Butler opened the second half by scoring 28 of the first 34 points on their way to a commanding 81-71 win over DePaul Saturday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
 
It served as the regular season finale for both teams that will now head to New York City for the BIG EAST Tournament next week.
 
Both Butler and DePaul are both now 16-15 overall.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Butler used 10 points apiece from Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Finley Bizjack to take a 39-32 halftime lead.
• The Bulldogs then took control of the contest with that 28-6 run to open the second half as the lead grew to as many as 29 (67-38) with 9:29 remaining.
• DePaul clawed back to single digits, cutting the lead to only seven (77-70) with 37 seconds remaining.
• Butler's last made field goal came with 7:08 remaining as the team finished the game with 12 made free throws.

 
TIP-INS:

• Finley Bizjack led five Bulldogs in double figures with 19 points. It pushed him above 1,000 points in his three-year Butler career.
• Michael Ajayi posted his 18 double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
• Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor scored a career-high 15 points and matched his career-best with seven rebounds. He added four steals and four assists.
• Jamie Kaiser Jr. (15) and Yohan Traore (10) also reached double figures.
• Butler shot 41 percent from the field but went to the free throw line 30 times, making 25.
• Butler held a 48-36 rebounding advantage and turned 18 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points.
• The Bulldogs were able to overcome 16 turnovers in the contest.
• NJ Benson led DePaul with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
• This is the second meeting between the teams this season as Butler took an 87-80 win over the Blue Demons Jan. 20 in Indianapolis.
• Butler has now won 13 straight match-ups against the Blue Demons.
• DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann (2014-17) and assistant coach LaVall Jordan (2017-22) both previously served as the head coach at Butler.

 
UP NEXT: The BIG EAST Tournament begins Wednesday and runs through Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Bulldogs will play Wednesday in one of the first-round match-ups. The full bracket will be announced later Saturday. Depending on Saturday's conference-wide results, Butler will be either the No. 8, 9 or 10 seed.