Duquesne Finishes Regular Season, Celebrates Senior Day against George Washington

Duquesne basketball takes on George Washington at home Saturday in their final game of the regular season, celebrating Senior Day.

Duquesne Outlook

Duquesne started A-10 play with five straight losses and their season looked like it might not live up to expectations with such an experienced core.

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The Dukes have been exceptional since that poor start, winning 10 of their last 13 games overall, nine of their last A-10 games overall and five out of their past six games, currently 19-10 overall and 9-8 in A-10 play.

They have won their past three games, against La Salle at home last Wednesday, Feb. 28, and then two road big road wins in Virginia, 59-51 against George Mason last Saturday and 69-59 over VCU on Tuesday.

Dukes senior guard Dae Dae Grant scored 26 points in the win over the Rams, shooting 8-for-17 from the field, 5-for-11 from 3-point range, and a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line. First-year guard/walk-on Jake DiMichele scored 10 points to join Grant as one of two double digit scorers for the Dukes.

Duquesne is playing their best basketball of the season at the right time and with the A-10 Tournament starting next week at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., it is all coming together for a potential conference title.

Duquesne vs. George Washington History

Duquesne and George Washington share a storied history, with the series starting in 1932 and this meeting serving as the 91st time they will battle each other on the basketball court.

The Revolutionaries lead the series 55-35, 48-30 in the A-10 regular season. The two teams have 21 wins each in Pittsburgh, but the Revolutionaries have won the past two at Duquesne in 2022, the first meeting at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, and in 2020 at PPG Paints Arena.

Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot holds a 7-4 record against George Washington since taking over the program in 2017 and he’ll look to get his eighth win on Saturday.

George Washington Outlook

George Washington started off A-10 play 3-1, with wins over VCU on the road on Jan. 6, and victories at home against Davidson in overtime on Jan. 13 and rival George Mason on Jan. 15.

The Revolutionaries then lost 12 straight games, with only five by single digits, putting them at the bottom of the conference.

GW finally broke the streak on Tuesday, defeating St. Bonaventure at home 86-75, but this season is one that fans will want to forget sooner rather than later.

They have allow 78.1 points per game, have a turnover margin of -2.27 compared to their opponents, a 0.98 assist/turnover ratio and make 12.23 assists per game, all of which rank second worst in the A-10, respectively.

What the Revolutionaries do well is score, averaging 77.5 points and 9.0 3-pointers per game, ranking second and third best in the conference respectively.

Senior guard James Bishop IV is No. 3 in the conference scoring 18.3 points per game, is 11th best shooting 83.7% from the foul line and with 2.2 3-pointers per game, and shoots 37.5% from behind the arc.

He made it to 2,000 points in his career in the win against the Bonnies, scoring a team-high 27 points and shooting 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

Bishop is also the best passer on the Revolutionaries, with his 4.4 assists per game and 1.5 assist/turnover ratio ranking fourth and 17th best in the Atlantic-10, respectively.

Redshirt first-year forward Darren Buchanan Jr. is another solid scorer for George Washington, with his 17.6 points per game in conference games fifth best in the A-10. The Virginia Tech transfer also shoots 54.3% from the field and grabs 6.6 rebounds per game, eighth best and ranked tied for seventh best in the conference.

Fellow redshirt first-year in guard/forward Garrett Johnson is third best on the team when it comes to scoring points, 13.4 points per game, which is 18th best in the A-10. The Princeton transfer also shoots 87.1% from the foul line, fourth best in the A-10, and is a threat from deep, shooting 40.3% and making 2.3 3-pointers, No. 14 and ranked tied for No. 8 in the conference.

The Revolutionaries also make 37.0 rebounds per game, third best in the conference. Along with Buchanan, Johnson and graduate student center Babatunde Akingbola both make 5.6 rebounds per game, ranked tied for No. 16, while Redshirt sophomore guard Maximus Edwards grabs 6.6 rebounds per game, ranked tied for No. 7.

Akingbola is leads the A-10 with 2.7 blocks per game, while George Washington ranks second as a team making 4.83 blocks per game.

Keys for Duquesne

Guarding Bishop and containing him from producing like he did against the Bonnies is the biggest key for the Dukes heading into Saturday.

The other players on the Revolutionaries also will score in this game, but Bishop is far and away the best player they have, making it imperative that the Dukes take care of him early and often.

Senior guard Jimmy Clark III leads the A-10 with 2.3 steals per game and with George Washington turning it over as much as they do, he’ll want to take advantage of those mistakes.

The Revolutionaries also allow 37.7 rebounds per game, the most of any team in the A-10. Forwards in Graduate students Dusan Mahorcic and Fousseyni Drame, senior Tre Williams and sophomore David Dixon have a chance to exploit the Revolutionaries on the boards and get easy points off offensive rebounds.

A-10 Tournament Implications

Duquesne win this game and they finish with the No. 6 seed in the A-10 Tournament for the second straight year.

George Washington defeating St. Bonaventure on Tuesday gave Duquesne a clear path for the No. 6 seed, a massive upgrade after losing their first five games of conference play.

A loss for Duquesne and they could potentially fall as low as No. 9, but they have secured a First Round bye, meaning they’ll start play next Wednesday in the A-10 Tournament.

If the Revolutionaries lose, they finish with the No. 15 seed, last in the A-10, as they lost their game to Saint Louis, who also holds the same 4-13 record going into Saturday.

George Washington with a win could finish above the bottom, but they need Saint Louis to lose, so they wouldn’t end up in last place.

Duquesne Senior Night

Duquesne has one of the oldest squads in Division I and seven players will compete in their final game at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

This includes Fousseyni and Hasan Drame, graduate student forward Andrei Savrasov, Williams, Grant, Clark and Mahorcic, who will all walk on Senior Day.

Odds

Duquesne come in as heavy favorites against Duquesne, with ESPNBet, DraftKings and FanDuel putting them as -11.5 favorites to win this matchup. ESPNBet and DraftKings both have the over/under at 145.5 points, while FanDuel has it at 146.6 points

How to Watch/Tip-Off

SportsNet Pittsburgh will broadcast the Duquesne-George Washington game on cable for those that have the channel. ESPN+ will carry the game on streaming, with Tim Benz as play-by-play commentator and Ellis Cannon as color commentator. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.