It’s a final here in Hoffman Estates, Ill., where Dayton beat Marquette 89-75 in the final round of the Chicago Invitational.

First of all, the Golden Eagles came out wearing their powder blue uniforms, a sure sign that tough times were in store. Any Marquette fan would tell you the same thing.

As far as the actual game was concerned, Marquette couldn’t find a way to score consistently on offense. The Golden Eagles’ penchant for shooting three pointers – something they got away with in the first two games – came back to bite them as they shot just 20.0 percent (4-of-20) from behind the arc against Dayton.

Marquette coach Buzz Williams didn’t seem to mind the number of 3-point shots (27) the Golden Eagles took in a win against Northern Iowa. I’ll venture a guess that he’s changed his tune tonight.

Marquette turned the ball over 14 times, leading to 18 Dayton points. The Flyers’ bench also outscored the Golden Eagles’ 48-5 (including an 18-0 mark in the first half). Marquette’s transition game – normally a strength – was essentially neutralized as both teams scored four fast-break points.

Basically, Marquette was flat outplayed tonight. Forward Chris Wright led the Flyers with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Rob Lowery had 21 points and guard Chris Johnson added 12 points and 11 boards. The Golden Eagles got 28 points from guard Wesley Matthews and 19 points from guard Dominic James.