July 24, 2007
Duquesne will host a pair of NCAA Tournament teams sandwiched around its first in-season tournament in three years as part of the 13-game 2007-08 non-conference schedule released today.
Second-year head coach Ron Everhart's Dukes will play seven times at home including a season-opening game with Howard on Nov. 9. Six of the 13 games will be played on the road or at a neutral site.
Following the Howard game, Duquesne will host Winston-Salem State on Nov. 12 before hitting the road for games at Rice (Nov. 17) and Oakland (Nov. 20).
DU will host Niagara (Nov. 24) and cross-town rival Pitt (Dec. 4) - both NCAA tourney teams a year ago - around an appearance at the Drake Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa on Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
Niagara returns six lettermen, including leading scorer Charron Fisher (20.6 ppg.), from last year's 23-12 team. Following the Niagara game, the Dukes will head to the Midwest for the tournament hosted by Drake and including Cal State Northridge and North Carolina Central. DU's last in-season tournament appearance was in the 2004-05 NABC Classic at Albuquerque, N.M.
The Dukes return home to face Pitt - a Sweet 16 team in 2005-06 - on Dec. 4. The Pitt game begins a stretch that sees Duquesne play four local rivals in succession with a game at West Virginia (Dec. 8) and home games versus Saint Francis, Pa. (Dec. 21) and Robert Morris (Dec. 28) following final exams.
DU will close out 2007 with a home game against first-year Division I member South Carolina Upstate on Dec. 30.
The Dukes complete the non-conference slate at Bowling Green on Jan. 2.
In all, seven of Duquesne's non-conference opponents won 17 or more games last season (Drake 17-15, Niagara 23-12, Oakland 19-14, Pitt 29-8, Robert Morris 17-11, South Carolina Upstate 17-11 in D-II and West Virginia 27-9) and three finished either first or second in their conference (Niagara second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Oakland second in the Summit League and Pitt second in the Big East).
In Atlantic 10 play, Duquesne will face Fordham, La Salle and St. Bonaventure in home-and-home series. The Dukes' remaining A-10 home opponents include: George Washington, UMass, Richmond, Saint Joseph's and Saint Louis. DU will also travel to Charlotte, Dayton, Rhode Island, Temple and Xavier in conference play. The top 12 league finishers will participate in the Atlantic 10 Championship at historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. on March 12-15. The complete Atlantic 10 schedule, including dates, will be released at a later date.
2007-08 DUQUESNE MEN'S BASKETBALL NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
- Game times to be announced
- Opponents for home games in CAPS
- Atlantic 10 schedule to be released at a later date
Date Day Opponent Time (EST)Nov. 9 Fri. HOWARD TBANov. 12 Mon. WINSTON-SALEM STATE TBANov. 17 Sat. at Rice TBANov. 20 Tues. at Oakland TBANov. 24 Sat. NIAGARA TBA
At Drake Tournament - Des Moines, Iowa
Drake (host), Cal State Northridge & North Carolina Central
Nov. 30 Fri. vs. TBA TBADec. 1 Sat. vs. TBA TBA
Dec. 4 Tue. PITTSBURGH TBADec. 8 Sat. at West Virginia TBADec. 21 Fri. SAINT FRANCIS TBADec. 28 Fri. ROBERT MORRIS TBADec. 30 Sun. SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE TBAJan. 2 Wed. at Bowling Green TBA
ATLANTIC 10 SCHEDULE TO BE ANNOUNCED
Home Opponents
Fordham La Salle St. Bonaventure George Washington Massachusetts Richmond Saint Joseph's Saint Louis
Road Opponents
Fordham La Salle St. Bonaventure Charlotte Dayton Rhode Island Temple Xavier
