Insider: Bulldogs win, so they're in; now they're motivated to make NCAA tourney run

• Butler at Villanova, 9 p.m. Wednesday

INDIANAPOLIS – Butler accelerated the Selection Sunday timetable by three weeks. You may place the Bulldogs in the NCAA tournament bracket – in indelible ink.

No. 25 Butler could achieve more, and earn a favorable seed, before college basketball’s genuine Selection Sunday. Yet consider that a year ago at this time, the Bulldogs were 7-8 in the Big East and on the bubble, not in the bracket.

Nate Fowler scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, and the Bulldogs shot 57 percent in extending DePaul’s losing streak to 10 in a row, 82-66, before a Hinkle Fieldhouse sellout of 9,100 Sunday.

Butler boasted balance: Kelan Martin, 14 points and eight rebounds; Avery Woodson, 12 points on 4-of-6 from the 3-point line; Tyler Lewis, 10 points and eight assists.

• BOX SCORE: Butler 82, DePaul 66

At 21-6, the Dawgs need one victory to match their total from last year. At 10-5, they are alone in second place and have won as many Big East games as they did last year.

“Last year we didn’t know,” Lewis said.  “We were trying to get on the bubble, we were trying to get in the tournament. We know the tournament is really hard to get into, and that’s something we’re not taking for granted.

“Every day, we practice hard so we can play in the tournament and advance in the tournament.”

This has not been the easiest team to manage, considering coach Chris Holtmann has so many combinations to employ. It is no exaggeration to assert Butler, even this late in the season, has eight potential starters.

But after a week off following back-to-back home losses, the Bulldogs have closely resembled the team that was 11-1 in pre-conference play. They are 3-1 in February, and they led for 28 minutes in a 71-65 loss at Providence.

“We practiced extremely hard that week,” Lewis said of the Feb. 1-6 respite. “But it gave us a chance to regroup together, mentally and physically. Losing those two right before the break, we knew we had to bounce back. That’s what we wanted to do, and that’s what we did.”

Lewis was on the court for almost all of Butler’s 14-0 run to close the first half. When the Bulldogs opened the second half by outscoring DePaul 7-0, that finished off a 21-0 rampage and built the lead to 43-27. This one was over.

Fowler, Martin and Lewis came off the bench, so Butler’s bench outscored the starters 44-38.

Eli Cain scored 24 points for DePaul. Chris Harrison-Docks, who started his college career at Butler before transferring to Western Kentucky, gave the Blue Demons (8-19, 1-13 Big East) a brief spark with eight first-half points.

DePaul coach Dave Leitao said the fact Butler could sit veterans such as Martin and Lewis and retain rhythm “makes a very loud statement about the kind of people that exist in that locker room.” At this time of year, Leitao said, players often worry about their statistics.

“From my vantage point – and I’m sure Chris would say it’s not perfect – but it looks rather selfless to me that that could happen,” Leitao said.

Seven Butler players scored between six and 15 points, and eight played between 19 and 27 minutes. Until the last minute and a half, Butler had only four turnovers.

Holtmann said players want their minutes. But in what is “hopefully a winning culture,” he said, they are motivated to want wins more.

“That’s what this program has been about for years, decades,” the coach said.

Holtmann said he doesn’t like his name mentioned in speculation about other schools’ coaching searches but added he has no control over it. He said he is “incredibly grateful” to be at Butler.

“I’m consumed every single day with trying to serve our guys, coach our guys, and recruit,” he said.

Next up are perhaps Butler’s two toughest road tests: Wednesday at No. 2 Villanova, which has already clinched a share of a fourth straight regular-season title, and next Sunday at rival Xavier.

Even if the Bulldogs lose both and the March 4 senior day game against Seton Hall — and a Big East tournament opener — they would be in the bracket.

Seeding and momentum matter, though. The Bulldogs are not going to sit around and wait for March Madness. They have accelerated the timetable for getting ready.

Call IndyStar reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

Butler at Villanova, 9 p.m. Wednesday