2015-16 Non-Conference Schedule

PITTSBURGH ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃÆ'¢'¬" Three games against "Power 5" conference members and an appearance in the Thanksgiving week Gulf Coast Showcase highlight the men's basketball non-conference schedule released today.

Duquesne will face Atlantic Coast Conference schools Pitt (neutral-site game at CONSOL Energy Center on Dec. 4) and Georgia Tech (in Atlanta on Dec. 29) as well as Penn State of the Big Ten (Nov. 20 at CONSOL Energy Center) as part of its 13-game non-league slate.

DU tips off its 100th season on Friday, Nov. 13 at home vs. Seton Hill in a game that is part of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Dukes then host New Orleans (Nov. 16) and Penn State (Nov. 20) before heading to Estero, Fla. for three games in three days in the Gulf Coast Showcase (Nov. 23-25). The field includes three 20-game winners from a year ago in Murray State, Central Michigan and Western Kentucky along with Drake, Milwaukee, Pepperdine and Weber State (pairings will be announced at a later date).

DU opens December at home against Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 1) before the City Game with Pitt on Dec. 4. The Dukes then host UMBC on Dec. 8 before heading to Saint Francis U. for a game on Dec. 12.

The Dukes return home to host South Carolina State (Dec. 16) and Robert Morris (Dec. 19) before concluding the non-conference schedule at Georgia Tech.

The Atlantic 10 schedule will be released at a later date.

Duquesne returns four starters under the direction of fourth-year head coach Jim Ferry.

Season and group tickets may be purchased by calling 412-232-DUKE (3853) or by visiting GoDuquesne.com.

2015-16 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Atlantic 10 schedule TBA - times listed are Eastern

Nov. 10 - URBANA (exhibition) --7:00 pm
Nov. 13 - SETON HILL -- 7:00 pm
Nov. 16 - NEW ORLEANS -- 7:00 pm
Nov. 20 - PENN STATE (CEC) -- 7:00 pm

Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena, Estero, Fla.
Nov. 23 - Opponents to be determined from the field listed below
Nov. 24 - Central Michigan, Drake, Milwaukee, Murray State,
Nov. 25 - Pepperdine, Weber State, Western Kentucky

Dec. 1 - MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE -- 7:00 pm
Dec. 4 - vs. Pitt (CEC) -- 7:00 pm
Dec. 8 - UMBC -- 7:00 pm
Dec. 12 - at Saint Francis U -- TBA
Dec. 16 - SOUTH CAROLINA STATE -- 7:00 pm
Dec. 19 - ROBERT MORRIS -- 2:00 pm
Dec. 29 - at Georgia Tech -- 7:00 pm

* - Seton Hill game is part of the Gulf Coast Showcase
(CEC) - game at CONSOL Energy Center

2015-16 NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENT CAPSULES

Seton Hill (Nov. 13) - Competes at the Division II level in the PSAC West ... this is the first regular season meeting between the Griffins and Dukes ... the game is considered part of the Gulf Coast Showcase ... DU defeated Seton Hill 129-67 in an exhibition game on Nov. 3, 2007 at Palumbo Center in the only other meeting between the schools ... the Griffins, who are coached by Trafford, Pa. native Tony Morocco, finished 7-19 last year ... Morocco, who has coached a Division I schools St. Francis Brooklyn, Iowa, Long Beach State and UNLV, is in his 13th season as head coach of the Griffins ... he has coached SHU since the program's inception ... a pair of former Dukes, Oliver Lewinson (2009-10) and Rodrigo Peggau (2009-11) finished their playing careers at Seton Hill ... 6-6 senior guard Kameron Taylor, who played high school ball at DeMatha Catholic, is the Griffins top returning scorer at 13.2 ppg. ... 6-6 junior forward Noah Davis went 51-of-115 from 3-point (.443) in averaging 11.1 ppg. in 2014-15.

New Orleans (Nov. 16) - Southland Conference ... this is the second meeting between the Privateers and Dukes ... DU defeated New Orleans 88-70 on Dec. 8, 2012 at Palumbo Center ... Derrick Colter (17 points), Jeremiah Jones (8 points) and Nick Foschia are the only current roster members who saw action in that game ... UNO finished 11-18 last season, its second as a member of the Southland Conference ... the Privateers return three double digit scorers in junior guard Christavious Gill (12.3), senior forward Kevin Hill (10.6 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) and junior guard Nate Frye (10.3 ppg., 76 assists) ... averaged 71.1 points and forced 15.4 turnovers per game last season ... in its fifth season under head coach Mark Slessinger.

Penn State (Nov. 20) - Big Ten Conference ... PSU leads the series 27-19 ... fourth of a four-game home-and-home series ... game will be played at CONSOL Energy Center ... the two resumed the long-time series with a two game home-and-home series in 2010-11 & 2011-12 ... PSU has won the first three of the current series ... Penn State went 18-16 last season, including a 14-2 in non-conference play ... return two starters in sophomore guard Shep Garner (9.2, 59 3-pointers) and senior forward Brandon Taylor (9.1, 54 3-pointers) ... Garner and Taylor were responsible for half of PSU's 3-point attempts last season ... added a pair of ESPN100, 4-star recruits in 6-4 guard Josh Reaves and 6-8 center Mike Watkins ... in its fifth year under head coach Pat Chambers ... DU and PSU shared membership in the Eastern 8/Atlantic 10 for 12 seasons (1977-79 & 1983-91).

Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 1) - Southwestern Athletic Conference ... first meeting between the Dukes and Delta Devils ... finished 6-26 last season against a schedule that included games at Indiana, Iowa State, Oregon State, Northwestern, Mississippi State and TCU among others ... did not play a single non-conference home game ... played a total of 20 road games (2-18) ... ranked 44th nationally in steals/g. (7.5) ... signed a nine-man recruiting class ... in its second season under head coach Andre Payne.

Pittsburgh (Dec. 4) - Atlantic Coast Conference ... Pitt leads the series 52-31 ... this will be the 84th meeting between the two schools who shared membership in the Eastern 8 for six seasons from 1977 through 1982 ... this is Pitt's third season in the ACC ... the Panthers and Dukes, who played in the last college basketball game at Mellon Arena on Dec. 2, 2009 (a 67-58 2OT Pitt win), christened the CONSOL Energy Center on Dec. 1, 2010 (an 80-66 Pitt win) ... the two will meet at CONSOL for the sixth time this season ... returns four starters - including top two scorers junior forwards Jamel Artis (13.6) and Michael Young (13.4) - from a 19-15 NIT team ... added three graduate transfers in 6-9 Alonzo Nelson-Ododa (Richmond), 6-4 Sterling Smith (Coppin State) and 6-9 Rafael Maia (Brown).

UMBC (Dec. 8) - America East Conference ... fourth meeting between the Dukes and Retrievers ... DU has won the three previous games - the last of which was by a 94-88 margin on Dec. 4, 2013 ... DU's Derrick Colter had 20 points, 7 assists and 4 steals in the win ... returns second team 6-8, 225-pound All-America East forward Cody Joyce (13.4, 5.8) from last year's 4-26 team ... went 2-15 on the road ... will have six newcomers - including VCU transfer Jairus Lyles - in 2015-16 ... Lyles, who played in 22 games for VCU in 2013-14, won't be eligible until after the first semester ... in its fourth season under head coach Aki Thomas.

Saint Francis U (Dec. 12) - Northeast Conference ... this is the 76th meeting ... DU leads the series 61-14 ... the Dukes have faced only St. Bonaventure, West Virginia and Pitt more often ... this is the first game of a new home-and-home series ... DU had won 31 of the past 33 meetings including 11 in a row, prior to SFU's 67-52 win over the Dukes at Palumbo Center last year ... it was SFU's first win at Duquesne since Dec. 1, 1966 at the Civic Arena ... DU had won 16 in a row over the Red Flash at home ... DU has won the past six at SFU ... Saint Francis U went 16-16 last season (10-3 at home) in earning a CIT appearance ... return three starters in junior guard Malik Harmon (9.7, 2.7a), senior guard Greg Brown (8.2) and senior forward Ronnie Drinnon (8.1, 7.8) ... Drinnon had 15 rebounds in last year's game at Duquesne ... senior guard Ben Millaud-Meunier, who hit 36 3-pointers off the bench last season, is 8-of-16 from the arc in two career games vs. DU ... in its fourth season under head coach Rob Krimmel.

South Carolina State (Dec. 16) - Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ... first meeting between the Dukes and Bulldogs ... finished 10-21 last season (4-14 on the road) ... posted wins over Houston and UMES in 2015 ... 6-8 senior forward Darryl Palmer ranked 44th nationally with 2.1 blocks per game in 2015 ... returning guards, 6-2 sophomore Edward Stephens (11.8, 55-164 from 3-point) and 5-10 junior Karon Wright (7.5, 60-186 3-point) combined for 115 3-pointers last season ... that's 60 percent of the team's 3-point attempts ... in its third full season under head coach Murray Garvin.

Robert Morris (Dec. 19) - Northeast Conference ... DU leads the series 15-10 ... this is the 13th consecutive year the two have met ... RMU, under sixth-year head coach Andrew Toole, has won five in a row over DU ... Duquesne is 7-3 against the Colonials at Palumbo Center ... RMU has won the last two at Palumbo Center (64-60 in 2011-12 & 67-63 in 2013-14) ... finished 20-15 in winning the NEC tournament title for the eighth time and earning the conference's NCAA tournament bid ... has made seven post-season appearances in the past eight years ... went 8-8 on the road in 2015 ... ranked 12th nationally in steals per game (8.6) ... returns four starters including leading scorer 6-5 senior guard Rodney Pryor (15.6, 4.7) ... Pryor scored a game-high 25 points in RMU's 75-59 win over DU last season ... added a recruiting class of five freshmen and a JC transfer for 2015-16.

Georgia Tech (Dec. 29) - Atlantic Coast Conference ... second meeting between the Dukes and Yellow Jackets ... Tech won the first game, 78-68, on March 13 in the first round of the 1970 NIT at Madison Square Garden ... coming off a 12-19 season (8-8 at home, including 6-1 in non-conference games) ... ranked 12th nationally in rebound margin (+7.3) last year ... return three starters including leading scorer 6-5 senior forward Marcus Georges-Hunt (13.6, 5.5) ... second-leading scorer, 6-8, 270-pound senior Charles Mitchell (9.8, 7.0) is also back ... added graduate transfers Adam Smith (13.4), a 6-1 guard who led the ACC in 3-point percentage (.424) last season while at Virginia Tech and 6-8 forward James White (11.9, 6.6), who led Arkansas-Little Rock in rebounding leader last year ... 6-8, 260-pound Alabama transfer Nick Jacobs will also be eligible this season after sitting out in 2014-15 ... in its fifth season under former Dayton head coach Brian Gregory.