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Marquette looks to remain undefeated vs. Valparaiso

Nov 27, 2006 - 3:56 PM No. 17 Marquette (6-0) at Valparaiso (3-1) 8:05 pm EST

VALPARAISO, Indiana (Ticker) - Dominic James and Marquette hope that a win over one of the nation's top teams will spark a big run in one of its toughest conferences.

The 17th-ranked Golden Eagles will take on Valparaiso on Monday in their first true road game.

James scored 25 points en route to being named tournament MVP as Marquette posted a 73-62 victory over No. 8 Duke in the championship game of the CBE Classic on Tuesday. Jerel McNeal added 17 points for the Golden Eagles.

One day earlier, Marquette defeated Texas Tech, as they secured victories over two of the winningest coaches in college basketball history - Bobby Knight and Mike Krzyzewski

The teams played even for most of the contest in the title game until James, the reigning Big East Rookie of the Year, sparked an 11-0 run to put Marquette ahead for good. However, the Golden Eagles hope the early season win prepares them for a tough Big East conference schedule.

The Crusaders missed their first 4-0 start in eight years as they were defeated by North Carolina State 78-64 on Tuesday. Sophomore forward Urule Igbavboa leads Valparaiso in scoring at 15.3 points per game. He averaged just 2.9 point per game in 22 games off the bench last season.

The Golden Eagles lead Valparaiso 20-5 in the all-time series, including a 69-54 win at home last season.