PITTSBURGH – Games against Power 5 conference opponents Pitt, Penn State and Notre Dame, plus matchups versus 2018 NCAA tournament teams Radford and Marshall, highlight the 13-game Duquesne men's basketball 2018-19 nonconference schedule released today.

    The Dukes, who have won their last six nonconference home games, will play 11 times at home prior to the start of the Atlantic 10 Conference portion of the schedule. DU's 20 total home games (11 nonconference plus nine A-10 ) are a school record, eclipsing the mark of 19 set last year.

    Duquesne opens its second season under head coach Keith Dambrot in the Gotham Classic which includes home games against William & Mary (Nov. 10), UIC (Nov. 12) and Radford (Nov. 17) in addition to a game at Atlantic Coast Conference member Notre Dame on Nov. 20.

    Three of the four Gotham Classic opponents won 20 or more games last season, with the fourth, William & Mary, posting 19 victories in 2017-18.

    UIC won a school record nine-straight road games in advancing to the 2018 CIT championship game. Radford, which is coming off a school-record 23 victories, played an NCAA tournament first round game vs. Villanova at PPG Paints Arena last March. Notre Dame, who will be facing the Dukes for the first time since 1995, is coming off an NIT appearance.

    The William & Mary and UIC games will be played at Palumbo Center, while a site for the Radford game is to be determined, due to a conflict with the NCAA Division III Volleyball National Championship which will be hosted at the Palumbo Center Nov. 15-17.  
 
    Duquesne will take on UMass Lowell on Nov. 25 at Palumbo Center before facing Pitt, the second ACC opponent on the schedule, in the 87th City Game on Nov. 30 at PPG Paints Arena.

    DU will welcome Marshall - which went 25-11 in making its first NCAA tournament appearance in 31 seasons last year - on Dec. 5. The Marshall game is the first of seven in a row at home for the Dukes.

    Longwood visits on Dec. 9, before Duquesne begins a stretch of four games in 10 days vs. Maryand Eastern Shore on Dec. 13. Maine comes in on the 16th before 2018 NIT Champion Penn State of the Big Ten visits Pittsburgh on the 19th for a game at PPG Paints Arena. A Dec. 22 match-up with Eastern Kentucky finishes the four-game stretch.

    The Dukes conclude nonconference play vs. NJIT on New Year's Eve.

    The complete 2018-19 Atlantic 10 Conference schedule as well as game times will be released at a later date.

    Season tickets for the 20-game home schedule - plus the annual City Game vs. Pitt - are available through the ticket office by calling 412-232-DUKE (3853) or by clicking here. New season tickets for men's basketball start at $175. Season ticket holders have the advantage of utilizing a flex policy that allows the exchange of tickets for different games throughout the season.
 

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2018-19 SCHEDULE QUICK NOTES

• The Dukes will play a school-record 20 home games (11 nonconference and nine Atlantic 10), breaking the record of 19 set last year.
• DU will play at least twice at PPG Paints Arena: the neutral-site Pitt game on Nov. 30 and a home game versus Penn State on Dec. 19.
• Five of DU's nonconference opponents won 20 or more games last season: Penn State (26-13), Marshall (25-11), Radford (23-13), Notre Dame (21-15) and UIC (20-16). All five won at least one postseason tournament game. Marshall and Radford both went 1-1 in the NCAA tournament, Penn State won the NIT (5-0), Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the NIT (1-1) and UIC made it to the championship game of the CIT (3-1).
• Duquesne will face teams from 10 conferences in non-league play: America East (Maine & UMass Lowell), Atlantic Coast (Notre Dame & Pitt), Atlantic Sun (NJIT), Big South (Longwood & Radford), Big Ten (Penn State), Colonial Athletic (William & Mary), Conference USA (Marshall), Horizon (UIC), Mid-Eastern Athletic (Maryland Eastern Shore) and Ohio Valley (Eastern Kentucky).
• DU will face two of the Top 10 scoring teams in the nation last year in William & Mary (1st at 85.0 ppg.) and Marshall (10th at 83.8 ppg.). Marshall returns the highest scoring duo in the country in guards Jon Elmore (816 points, 22.7 ppg.) and C.J. Burks (702 points, 20.1 ppg.).
• Duquesne enters the 2018-19 season with a six-game home nonconference win streak.
   

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2018-19 NONCONFERENCE OPPONENT CAPSULES

WILLIAM & MARY (Nov. 10)
Gotham Classic ... 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.

UIC (Nov. 12)
Gotham Classic ... 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.

RADFORD (Nov. 17)
Gotham Classic ... Big South Conference ... located in Radford, Va. ... DU leads the series 5-1, including a 3-0 advantage in games at Pittsburgh ... the Dukes have won the past five meetings, including a 71-63 decision in the last game between the two on Nov. 29, 2009 ... the '09 game completed a home-and-home series ... Radford, the 2018 Big South champion, was in Pittsburgh last March as an NCAA tournament participant ... the Highlanders defeated LIU Brooklyn in Dayton before falling to eventual national champion Villanova at PPG Paints Arena ... Radford, which is coming off a school-record 23-win season (23-13), is led by 2018 NABC District 3 Coach of the Year Mike Jones, who is in his eighth season ...  the Highlanders return three starters including their top two scorers in 6-5 senior forward Ed Polite Jr. (13.3, 7.9) and 6-0 sophomore guard Carlik Jones (11.8, 113 assists).

at NOTRE DAME (Nov. 20)
Gotham Classic ... Atlantic Coast Conference ... located in South Bend, Ind. ... Duquesne leads the series 5-2 ... this is the first meeting since a 77-62 Notre Dame win at South Bend on Feb. 8, 1995 ... ND won the first meeting, 82-66 at Chicago Stadium on Jan. 17, 1970 ... Duquesne then won five in a row, including two at South Bend, before the Fighting Irish win in '95 ... the two met for four consecutive seasons from 1970 through 1973 ... that four-game series was highlighted by an 81-78 DU upset of the No. 9 (AP) Irish at the Civic Arena on Jan. 18, 1971 ... Barry and Garry Nelson combined for 33 points and 27 rebounds in the win ... DU leads 2-1 in games at Notre Dame, with the last win (80-76) coming in triple overtime on Feb. 25, 1993 ... ND is in its 19th season under head coach Mike Brey - the winningest men's basketball coach in school history ... since 2006-07, Brey has led the Irish to 11 20-win seasons, nine NCAA tournament victories, one ACC Championship (2015) and two NCAA Elite Eight runs (2015 & 2016) ... Duquesne is 7-27 all-time vs. ACC schools (record includes only games when schools were active conference members), including a 1-14 record in ACC arenas ... the win came on Dec. 28, 2006 at Boston College, 98-93 in OT.

UMASS LOWELL (Nov. 25)
American East Conference ... located in Lowell, Mass. ... this is the third meeting between the Dukes and River Hawks ... DU swept a home-and-home series in 2013-14 (95-77 at Lowell) and 2014-15 (79-63 at Palumbo Center) ... UML completed the four-year transition from Division II to Division I prior to the 2017-18 season ... the River Hawks finished last year 12-18, matching the program's DI single-season record for wins and marking the fifth consecutive year with double-digit victories ... UML led the America East with a 76.2 ppg. scoring average ... sophomore Obadiah Noel, a five-time AE Rookie of the Week, earned a spot on the America East All-Rookie Team ... sixth-year head coach Pat Duquette brought in a seven-man recruiting class ... Duquette came to UML following three years as the associate head coach to Bill Coen at Northeastern, which followed 13 years as an assistant/associate head coach to Al Skinner at Boston College.

vs. PITT (Nov. 30)
Atlantic Coast Conference ... located two miles from the Duquesne campus ... this will be the 87th meeting in the series which Pitt leads 54-32 ... 2018-19 marks the 49th consecutive season the two teams have met ... the last time Duquesne and Pitt did not play was in 1969-70 ... Duquesne snapped a 15-game series losing streak with a 64-55 win at PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 2, 2016 ... DU will be looking to win two-of-three over the Panthers for the first time since 1981-82 when both schools shared membership in the Eastern 8 (a total of six seasons from 1977 through 1982) ... this is Pitt's sixth season in the ACC and first under head coach Jeff Capel ... 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 then-CONSOL Energy Center on Dec. 1, 2010 (an 80-66 Pitt win) ... the two will meet at PPG Paints Arena for the ninth time this season.

MARSHALL (Dec. 5)
Conference USA ... located in Huntington, W.Va. ... Duquesne leads the series 3-1 ... this will be the first meeting between the Dukes and Thundering Herd since an 88-83 Duquesne win in the first round of the West Virginia Classic in Morgantown, W.Va. on Dec. 29, 1978 ... Duquesne leads 2-0 in games at Pittsburgh ... Marshall is coming off a 25-11 NCAA second round appearance ... it was Marshall's first NCAA appearance in 31 years ... the Herd's 81-75 first round upset of No. 4 seed Wichita State was the first NCAA Tournament win in school history ... ranked among the nation's top 10 in scoring (10th at 83.8 ppg.), total blocks (5th, 209), 3-point attempts (5th, 1,012) and assists (6th, 615) ... three juniors, Jon Elmore (22.7 ppg., 98 3-pointers), C.J. Burks (20.1 ppg., 86 3-pointers) and Ajdin Penava (15.6, 8.5, 3.8 bpg.) tested the NBA waters this spring, with Penava signing with an agent ... Elmore (816) and Burks (702), the top scoring duo in the nation last season, formed the first tandem since Duke's Jon Scheyer (728) and Kyle Singler (707) in 2010 to top 700 points in a season ... in its fifth season under head coach Dan D'Antoni who has won 11, 17, 20 and 25 games in his first four seasons.

LONGWOOD (Dec. 9)
Big South Conference ... located in Farmville, Va. ... this will be the first meeting between the Dukes and Lancers ... Longwood is in its first season under head coach Griff Aldrich ... Aldrich spent the past two seasons under Ryan Odom at UMBC where he helped the Retrievers to back-to-back 20-win seasons.

MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE (Dec. 13)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ... located in Princess Anne, Md. ... DU leads the series 3-1, including an 86-61 win in Pittsburgh last year ... the Hawks are in their first season under Clifford Reed Jr. who was named interim head coach in late March ... Reed was Eastern Shore's associate head coach for the past four seasons ... Duquesne is 16-3 all-time (15-2 at home) against the schools that comprise the current MEAC.

MAINE (Dec. 16)
America East  Conference ... located in Orono, Maine ... this will be the second meeting between the Dukes and Black Bears ... DU won the first meeting 87-73 at Palumbo Center on Dec. 1, 2012 ... Richard Barron, who was UMaine's women's coach from 2011-17, is in his first season as men's head coach ... Barron, who took a medical leave of absence in January 2017, was serving as a special assistant to the director of athletics prior to accepting the men's head coach position ... Barron was the America East Women's Coach of the Year in 2015 ... this is his 18th season as a head coach ... the 2018-19 Black Bears roster includes players from nine countries (Brazil, Canada, England, Latvia, Lebanon, Serbia, Sweden, Taiwan and Ukraine) in addition to the US.

PENN STATE (Dec. 19)
Big Ten Conference ... PSU leads the series 28-20, with Duquesne holding a 14-8 advantage in games played at Pittsburgh ... the two met for seven consecutive years prior to last season ... PSU won the last meeting, 82-74, at State College on Nov. 13, 2016 ... DU won the last game in Pittsburgh, 78-52 at PPG Paints Arena on Nov. 20, 2015 ... the win ended a three-game series losing streak ... the 26-point margin of victory was DU's largest in the 48-game series ... this will be the fourth meeting between the two at the home of the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins, with the Dukes having won two of the first three ... PSU is coming off a 26-13 NIT championship season (9-9, t6th in the Big Ten) ... the 26 wins were the second-most in school history ... the Nittany Lions return three starters, including NIT Most Outstanding Player Lamar Stevens (15.5, 5.9) and Big Ten All-Defensive Team picks Josh Reaves (10.6, 5.1) and Mike Watkins (12.1, 8.9, 68 blocks) ... in its eighth year under head coach Pat Chambers ... DU and PSU shared membership in the Eastern 8/Atlantic 10 for 12 seasons (1977-79 & 1983-91) ... Duquesne is 6-19 all-time vs. B1G schools (record includes only games when schools were active conference members), including a 3-2 record in games played in Pittsburgh ... two of the wins have been over Penn State ... the third was an 80-75 win over Iowa on Dec. 10, 1971.

EASTERN KENTUCKY (Dec. 22)
Ohio Valley Conference ... located in Richmond, Ky. ... this will be the first meeting between the Dukes and Colonels ... in its first season under head coach A.W. Hamilton, who came to EKU after serving as an assistant at NC State ... Hamilton was head coach at one of the top prep basketball programs in the country, Hargrave Military Academy, from 2011 to 2017 ... Hamilton added six new players to the EKU roster in his first seven weeks on the job, including JC transfers Jordan Oakley (18.2 ppg. , 8.1 rpg. at Louisburg (NC) College) and Kelvin Robinson, who played one Division I season at Appalachian State ... Duquesne is 5-2 all-time against the schools that comprise the current Ohio Valley Conference ... the Dukes have dropped their last two to OVC schools, 82-72, at Morehead State on Mar. 21, 2016 in the CBI second round and 66-63 on a last-second 3-pointer to UT Martin on Nov. 23, 2016.

NJIT (Dec. 31)
Atlantic Sun Conference ... located in Newark, N.J. ... series is tied at 1-1 ... Duquesne defeated the Highlanders, 71-64 in Newark on Jan. 29, 2014 ... the next season, NJIT returned the favor with an 84-81 win at Palumbo Center on Nov. 29 ... seven days later the 2014-15 Highlanders defeated No. 17 (AP) Michigan in Ann Arbor ... return five starters from last year's fourth-place ASUN Conference team ... three players from that team earned ASUN honors ... junior forward Anthony Tarke (15.7, 6.2, 41 3-pointers) was named first team all-conference ... 6-10 senior Abdul Lewis (12.1, 8.8) was named second team and sophomore guard Zach Cooks (8.5, 2.2, 41 3-pointers) was a unanimous selection to the ASUN All-Freshman Team ... NJIT is in its third season under head coach Brian Kennedy ... Duquesne is 7-2 all-time against the schools that comprise the current Atlantic Sun Conference.