Gunn leads DePaul against Butler after 31-point showing

By Canadian Press on January 19, 2026.

DePaul Blue Demons (11-7, 3-4 Big East) at Butler Bulldogs (11-7, 2-5 Big East)

Indianapolis; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: DePaul visits Butler after CJ Gunn scored 31 points in DePaul’s 80-75 victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles.

The Bulldogs have gone 7-3 at home. Butler has a 2-1 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Blue Demons have gone 3-4 against Big East opponents. DePaul averages 73.3 points and has outscored opponents by 4.3 points per game.

Butler makes 46.3% of its shots from the field this season, which is 4.5 percentage points higher than DePaul has allowed to its opponents (41.8%). DePaul has shot at a 44.7% rate from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points higher than the 43.8% shooting opponents of Butler have averaged.

The Bulldogs and Blue Demons meet Tuesday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Finley Bizjack is shooting 34.7% from beyond the arc with 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, while averaging 16.6 points. Michael Ajayi is averaging 16.3 points and 11.7 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Gunn is shooting 36.1% from beyond the arc with 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Blue Demons, while averaging 14.5 points. N.J. Benson is averaging 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 4-6, averaging 77.7 points, 33.0 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 6.4 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.9 points per game.

Blue Demons: 6-4, averaging 69.7 points, 31.2 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press