Duquesne Returns to A-10 Play with Road Battle Against Rhode Island

Duquesne basketball returns to Atlantic-10 play with a road test against Rhode Island Saturday afternoon, which will serve as a great test going forward in their season.

Duquesne Outlook

Duquesne has won their past three games after a five game losing streak to start conference play, with all their victories coming at home. They defeated rivals St. Bonaventure last Tuesday, Jan. 23 and Fordham last Saturday, Jan. 26, both by single digits.

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They would also manage to defeat Chicago State on Wednesday, which came in just a slim 65-60 victory. Duquesne dominated in the paint, 40-24, and easily won the battle of the benches, outscoring Chicago State 41-4 in that category.

Senior guard Dae Dae Grant played in just his second game after missing the previous three as he dealt with concussion symptoms. He would come off the bench and lead the Dukes with 17 points, shooting 5-for-13 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the foul line. Fellow senior guard Jimmy Clark III came just behind him with 16 points, shooting 5-for-15 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the foul line.

Having the two back together February will come crucial for Duquesne, as they have struggled with injuries throughout the season.

Graduate student forward Fousseyni Drame had a great game for the Dukes against the Cougars, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for just his second double-double of the season. Sophomore forward David Dixon also provided 10 points and finished second with six rebounds.

First-year guard/walk-on Jake DiMichele played a team-high 33 minutes and started his fifth straight game for Duquesne. Sophomore guard Kareem Rozier continues to play a lot as well, as Duquesne has all four of its guards play most of the game.

Duquesne is 12-8 overall and 2-5 in the Atlantic-10 coming into their first game of February. They have struggled on the road this season, 1-4, with their only win coming against Marshall on Dec. 6. With only about one more month of conference play left, getting some wins on the road will prove crucial come the postseason.

Duquesne vs. Rhode Island History

Rhode Island holds a 36-29 lead over Duquesne in the all-time series that started in 1966 and 34-27 since joining the A-10 in 1980.

The Dukes prevailed last season at home 72-61, with former forward Joe Reece leading the way with 18 points. The Rams won seven of the the previous 10 games prior to last season and have won the past four games against the Dukes at home. The Dukes last won at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I. in 2014.

Rhode Island Outlook

Rhode Island is 10-11 overall and 4-4 in the A-10 so far this season. They have had an up-and-down season so far, with both winning streaks and losing streaks in abundance.

They won their first three games, lost the next two, won back-to-back games, lost five in a row, won four in a row and then lost four in a row, demonstrating their topsy-turvy season.

URI started A-10 play with three straight wins against Saint Joseph’s and rival UMass at home and Davidson away, but then lost four straight games. The defeats came to St. Bonaventure, Dayton and George Mason on the road and Fordham at home.

A win in their last game out at home against a poor La Salle squad ended the losing streak and they will hope they can continue their winning streak to get some important conference victories.

Junior forward David Green transferred in from Louisiana Tech, but since he started his career at Hofstra, he came in as a two-time transfer and had to sit out. The courts eventually upended the ruling on two-time transfers and Green started to play at the end of December.

He has started the past seven games and played in the past nine for the Rams. He has shot 50.6% from the field, made 17 of his 30 3-point attempts, 56.7%, while also scoring 20 points or more the past two games.

Junior guard Jaden House, who transferred in from High Point, leads Rhode Island with 14.5 points per game over the season, No. 14 in the A-10, and shoots 46.9% from the field.

Austrian first-year forward David Fuchs plays a large role defensively in the paint, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game, fourth best in the conference. His play is a large reason why the Rams rank in the top five in all three rebounding categories.

Quinnipiac transfer and junior guard Luis Kortright takes control of the URI offense, leading the team with 3.4 assists and a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio.

URI is a solid shooting team, with their 46.8% shooting from the field and 36.6% shooting from behind the arc coming in at second and fourth best in the conference, respectively. Ironically, they are the worst free throw shooting team in the conference, 62.4%, and make the second least 3-pointers per game, averaging 6.7.

They also have the worst turnover margin compared to their opponents, -4.38, and the third worst assist/turnover ratio, 1.03, in the Atlantic-10, respectively.

Keys to Victory for Duquesne

Duquesne is not a great team offensively, but Rhode Island is one team to take advantage of in that category. They allow opponents to shoot 44.5% from the field and shoot 35.8% from behind the arc,, tied for third worst and the worst in the A-10, respectively.

The Dukes also love to force steals, ranking third in the conference with 7.8 per game. Clark leads the conference with 2.3 steals per game and if he can have a great showing defensively against a team that turns it over consistently in the Rams, it will play a large role in a victory for his squad.

Clark and Grant offensively need to keep up their solid play offensively, not just scoring, but also continuing to reduce turnovers and increase their assists. Their leadership and talent is needed for Duquesne to make a long run the rest of the month and throughout March.

Dixon, Drame and other forwards in graduate student Dusan Mahorcic and senior Tre Williams will have to take care of both Green and Fuchs defensively, which they have done a solid job of recently, as the Dukes have won their past three games under 10 points.

How to Watch

Duquesne will battle against Rhode Island at 12:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon on the USA Network. This is the third time that Duquesne will play on the network and the second straight Saturday, doing so at home against Fordham. They have on more game on the USA Network, when they host rival St. Joe’s on Saturday, Feb. 17.

Odds

The bookies have Duquesne as the clear favorite against Rhode Island in this matchup. BetRivers has them at -4, ESPNBet has them at -4.5, DraftKings has them at -5 and FanDuel has them at -5.5. ESPNBet and DraftKings have the over/under at 145.5 points, FanDuel has it at 143.5 points, while BetRivers has it at 144.5 points.

The moneyline, or wager for a team to win, varies on all different sites, with ESPNBet having the Dukes at -195 and the Rams at +165, FanDuel having the Dukes at -215 and the Rams at +176, BetRivers putting the Dukes at -186 and the Rams at +150 and DraftKings having the Dukes at -205 and the Rams at +170.