G1 | WILLIAM & MARY (1-0) at DUQUESNE (0-0)
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 • 5:00 ET • Pittsburgh, Pa. • A.J. Palumbo Center (4,390)
VIDEO: ESPN+ with Josh Taylor (pxp) & Ellis Cannon (analyst)
AUDIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) (pxp) & Jarrett Durham ('71) (analyst)
IN-GAME STATS: StatBroadcast at http://duqstats.com
Duquesne is opening its 103rd season - and second under head coach
Keith Dambrot - vs. William & Mary (1-0) on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+). DU is 85-17 in season-opening games, including a 80-4 record when opening the season at home. Dambrot is 15-5 all time in season openers: 2-0 at Tiffin, Ashland and Central Michigan, 8-5 at Akron and 1-0 at Duquesne. He is 11-1 when opening a season at home and 8-2 in nonconference home games at DU. William & Mary opened its season with a 79-69 home win over High Point on Wednesday.
The W&M game is the first of four in the season-opening Gotham Classic. 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).
NOTING THE DUKES
- The Dukes enter their second season under head coach Keith Dambrot with 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).
- 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 has 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 enters the season needing 88 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 64 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). Tavian Dunn-Martin (five times at Akron in 2016-17), Marcus Weathers (15 times in 2016-17 at Miami, Ohio) and Kellon Taylor (twice in 41 career games) are the only other players on the DU roster who have reached double digits in a college game.
VS. WILLIAM & MARY
Series Record: Duquesne leads 2-0
At Pittsburgh: Duquesne leads 2-0
At Williamsburg, Va.: Never met
Dambrot vs. W&M: First meeting
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| Dec. 11, 1959 |
H1 |
W |
53-52 |
| Dec. 30, 1970 |
H2 |
W |
79-54 |
H1 - Steel Bowl, Fitzgerald Field House
H2 - Steel Bowl, Pittsburgh Civic Arena
NOTING THE TRIBE
Colonial Athletic Association ... located in Williamsburg, Va. ... Duquesne leads the series 2-0 ... this is the first meeting between the two since a 79-54 Duquesne win on Dec. 30, 1970 ... the Tribe is coming off its fifth-straight CAA semifinal appearance ... W&M, which finished 19-12, led the nation in 3-point percentage (.434) & free throw percentage (.810) and ranked second in field goal percentage (.511), in becoming the first team in NCAA history to finish 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point and 80 percent from the foul line ... W&M's 337 3-pointers were two shy of tying the CAA record ... the Tribe went 7-8 on the road in 2017-18, including a 77-70 win at George Mason ... W&M also beat NCAA tournament participant Marshall, 114-104, at home ... return three starters including leading scorers 6-10 junior Nathan Knight (18.5, 7.3, 69 assists, 61 blocks) and 6-7 junior Justin Pierce (14.7, 8.6) ... in their 16th season under head coach Tony Shaver ... the two-time CAA Coach of the Year has posted four of the nine 20-win seasons in William & Mary history ... seven of the Tribe's top 13 all-time win totals have come during his first 15 seasons ... W&M shot 53 percent in the second half in its season-opening 79-69 home win over High Point.
LONG TIME, NO SEE
Head coach
Keith Dambrot has cited that "getting the rust off" his four eligible transfers will be a priority in the early season. It will be at least 600 days since the last D-I game for all four transfers:
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