DePaul @ Butler preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 16, 2019 ) Butler 87, DePaul 69

In the midst of one of his team's better seasons in recent memory, Dave Leitao is trying to keep DePaul, which plays a Big East game at Butler on Saturday, at an even keel. The Blue Demons have already posted their highest win total in more than a decade and have a chance at a winning league record provided they can finish strongly, starting against the Bulldogs.

"We live in a world where - it's not just DePaul, it's everywhere - you win a game, you conquered the world," Leitao told the media after his team fell at home to No. 10 Marquette on Tuesday. "All we did was win two in a row. We lose and a lot of people say this program is nowhere near where it needs to be. You can't live like that." In fact, the Blue Demons are light years ahead of where they were two seasons ago, when they finished 9-23 and won two conference games. Max Strus and Eli Cain have been the leaders of the revival, but it would not have been possible without the additions of players such as Femi Olujobi and Jalen Coleman-Lands, and the improved play of youngsters Paul Reed, Devin Gage and Jaylen Butz. The Bulldogs and coach LaVall Jordan, who saw their own two-game win streak come to an end Tuesday at St. John's, are at the other end of the spectrum, trying to avoid their worst season since going 14-17 and 4-14 in 2013-14 - their first season in the Big East.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT DEPAUL (13-10, 5-7 Big East): Despite scoring in double figures in 16 straight games, including all 12 league contests, Strus has deferred to other players over the last couple months. Olujobi has taken up the mantle by scoring 17 points per game, including four 20-point contests, in the 11 games since the turn of the new year and Reed has followed suit by averaging a double-double of 15.7 points and 10.1 rebounds in the last 10 games. The Blue Demons are still awaiting the return of Coleman-Lands, the Illinois transfer who was averaging 9.6 points before suffering a hand injury that has sidelined him for 14 games.

ABOUT BUTLER (14-11, 5-7): Kamar Baldwin and Jordan Tucker proved too much for DePaul in the first meeting this season, which resulted in a fourth straight double-digit win for the Bulldogs over the Blue Demons. The duo combined for 36 points and 22 rebounds, but 29 of those points came in the second half as Butler turned a 40-36 deficit into an 87-69 victory. Baldwin, who has scored 1,323 points in his three seasons with the Bulldogs, has averaged 13.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in five career games against DePaul, whose last win over the Bulldogs came in double overtime in 2013-14.

TIP-INS

1. Strus opened the season with five 20-point games in the first eight contests but has two such games since.

2. The Bulldogs, who lead the series with the Blue Demons 11-6, have taken 10 straight meetings by an average margin of 15.6 points.

3. DePaul's last winning season overall and in league play came in 2006-07, when the Blue Demons went 18-13 and 9-7 in the Big East.

PREDICTION: Butler 85, DePaul 73