-4, 11-11
Georgetown 4-5, 14-6
Seton Hall 4-5, 12-8
DePaul 2-7, 10-12
Butler 1-8, 9-11
Xavier 0-9, 1-17
 
Scouting DePaul                                                                                                   
The Blue Demons are 10-12 this year with a 2-7 record against conference opponents. They defeated Xavier in Cincinnati to open BIG EAST action and topped Musketeers again in Chicago a month later on Jan. 16. DePaul has lost three-straight heading to Hinkle Fieldhouse. They remain a dangerous opponent as the third-highest scoring team in the BIG EAST (73.8 ppg). They lead the league in steals per game (10.6), rank second in free throw shooting (77.3) and third in both assists (17.9) and made 3-pointers per game (7.8). The downfall for DePaul has been their defense. They are last in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 70.3 points per game to opponents and they are also last in defending the 3-point line. Head Coach Doug Bruno is in his 38th season at DePaul. He has an experienced starting five unit that includes four graduate students. DePaul grabbed transfers from Missouri, Notre Dame, Michigan and Indiana to help fill the void left when Aneesah Morrow left campus. Anaya Peoples leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.7 points per game. She played at Notre Dame for three years before transferring to Chicago at the beginning of last year. Peoples is the sixth-best scorer in the conference and ranks fifth in the league in rebounding (7.9). She and Katlyn Gilbert rank 1-2 in steals among all BIG EAST players and Gilbert is one of 18 players in the NCAA this year to record a triple double (12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 steals vs. Stonehill... second game of the season).
 
All-Time Series                                                                                       
Butler is 1-24 all-time against DePaul. Butler's lone win in the series doubles as their last victory over a ranked opponent. They defeated the Blue Demons 86-81 on March 1, 2021 when DePaul was ranked #25. These conference rivals faced off for the first time during the 1984-85 season.
 
Last Meeting vs. DePaul                                                                                     
DePaul defeated Butler 87-62 in the last meeting. Five different players were responsible for the first five 3-pointers of the game for BU. The difference in the contest came in the second quarter. DePaul went on a 10-0 run to push their four-point lead to 14 at 41-27. The only Blue Demon players to score in that contest that are back for this game are Anaya Peoples and Jorie Allen. They combined for 12 points and 10 rebounds. Peoples also led DePaul with seven assists. The Bulldogs are in a similar boat as Sydney Jaynes and Jordan Meulemans are the only two returners to score the last time BU played DePaul.
 
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll                                                               
Caroline Strande averaged 19.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists per game last week while shooting 55.6 percent from the field to land on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. She led BU to their first conference victory by scoring a career-high 26 points at Xavier.
 
A Look at Last Week                                                                                            
The Bulldogs have something to build on after going 1-1 last week. They chalked up their first conference win of the season at Xavier and had the Marquette game tied at 48-48 with 4:31 to play in Milwaukee. Caroline Strande, Rachel Kent, and Riley Makalusky all averaged double figures in the scoring column for Butler. The 'Dawgs dominated the action in the second quarter against each opponent (44-16) and shot 50 percent from the field for the week (52-104).
 
Heritage Christian Homecoming                                                                       
Ari Wiggins and Katlyn Gilbert both attended Heritage Christian High School in Indianapolis.  Gilbert was just the second player at Heritage Christian to be recognized as a McDonald's All-American and Wiggins was runner-up for Indiana Miss Basketball in 2021. Each student-athlete is in their first season with their new team. Wiggins played at Michigan as a freshman and sophomore while Gilbert enters her final year of eligibility after playing at both Notre Dame (2018-22) and Missouri (22-23).
 
Offensive Explosion                                                                              
Butler shot a season-high 62.3 percent from the field in their win over Xavier and connected on 54 percent of their 3-point attempts (13-24) to post 90 points at the Cintas Center. It was the first time Butler has ever scored 90 points against a BIG EAST opponent. The previous high point total was 86 in a Butler win at #25 DePaul back on March 1, 2021.
 
Home Sweet Hinkle                                                                                             
The DePaul contest is the start of a three-game homestand for Butler. The Bulldogs score more points and shoot better percentages from the field, from 3-point range and from the free throw line when they are playing inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. The team is 6-5 at home this season.
 
Hit Her Stride                                                                                         
Caroline Strande has led Butler in scoring nine times this season and has topped 20+ points four times. She leads the team with her 15.0 scoring average and has reached double figures for Butler in 17 of Butler's 20 games.
 
Grab the Board                                                                                      
Caroline Strande is the top rebounding guard in the BIG EAST Conference. She has led Butler in rebounding 14 times this season (20 games) and in seven of Butler's nine BIG EAST games. She only needs five more rebounds to reach 300 in her career.
 
Tied a Team Record                                                                                             
Jordan Meulemans made eight 3-pointers in Butler's win over St. Thomas to match the single-game high in the BIG EAST this season. She ended the contest going 8-for-10 from behind the arc to score a career-high 24 points. Meulemans was just one 3-pointer shy of tying the single-game BU individual record and the 'Dawgs tied their team record with 16 made 3-pointers in the victory.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                  
The conference schedule will flip for Butler after the DePaul game to signal the midway point of the BIG EAST schedule. The 'Dawgs will host the Creighton Bluejays over the weekend. The 2 PM Sunday tip will stream on FloHoops.com.