Butler coach Thad Matta wasn't sure star player Michael Ajayi would play against DePaul. He dominated while shutting down a former Lawrence North star.

The Golden Eagles got within one possession several times in the second half, but couldn't get the big shots they needed at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Bulldogs survived a long lull of offense early and managed to win on the road in the Big East. Here's what stood out:

Butler Stats Note: Michael Ajayi, a 6’7”, 235 pound forward, is just six-tenths of a point behind Finley Bizjack for the team lead in points, too. Marquette: #122, their lowest ranking since going into the 2014-2015 regular season finale at #124. Butler: #58 Game Projection: Butler has an 82% chance of victory with a predicted score of 85-75.

Former Butler coaches Chris Holtmann and LaVall Jordan brought a Blue Demons team on a winning streak into Hinkle. The Bulldogs weren't deterred. Here's what we learned:

Two games after struggling against St. John's pressure defense, a Butler freshman from Lawrence North navigated Seton Hall pressure in win.

Marquette was not exactly inspiring anyone with confidence through that 40 minutes of basketball, especially not anyone who saw them fall behind 19-0 against Georgetown in the previous game, and definitely not anyone who saw them immediately waste a 20-5 lead against Seton Hall and blow an eight point third quarter lead in that same game against the Pirates.

After a brief early deficit, the UConn women’s basketball team routed Butler 94-47 on the road Sunday to improve to 4-0 in Big East play.

Butler secured a 52-35 victory over Manchester Regional on Thursday. Alexa Sinopoli led the scoring effort for Butler (9-4) with 16 points, including five two-pointers, one three-pointer, and going perfect from the free-throw line at 3-for-3.

Butler boys basketball was unable to climb out of a 36-21 halftime deficit in a 62-48 loss at North Hills on Tuesday. The defeat drops the Golden Tornado to 6-9 overall and 4-5 in WPIAL Section 1-6A