MILWAUKEE – Consider three realities for the Butler Bulldogs:
>> They have played some awful basketball games, and a 79-69 loss at No. 11 Marquette was not one of them.
>> They have few chances left for a signature victory to bolster a thin NCAA tournament resume. This was one of them.
>> Victory by a seven-point underdog that was 2-6 on the road, and had lost to Marquette by 18 points already, was never probable. The path to 9-9, a Big East record that puts the Bulldogs in the mix, remains what it was. A home sweep of Providence and Xavier and a road win at Providence would do it.