Sept. 12, 2005
A total of four Atlantic 10 Television Network appearances highlight the conference portion of Duquesne's Atlantic 10 Conference schedule released today. The Dukes, which open the league season at La Salle on Jan. 4, host Massachusetts in the conference home opener on A-10 TV on Sat., Jan. 7.
Other home conference opponents include Richmond (Jan. 11), George Washington (Jan. 25), La Salle (Feb. 1), Fordham (Feb. 4), Saint Louis (Feb. 15) St. Bonaventure (Feb. 25) and Saint Joseph's in the regular-season finale on Mar. 4.
In addition to La Salle, the Dukes will travel to Fordham (Jan. 15), Dayton (Jan. 21), St. Bonaventure (Jan. 28), Rhode Island (Feb. 8), Temple (Feb. 11), Xavier (Feb. 18) and Charlotte (Mar. 1). The Fordham, St. Bonaventure and Xavier road games will all be part of the Atlantic 10 TV package which airs on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh locally.
With the addition of Charlotte and Saint Louis, the Atlantic 10 has adopted a new scheduling model with all 14 teams competing in one division. Each team will face three opponents twice and the other 10 once in a 16-game schedule. Duquesne's home-and-home opponents will be Fordham, La Salle and St. Bonaventure. The top 12 league finishers will participate in the Atlantic 10 Championship at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena on March 10-13.
Duquesne will face four NCAA Tournament teams in its first nine games - and possibly a fifth in the inaugural Duquesne Holiday Tournament - as part of the 11-game non-conference schedule.
DU will play 2004-05 NCAA tourney teams Oakland (Nov. 26), Pitt (Dec. 7), West Virginia (Dec. 10) and Boston College (Dec. 27) all before the new year.
Niagara, which finished 20-10 in earning an NCAA bid last season, looms as one of four participants in the Duquesne Holiday Tournament scheduled for Dec. 30-31 at the Palumbo Center.
Fifth-year coach Danny Nee's Dukes open the season at home versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 22, prior to traveling to Rochester, Mich. to face Oakland on the 26th. DU will finish the month of November at Akron on the 30th, before returning home for back-to-back games versus city rivals Robert Morris (Dec. 3) and Pitt (Dec. 7).
The Dukes head to Morgantown to face the surprise team of last year's NCAA Tournament, West Virginia, on Dec. 10, and will make their first trip to Youngstown since Dec. 29, 1951 to face Youngstown State on Dec. 17.
DU closes out the year with a four-game homestand beginning with a pre-Christmas match-up with The Citadel (Dec. 20). First-year Atlantic Coast Conference member Boston College faces Duquesne in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1971 in the second game of a 2-for-1 series at the Palumbo Center on Dec. 27.
The non-conference schedule concludes with the Duquesne Holiday Tournament on Dec. 30-31. In opening-round action, Duquesne will face Troy University at 6:00 p.m., followed by Niagara vs. Appalachian State at 8:30. The consolation game will begin at Noon on New Year's Eve followed by the championship game at 2:30 p.m.
Of the 11 non-conference games, seven will be at home with four on the road.
