Duquesne has certainly had its fair share of ups and downs this season.
However, just weeks away from March, the Dukes sit at 15-8 overall and 5-5 in conference play, good for sixth in the Atlantic 10. After losing three of four, Keith Dambrot’s squad came out and destroyed George Washington behind big nights from Dae Dae Grant, Tre Williams, Quincy McGriff, and big man Tre Williams this past weekend.
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“The chemistry has been great,” Williams told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Everybody knows that we’re a good team. We’ve hit some bumps in the road, but everybody trusts everybody on this team. I feel like it’s had a good impact, because everybody is getting in the gym more often. I feel like everybody is dragging somebody in the gym with them, so I feel like the chemistry has been really good.”
Just one of Duquesne’s conference losses has been by double digits (Dayton). At the top of the conference, VCU — who lost to Duquesne by nine — holds first place at 9-2.
“I feel like it started off with the VCU game,” Williams said about the team’s confident mindset. “I see them at the top of the poll right now, and we beat them, so we feel like we can compete with anybody on any given night.”
With games against St Bonaventure (7-4), Saint Louis (7-3), and numerous other teams that are not far out of the conference race left on the schedule, the Dukes know that they have an opportunity to make a serious run and compete with the conference’s best records from here on out.
“I feel like everybody, we have to come out and play our best every night,” Williams added. “Everybody is capable of winning. Even the bottom-tier teams are capable of winning in this league, and we just gotta have that chip on our shoulder every time we come out at night, and I feel like we have that right mindset. To do that every night.”
Williams and the Dukes’ next game comes on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at home against George Mason, with tip off set for 7 p.m. That matchup will be televised on ESPN+.