GOTHAM CLASSIC
G2 | UIC (0-2) at DUQUESNE (1-0)
Monday, Nov. 12, 2018 • 8:00 ET • Pittsburgh, Pa. • A.J. Palumbo Center (4,390)

TELEVISION: ESPN+ with Tim Benz (pxp) & Ellis Cannon (analyst)
RADIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
IN-GAME STATS: StatBroadcast http://duqstats.com

Duquesne (1-0), which opened its 103rd season with an 84-70 win over William & Mary on Saturday, returns to action to face UIC (0-2) on Monday, Nov. 12 at 8:00 p.m. (ESPN+), in the second of four season-opening Gotham Classic games. The UIC game follows the Duquesne women vs. Mount St. Mary's at 5:00 p.m. The DU men, in their second season under head coach Keith Dambrot, are looking to open 2-0 for the second-straight year.

Seven players made their Duquesne debut in Saturday's win. Freshman Austin Rotroff came off the bench to tie Eric Williams Jr. for team scoring honors with 17 points. Rotroff, who added seven rebounds, went 6-of-7 from the field including 3-of-3 from 3-point. Fellow freshman Sincere Carry, who started, handed out nine assists in 29 turnover-free minutes.

TRENDING

• Duquesne shot .621 in the second half of the win over William & Mary. DU hit 13 of its first 16 shots to open the second half.
• Six players hit a 3-pointer vs. W&M, led by Austin Rotroff (3-of-3) and Tavian Dunn-Martin (3-of-7) with three each. The Dukes were 8-of-12 from distance in the second half.
• The Dukes finished with 19 assists and nine turnovers vs. W&M. Freshman Sincere Carry led the way with nine assists - the most by a DU freshman in a season opener. DU averaged 11.9 apg. last season.
• Eric Williams Jr. tied Rotroff for team scoring honors with 17 points. Williams Jr. added a team-high eight rebounds.
• Akron transfer Michael Hughes, in his first game in 600 days, set new career high with 13 points. The 6-8 center added seven rebounds and three steals in a career-most 19 minutes.
• The Dukes had 11 steals in forcing 16 William & Mary turnovers. DU held the Tribe to 70 points. W&M averaged 85 ppg. last season.
• DU is 12-2 under Keith Dambrot when holding opponents under 70 points. The Dukes are also 12-2 when they are the first to reach the 70-point mark.

NOTING THE DUKES

• The Dukes, in their second season under head coach Keith Dambrot, have a roster that features 11 newcomers, including four eligible Division I transfers. The 11 newcomers are tied for third-most of any NCAA Division I program.
• Dambrot's 16 wins in 2017-18 were the most by a DU first-year coach since Dudey Moore went 17-5 in 1948-49. Moore coached Keith's father, Sid, from 1952-54 during his highly-successful 10 seasons on the Bluff. There were 10 coaches between Moore and Dambrot. Dambrot engineered the seventh-best single-season improvement in school history in 2018 (+6.0, from 10-22 in 2016-17 to 16-16 last year).
• DU's four Gotham Classic opponents averaged 20.8 wins last season, with three coming off postseason appearances: William & Mary (19-12), UIC (20-16, CIT), Radford (23-13, NCAA) and Notre Dame (21-15, NIT).
• Duquesne returns two starters - 6-1 Jr. G Mike Lewis II (14.4, 2.3, 89 3-pointers) and 6-6 So. G Eric Williams Jr. (14.3, 8.8, 67 3-pointers) from last year's 16-16 (7-11, t10th in Atlantic 10) team. Lewis II (2016-17) and Williams Jr. (2017-18) are both former members of the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
• Williams Jr., who earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors four times, was the third-leading freshman scorer in the conference (14.3 ppg.) as well as the conference's top freshman rebounder (8.8 rpg.). The versatile Michigan native set DU single-game freshman records for points (34 vs. George Mason) and rebounds (16 vs. Stetson) in a game last season. He also broke the school record for 3-pointers in a game with nine vs. Mason.
• DU's other key returnee is 6-5 Jr., F Kellon Taylor (3.8, 3.8 in 29g.), who doubles as a receiver for DU's FCS football team. Taylor won't rejoin the basketball team until football season is over. The Dukes are in the currently in the hunt for the Northeast Conference football title and automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs (DU's last regular season game is Nov. 17). Caleb Davis and Zach Snyder (four games each last season) are also back.
• DU added four transfers, all of whom practiced with the team while sitting out in 2017-18: 5-8 So. G Tavian Dunn-Martin (Akron), 6-4 So. G Frankie Hughes (Missouri), 6-8 So. C Michael Hughes (Akron) and 6-5 So. F Marcus Weathers (Miami, Ohio).
• Dambrot and his staff assembled the tallest recruiting class in school history. The seven-man group includes 6-11 Gavin Bizeau (Plainfield, Ind.), 6-11 Dylan Swingle (Chillicothe, Ohio), 6-10 Austin Rotroff (Wauseon, Ohio), 6-9 Amari Kelly (Long Island, N.Y.), 6-3 Lamar Norman Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich.), 6-2 Brandon Wade (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and 6-1 Sincere Carry (Solon, Ohio). An eighth recruit - 6-11 James Ellis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) - will sit out in 2018-19. Duquesne had never had a recruiting class with more than two players 6-9 or taller.
• Duquesne was picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll of conference coaches and media released on October 18. Eric Williams Jr. was named preseason second team All-A-10. He is the first Duke since Damian Saunders (2010-11) to earn preseason second team all-conference honors.
• Junior guard Mike Lewis II needs 83 points to become Duquesne's 39th 1,000-point scorer. Lewis II scored 452 points as a freshman and added 460 last season. He has scored in double digits in 51 of 65 career games.
• Only three members of the current roster have scored 20 or more points in a college game. Mike Lewis II has done it 17 times, Eric Williams Jr. six times and Frankie Hughes three times (all at Missouri in 2016-17).

VS. UIC
Series Record: First meeting
Dambrot vs. UIC: 3-1 (at Akron)

NOTING THE FLAMES
Horizon League ... the University of Illinois at Chicago is located in the Near West Side of Chicago ... this is the first meeting between the Dukes and Flames ... UIC is coming off a 20-16 season, which saw the Flames advance to the title game of CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament ... the 20 wins were the school's most since 2003-04 ... UIC won a school record nine-straight road games before falling at Northern Colorado in the CIT championship game ... return three starters: 6-2 junior Marcus Ottey (13.8, 3.3), 6-4 junior Tarkus Ferguson (10.6, 5.5, 136 assists) and 6-8 junior Jordan Blount (6.8, 6.8) in addition to Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year, 5-11 junior Godwin Boahen (8.9, 56 3-pointers), who started 11 times in 2018 ... are in their fourth season under head coach Steve McClain ... McClain has guided UIC to 5-25, 17-19 and 20-16 records in his first three seasons.

THIS YEAR
This is the third game for UIC, which opened with an 84-67 loss at Notre Dame Nov. 6, followed by an 88-78 defeat at Radford on Friday ... DU is the third road game in seven days for the Flames who were picked to finish third (with four first place votes) in the Horizon League ... Ottey (1st) and Ferguson (2nd) were named preseason All-Horizon.  

A SINCERELY SOLID DEBUT
Freshman point guard Sincere Carry - who started the season-opener vs. William & Mary - handed out nine assists without a turnover in 29 minutes of action. The nine assists were the most by a freshman in a season opener. Here is where Carry's debut ranks on the all-time list for assists by a freshman:
 

12*	Clayton Adams	IUP (4th g.)	12/3/87
11	Derrick Colter	Charlotte	3/6/13
10	T.J. McConnell	at Fordham	1/26/11
10	Kenya Hunter	Detroit Mercy	2/20/93
10	Kenya Hunter	Evansville	1/28/93
9	SINCERE CARRY	William & Mary (1st g.)	11/10/18
9	Derrick Colter	St. Bonaventure	2/23/13
9	Derrick Colter	at Fordham	1/9/13
9	T.J. McConnell	St. Bonaventure	3/2/11
9	T.J. McConnell	at Bowling Green (3rd g.)	11/22/10
9	Clayton Adams	at Rhode Island	2/18/87
9	Clayton Adams	Rhode Island	2/9/87
9	Clayton Adams	at Dayton	12/12/87
9	Clayton Adams	Slippery Rock	12/10/87

* - ties school record