FACTS & STATS: Site: Sears Centre (10,000) -- Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Television: SNY. Home Record: Dayton 4-0, Marquette 4-0. Away Record: Dayton 0-0, Marquette 0-0. Neutral Record: Dayton 1-0, Marquette 1-0. Conference Record: Dayton 0-0, Marquette 0-0.

GAME NOTES: Two undefeated teams will close out play in the Chicago Invitational this evening, as the 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles and Dayton Flyers do battle at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates.

The Golden Eagles have successfully navigated their schedule thus far and made it five wins in a row with yesterday's 73-43 whipping of Northern Iowa. The Golden Eagles are now an impressive 15-1 since 2004-05 in regular season tournaments, including a trio of championships at the BCA Classic (2004-05), Great Alaska Shootout (2005-06) and CBE Classic (2006-07) over that time period.

The Flyers will give Marquette all it can handle tonight and come into the contest with an identical 5-0 record. The team won a tight one against Auburn on Friday, getting by the Tigers, 60-59 in overtime. With the win, the Flyers are 5-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign and just the second time in the last nine seasons.

Marcus Johnson netted 16 points, including 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, leading the Flyers to a one-point overtime victory against Auburn yesterday. Chris Wright was once again outstanding in the paint, recording his second straight double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.The Flyers outscored the Tigers 20-12 at the free-throw line, one of the deciding factors in the game. Dayton won the game despite shooting a horrific .287 from the floor, including an unthinkable 0-for-24 from behind the arc. Still, the Flyers were able to win the battle on the boards (60-43) and force Auburn into 20 turnovers. The offensive effort has been lacking this season, with Dayton averaging just 64.6 ppg, thanks to a lackluster .390 shooting percentage. However, the Flyers have been strong defensively, limiting opponents to a mere 48.2 ppg, on .327 shooting. In addition, Dayton is outrebounding foes by 9.6 caroms per game and forcing 20 turnovers per outing. Wright currently leads the team in both scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg). Johnson is the only other double- digit threat at 12.4 ppg.

The Golden Eagles used a 20-0 run in the first half to put some distance between them and the Panthers and then cruised to a 30-point win at the Sears Centre on Friday. Marquette shot 45.3 percent from the floor and converted 11 three-pointers in the victory, as three players finished in double figures. Wesley Matthews led the charge with 17 points. Lazar Hayward notched 15 to go along with eight rebounds. Jerel McNeal rounded things out with 13 points, while Dominic James chipped in eight points to go along with six assists. Defensively, the Golden Eagles limited Northern Iowa to a .353 shooting performance, including a mere .143 effort from behind the arc (3-of-21), while outrebounding NIU, 42-29. The Golden Eagles have been nothing short of fantastic at the offensive end of the floor thus far, averaging a robust 91.8 ppg, thanks to .475 shooting from the field. Matthews has been the driving force at that end of the floor, converting over 50 percent overall (.508) and pouring in 21.6 ppg. Hayward provides the perfect complement with his dominant play down low, averaging a near double-double with 19.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. McNeal gives the team a third prolific scorer, adding 18.4 ppg.

The Flyers cannot afford another poor offensive performance, but there is little reason to believe Dayton's shooting woes will end today. While the Flyers may be able to somewhat contain Marquette's trio of scorers, it won't be enough to get the win here.

Predicted Outcome

Marquette 71, Dayton 55