Coach Shaka Smart feels things are coming along nicely for his No. 6 Marquette squad, which faces a potentially stiff test in the season’s final nonconference game.
On Saturday night, the Golden Eagles will be highest-ranked team in nearly 17 years to visit Dayton, which has already knocked off one top-10 Big East team and won 23 straight at home.
Marquette (9-1) bounced back nicely from an 81-70 loss at then-No. 6 Iowa State on Dec. 4 by taking care of in-state rival Wisconsin last weekend. Star Kam Jones tied a season high with 32 points to lead four players in double figures for the Golden Eagles, who hit half of their 62 shots in the 88-74 home victory over the then-No. 11 Badgers.
“Our guys love each other, care about each other,” Smart said of his veteran group. “We’re building more and more trust for each other.”
Marquette is shooting 47.5 percent and has allowed just three opponents to reach 70 points. Jones (20.3 ppg) ranks among the nation’s top scorers amid a career start to his fourth season as a Golden Eagle.
Jones, who went 12-of-21 from the field versus Wisconsin, is shooting 58.2 percent overall and 41.3 percent from 3-point range, while also sporting career bests of 6.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
“He’s … in my opinion, the best guard in the country,” Smart said.
“When he jumps to shoot it, whether it’s from 3 or in the paint, I don’t know about you, but I feel very good about it. And, he also is a very, very willing passer. … Really, really grateful for him.”
Jones scored 28 during Marquette’s 78-74 win at Maryland in its first true road game Nov. 15. However, he shot just 6-of-21 for 14 points at Iowa State.
Teammate Stevie Mitchell (11.9 ppg) totaled 31 points over those two road games for the Golden Eagles, who have lost their last three trips to Dayton. The most recent came in 2003, and they haven’t met anywhere since 2008.
The last time an opponent ranked this high visited Dayton was Dec. 29, 2007, when the Flyers rolled to an 80-55 victory over No. 6 Pittsburgh.
Dayton (8-2) has won three in a row after losing back-to-back games versus ranked North Carolina and Iowa State teams at the Maui Invitational. The Flyers closed the event with an 85-67 win over then-No. 2 UConn, and followed with home victories over Western Michigan and Lehigh.
The Flyers’ last home defeat came on Feb. 25, 2023, against George Mason.
Dayton hasn’t played since rolling over Lehigh 86-62 on Dec. 7. Nate Santos (14.0 ppg) went 6-of-6 from beyond the arc to finish with 24 points. Enoch Cheeks (16.0 ppg) and Malachi Smith (11.6 ppg) combined for seven treys and 31 points as the Flyers set homecourt season highs with 14 3-pointers and 57.1 percent shooting from the field.
“We gotta get more consistent and put together a 40-minute game, but overall, you know, to be in the position we’re in, I think the guys have done a good job,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said.
Santos has averaged 17.8 points and gone 20-of-38 from 3-point range in the last six games. He totaled 33 points in the first four contests.
–Field Level Media
