Marquette started the season ranked 18th in the preseason poll. It climbed to No. 5 after an 8-0 start that included victories over Maryland, Purdue and Georgia, among others. Last week, it lost 81-70 at Iowa State on Wednesday and then beat Wisconsin 88-74 in Milwaukee on Saturday.
Iowa State is No. 3 in the AP poll this week. Wisconsin is No. 20.
Dayton (8-2) played two home games last week, beating Western Michigan 77-69 on Tuesday and Lehigh 86-62 on Saturday. The Flyers received votes in the AP poll this week for the second straight week.
The last top-25 team to play the Flyers on Tom Blackburn Court was No. 25 Mississippi State, which beat Dayton 65-58 on Nov. 30, 2018.
Marquette will be the highest-ranked opponent to play Dayton at UD Arena since No. 6 Pittsburgh on Dec. 29, 2007. Dayton won that game 80-55.
The last top-10 team to play Dayton at UD Arena was No. 10 Xavier on Feb. 24, 2008. The Flyers lost 57-51.
Dayton hasn’t hosted a top-five team since it beat No. 3 DePaul on the famous shot by Ed Young in 1984.
Brian Roberts will be at UD Arena on Saturday when Dayton plays Marquette. Of course, he was the star of the game the last time Dayton played a top-10 team at UD Arena: No. 6 Pittsburgh on Dec. 30, 2007. pic.twitter.com/uJsW5QTPmp
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) December 9, 2024
SATURDAY’S GAME
Marquette at Dayton, 7 p.m., CBS Sports Network, 1290, 95.7
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