Here’s what fans should know about the series:
Recent meetings: Dayton and Marquette last played on Nov. 29, 2008, in the Chicago Invitational Challenge at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Dayton beat No. 15 Marquette 89-75.
Prior to that, the last meeting took place on Jan. 4, 2003. Dayton beat Marquette 92-85 at UD Arena. Marquette reached the Final Four that same season with star Dwyane Wade.
Dayton last played at Marquette on Dec. 5, 2001. Marquette won 73-51. That game took place at the Bradley Center, which was demolished in 2019.
Series history: Dayton and Marquette first played in 1966 and 1968 but did not play again until 1980. They played regularly through the 1980s and 1990s and into the early 2000s. Marquette leads the series 21-14.
Big East opportunity: Dayton last played a Big East Conference opponent in November, beating St. John’s 88-81 in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic. Prior to that, Dayton played Xavier in the Advocare Invitational in November 2015 and Providence in the NCAA tournament in March 2015.
Dayton has not played a home-and-home series against a Big East opponent since the league expanded with the additions of Butler, Creighton and Xavier in 2013.
Seton Hall was the last Big East school to play a home-and-home series against Dayton. The Flyers won at Seton Hall in 2010 and lost a home game to Seton Hall in 2011.
Strong opponent: Marquette finished 27-10 last season and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013. The program has reached the NCAA tournament in each of coach Shaka Smart’s first three seasons.
Scouting report: ESPN’s Jeff Borzello ranked Marquette 17th in a “way-too-early” top-25 prediction for the 2024-25 season.
Marquette returns its top scorer, senior guard Kameron Jones (17.2 points per game) and one other double-digit scorer, senior forward David Joplin (10.8).
“Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro have played their final game in a Marquette uniform,” Borzello wrote, “but Shaka Smart brings back three starters in Kam Jones, David Joplin and Stevie Mitchell, plus key rotation players Chase Ross, Ben Gold and a potentially healthy Sean Jones. This is a team that has earned 2-seeds in each of the past two NCAA tournaments and didn’t see a single player leave or enter the program via the portal this spring. The Golden Eagles shouldn’t fade away quickly.”
Coaching connection: Smart worked at Dayton as a graduate assistant on UD coach Oliver Purnell’s staff for two seasons (2001-03).
The Dayton-Marquette matchup brings two former Virginia Commonwealth coaches together. Dayton coach Anthony Grant coached VCU for three seasons (2006-09). Smart took over the program when Grant left for Alabama and coached VCU for six seasons.
Smart and Grant coached against each other twice when they were at VCU and Alabama. In November 2011, VCU lost 72-64 at No. 13 Alabama. The next season, VCU beat Alabama 73-54 in Richmond, Va.
Schedule addition: Here’s how Dayton’s non-conference schedule looks with five games yet to be announced.
Nov. 4: vs. St. Francis (Pa.) at UD Arena.
Nov. 9: vs. Northwestern at UD Arena.
Nov. 25: Maui Invitational (Possible opponents: Connecticut, North Carolina, Michigan State, Auburn, Colorado, Iowa State and Memphis).
Nov. 26: Maui Invitational.
Nov. 27: Maui Invitational.
Dec. 7: vs. Lehigh at UD Arena.
Dec. 14: vs. Marquette at UD Arena.
Dec. 20: vs. Cincinnati at Heritage Bank Center.
About the Author
