Dec. 2, 2004

• Complete Preview in PDF Format
  Download Free Acrobat Reader

TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh with John Sanders & Charles Smith
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.redzonemedia.com

DUQUESNE AND PITT MEET FOR 73rd TIME

Duquesne (1-6), coming off a 77-65 loss to Akron on Wednesday, will make the 2.15 mile drive down Fifth Avenue to face nationally ranked cross-town rival Pittsburgh (4-0) in the annual City Game on Saturday, Dec. 4. The game, set for a 4:00 p.m. (EST) start, will be televised by Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh and will also be part of the ESPN Regional package (KQV-AM 1410/www.redzonemedia.com). This is the Dukes' second appearance at the Petersen Events Center. Duquesne helped Pitt christen the building on Nov. 23, 2002. The inaugural Petersen Center game marked a return to campus for the Duquesne/Pitt series after 12 straight meetings at Mellon Arena. Last year, the two played before a sellout crowd at Duquesne's A.J. Palumbo Center. Pitt enters the game ranked No. 13 by AP and No. 14 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Panthers are 4-0 on the season, with all four victories coming at home. Duquesne, which is 0-2 on the road, is in the midst of a five-game losing streak.

THE SERIES

This is the 73rd meeting between Duquesne and Pitt in a series that dates back to Jan. 13, 1932 ... Pitt holds a 41-31 advantage overall ... in games played on Pitt's campus, the Panthers hold a 20-16 edge (Pitt led 14-7 in games played at Fitzgerald Field House, DU enjoyed a 9-5 advantage in games at Pitt Pavilion and Pitt is up 1-0 in games at the Petersen Events Center) ... 2003-04 marks the 35th consecutive season the two teams have met ... the last time Duquesne and Pitt did not play was during the 1969-70 season ... DU snapped an eight-game Pitt win streak with an 80-69 win on Feb. 5, 1998 and won again at Mellon Arena on Dec. 21, 2000 by a 71-70 count, giving the Dukes wins in two of the last six meetings ... Pitt has won the last three.

DUQUESNE LATELY

True freshman DeVario Hudson followed his 18 point, 8 rebound effort at George Mason with his first career double-double (12-11) vs. Akron ... Hudson is averaging 15.0 ppg. and 9.5 rpg. off the bench in his last two games ... his scoring and rebounding averages prior to the game at GMU were 2.4 & 1.2 ... fellow freshman G/F Chauncey Duke hit his first three 3-point attempts in scoring 9 points in his first career start vs. Akron ... Duke is shooting a team-best 50% (7-of-14) from the arc ... Duquesne has used five different starting lineups in seven games ... nine different players have started at least once ... DU has five former WPIAL players on the 2004-05 roster in Tyler Bluemling (Mt. Lebanon), Jack Higgins (Schenley), Bryant McAllister (West Mifflin), Jon Pawlak (Highlands) and walkon Adam Souply (Frazier).

DUQUESNE VS. PITT QUICK HITS

Only two Dukes - senior guard Martin Osimani and senior forward Jon Pawlak - have ever started a game vs. Pitt, with both starts coming last year (Bryant McAllister did not start last year due to an ankle injury ... he did not score in 12 minutes off the bench) ... Pawlak, who is averaging 10.0 ppg. in two career games vs. the Panthers, is questionable for Saturday's game with a sprained ankle ... Pawlak (11 points vs. Pitt in 2001-02) and Ryan Tricco (10 points in 22 minutes off the bench last year) are the only two Dukes who have posted a double-digit scoring game vs. the Panthers ... this will be Pittsburgh native Jack Higgins' first game vs. Pitt ... freshman Chauncey Duke does have one game at the Petersen Events Center under his belt ... the Springfield, Mo. native scored 13 points for the USA and World All-Stars in a 123-118 loss to the Pennsylvania All-Stars at the Pittsburgh Hoops World Classic on April 17 ... he hit 3-of-4 3-point attempts and added four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes of action for the US squad ... Pitt freshmen Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin played for the Pennsylvania team ... DU has shot a combined 15-of-53 (28.3%) from the 3-point arc and been outrebounded 131-92 in its last three games vs. Pitt.

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

Senior guard Martin Osimani needs one more 10-assist game for the school career record ... Osimani, who will be playing his 37th career game at Pitt, shares the record for career 10 assist games with Clayton Adams who posted four in 109 career games between 1988-91 ... Osimani, who averaged 4.6 ppg. last season, is scoring at a 9.1 ppg. clip this season ... he has scored a career-high 16 points twice (at New Mexico and vs. Lafayette) ... his career high entering the season was 11 ... last year, it took Osimani 14 games to reach his current 64 point total ... Bryant McAllister rallied from a two point in 19 minute outing at George Mason to score a game-high 21 vs. Akron ... McAllister, who has scored in double figures in six of DU's seven games, eclipsed his previous career best of 21 set at Akron and matched at Xavier last season with 24 vs. Lafayette on Nov. 20 ... Kieron Achara has posted double-doubles in three of DU's last five games (10-11 at New Mexico, 11-10 vs. Lafayette & 15-11 at George Mason) ... his current 7.7 rebounds per game average is the best by a Duquesne player since 6-11 Derrick Alston averaged 9.3 rpg. as a junior in 1992-93 ... Achara, who saw his streak of consecutive double-digit scoring games snapped at six with his 8 point outing vs. Akron, totaled a career-high 17 points vs. North Carolina A&T in the second game of the season ... senior guard Tyler Bluemling made his first career start in the season opener vs. Santa Clara ... it was the 69th game of his career ... Bluemling has scored 32 points in seven games this season ... his point total in 17 appearances last year was 24 ... Duquesne is shooting 31.1 percent (28-of-90) from the 3-point arc during its current five-game losing streak ... DU's opponents are shooting 39.7 percent from the arc for the season, including 43.9% (50-114) in the last four games ... in the last three games opponents have made 14, 13 and 14 `three's' ... DU's opponents have made six more free throws (109-167) than the Dukes have attempted (83-103) ... the Dukes have committed 28 more fouls than their opponents (144-to-116) ... DU is shooting 80.6 percent from the foul line.

ACHES AND SPRAINS

Duquesne, like many of its cohorts in the Atlantic 10, has had to battle a number of injuries and ailments in the early season. First point guard Martin Osimani had his nose broken in a preseason scrimmage. The senior point guard played the first five games wearing a protective mask that was discarded for the first time for the George Mason game on Nov. 27. Next, redshirt freshman Sean McKeon was diagnosed with mononucleosis which has kept him out of uniform for DU's last three games (he is expected to be out for another week). Then, starting forward Keith Gayden suffered a grade two sprain of his right ankle in practice the day before he scored 15 points and pulled down 9 rebounds in a 72-69 loss to West Virginia. The injury kept him out of the George Mason game. Finally, back-up forward Jon Pawlak sprained his ankle with just over five minutes to go at George Mason. Gayden made his return vs. Akron, while Pawlak missed the Akron game is currently questionable for Pitt.

ON THE ROAD

Duquesne is 0-2 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites so far this season. The Dukes went 3-9 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games last year, with four of the losses coming by a combined 15 points (the first three in overtime). The three road wins - all of which came in conference play (at Rhode Island, at St. Bonaventure and at Xavier) - were the most by a DU team in a season and conference season since the 1994-95 team went 5-8 on the road overall and 3-5 in the A-10.