February 25, 2026; Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA; Butler Bulldogs guard Finley Bizjack (11) drives against the Villanova Wildcats during the second half at William B. Finneran Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Image Finley Bizjack scored 19 points and led five players in double figures as Butler built a 29-point lead en route to an 81-71 win over DePaul in the Big East regular season finale Saturday in Chicago.
Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Efeosa Oliogu-Elavor each had 15 points and Michael Ajayi had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Butler (16-15, 7-13), which beat DePaul for the 13th straight time and advanced to an 8-9 game in the Big East Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
NJ Benson piled up 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks on his senior day for DePaul (16-15, 8-12). DePaul (16-15, 8-12) shot 6 of 27 from 3-point range, wasting a chance to clinch the Big East’s No. 5 seed and a first-round bye. If Providence loses Saturday night at Georgetown, the Blue Demons would move into sixth place, and if the Friars win, they would move into seventh.
Butler big man Drayton Jones threw down two dunks in the first four minutes to put the Bulldogs ahead 8-5. DePaul, meanwhile, made just one of his first seven 3-point attempts against Butler’s 2-3 zone.
The Blue Demons made amends by relying on Benson, who had two dunks and two other shots in the lane to keep DePaul within 20-17 midway through the first half.
As DePaul continued to struggle from long range, Bizjack and Kaiser each hit two 3-pointers to build a 33-25 lead for Butler. DePaul responded with an alley-oop from Brandon Maclin to Benson on consecutive possessions to get within four points, but Butler rebuilt the lead to 39-32 by the break.
Oliogu-Elabor set the tone on his first possession of the second half when he double-teamed Benson at the 3-point arc, knocked the ball out of his hands, then broke away from the pack and threw a two-handed reverse jam.
The Bizjacks had a floater, Kaiser hit a 3-pointer, Ajayi hit a layup and Oliogu-Elabor hit a dunk on the break to close the first half on an 11-0 run and give the Bulldogs a 50-32 lead with 16:41 to play.
Butler extended its advantage to 67-38 on a pair of Yohan Traore free throws with 9:10 left before DePaul finally forced overtime.
The Blue Demons got closer to 77-70 on CJ Gunn’s 3-pointer with 34.8 seconds left.
–Field level media
