Duquesne Faces Rival Saint Joseph’s at Home in Crucial A-10 Game

Duquesne takes on rival Saint Joseph’s at home on Saturday, in a must win for both programs as the end of the regular season comes soon.

Duquesne Outlook

After starting 0-5 in Atlantic 10 play, Duquesne is victorious in four of their past six conference games. This includes St. Bonaventure home-and-away, Fordham at home and Rhode Island on the road. Their two losses came to Davidson at home last Tuesday and Dayton on the road this Tuesday.

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The Dukes actually led the Flyers by four points with a little more than six minutes remaining, but continuously fouled the Flyers, allowing them to build a lead after nine straight foul shots. The Flyers built that run into 22-2, defeating the Dukes 75-59, handing the Dukes’ their second defeat to them this season.

Duquesne played well for most of the game and led by double digits at times in the first half. They’ve improved greatly since the start of conference play, but are still 4-7 in the A-10 and need to improve on that record, sooner rather than later.

Duquesne vs. Saint Joseph’s History

St. Joe’s won the first matchup between the two schools this season back on Jan. 20. Without star senior guard Dae Dae Grant, Duquesne battled throughout the entirety of the game and had it level with a few seconds to go. St. Joe’s junior guard Lynn Greer III airballed a last second shot, but graduate guard Cameron Brown got the put back with 0.2 seconds left for the 71-69 win.

The Hawks hold a 43-19 lead over Duquesne in the all-time series, including 16-12 in Pittsburgh.The Dukes won both games last year, including scoring 60 points in the first half en route to a 92-80 win on the road and then a 76-64 win at home to take the two games.

Duquesne has won seven out of the past 12, including five of the past nine games against St. Joe’s under head coach Keith Dambrot, since he took over prior to the 2017-18 season.

Saint Joseph’s Outlook

Saint Joseph’s comes into this game 16-9 overall and 6-6 in the A-10. They lost their first three games in the A-10, but won three straight including the victory over Duquesne. They’ve won four out of their pat seven games since Duquesne last month, which includes a 64-59 loss to Loyola Chicago on Wednesday.

Injuries hurt the Hawks in their past game, as they only had seven players come in, with three players staying in for all 40 minutes. Redshirt first-year center Christ Essandoko, who scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double against the Dukes, and Greer, who had 12 points, with 10 coming in the second half against the Dukes, missed the last game.

The absence of these two will play a large role in how St. Joe’s finishes this season. With them, they’re one of the better squads in the conference, but without them, they need big performances from certain players to get wins.

The Hawks have one of the most impressive players in the A-10 in junior guard Erik Reynolds II. Reynolds is No. 6 in the A-10 scoring 16.9 points per game, leads the conference making 3.1 3-pointers per game, No. 17 shooting 40.2% from behind the arc and No. 2 shooting 88.2% from the foul line. The preseason A-10 First Team honor he received early in the season is truly something that he has shown in his play this season.

Saint Joseph’s is one of the best 3-point shooting team in the conference, ranking No. 1 averaging 10.4 makes from behind the arc, while ranking No. 3 with a .363 3-point field goal percentage.

Along with Reynolds, graduate guard Cameron Brown ranks No. 4 making 2.6 3-pointers per game and No. 22 shooting 38.6% from behind the arc.  First-year guard Xzayvier Brown is third best in the A-10 shooting 45.2% from 3-point range and his 1.9 3-pointers per game ranks tied for No. 14.

Brown has averaged 28 points these past two games, and shoots 48.6% from the field and 78.7% from the foul line, both No. 18 in the A-10. He also ranks tied No. 4 with 1.7 steals per game and is second on the team with 3.2 assists per game.

Sophomore forward Rasheer Fleming is one player to watch out for in the Hawks front court. His 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks rank No. 4 and No. 8 in the A-10, while he also ranks No. 15 shooting 53.1% from the field. Junior forward Kacper Klaczek is second on the team in blocks and provides great presence for the Hawks down low.

Keys to Victory for Duquesne

Duquesne will need to close games out. They struggled to do so earlier in the season against St. Joe’s and failed to do it on Tuesday against Dayton. With so many games in the A-10 coming down to the final minutes and seconds, Duquesne must play better in the latter stages.

Grant and senior guard Jimmy Clark III drive this offense and will have to account for Reynolds, Xzayvier Brown and Cameron Brown. Guards in sophomore Kareem Rozier and first-year/walk-on Jake DiMichele also will need to step up their performances on Friday.

Dukes forwards in graduate students Fousseyni Drame and Dusan Mahoric, senior Tre Williams and sophomore David Dixon should take advantage of the lack of height from the Hawks, especially with Essandoko out.

Odds

Duquesne is a -2.5 favorite over St. Joe’s on Saturday, according to almost all betting sites. ESPNBet and FanDuel have the over/under at 146.5 points, while DraftKings and BetRivers have it at 147.

The money line, or wager placed on the winning team, varies for each site. ESPNBet, DraftKings and BetRivers have St. Joe’s at +120, while FanDuel has them at +112. Duquesne is -140 on ESPNBet, -134 on FanDuel, -142 on DraftKings and -148 on BetRivers.

How to Watch

The USA Network will broadcast the game at 2:30 p.m. This is the fourth and final Duquesne broadcast on the channel for the regular season.