G8 | COLUMBIA (3-7) at DUQUESNE (7-0)
Mon., Dec. 9, 2019 • 7:00 pm ET • McCandless, Pa. • Kerr Fitness Center (1,200)

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+ with Tim Benz & Josh Taylor
RADIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
IN-GAME STATS: Sidearm

Duquesne (7-0), off to its best start in 40 years, hosts Columbia (3-7) in its final nonconference home game, and final home game at La Roche University's Kerr Fitness Center, on Monday, Dec. 9 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+). The Dukes, who are playing their home games off campus while renovation work continues on the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (scheduled to open in 2020-21), will play their nine remaining home games at PPG Paints Arena (5 g.) and Robert Morris's new UPMC Events Center (4 g.). This is just the second game in 15 days for the Dukes. It is Columbia's fourth game in that same 15-day span. Duquesne, which is looking to go 8-0 for the first time since 1971-72, is also looking for its longest win streak since the 2010-11 Dukes won 11 in a row.

TRENDING
Duquesne is looking to open 8-0 for the first time in 48 years:

Last 8-0	1971-72
Last 9-0	1968-69
Last 10-0	1953-54

The 1953-54 team opened a school-record 22-0

• DU's seven-game win streak is the longest since Dambrot's first Duquesne team reeled off seven in a row in December of 2017. The last time DU won eight in a row was in 2010-11 (11 straight).
• The Dukes rank sixth nationally in 3-point defense (.250) & 13th in scoring defense (57.3). Indiana State is the only team to score over 70 against Duquesne this year (74-71 DU win).
• The balanced Dukes have five players averaging between 9.0 and 13.0 points per game, led by preseason Third Team All-A-10 pick Sincere Carry (13.0 ppg). Five players have either led, or tied for the team lead, in scoring through seven games.
• Carry, who was named the Junkanoo Jam MVP, is shooting 49 percent from the field. His .444 success rate from 3-point is 12.9% better than last year's .315. He had a season-high eight assists vs. VMI.

Duquesne has outscored opponents 295-201 in the second half on the young season:

Average Points	1st	2nd	Difference
Duquesne	29.7	42.1	+12.4
Opponent	28.6	28.7	+0.1

 

• Junior center Michael Hughes, who is coming off a 23-11 double-double vs. VMI, has 15 blocks in DU's past three games.
• Six-eleven grad transfer Baylee Steele is tied for the team lead with 12 3-pointers (12-of-31, .387). He entered the season 2-of-11 from the arc in 68 career Division I games.
• DU's Nov. 12 win over Lamar was the 450th for third-year DU coach Keith Dambrot, who is in his 22nd season.
• The Dukes are 33-3 when leading with 5:00 left under Dambrot.

DENIED
The Dukes are limiting opponents to 57.3 points per game - it is the second-lowest average in school history. Only the 1954 team, which reached No. 1 in the AP poll - with a roster that included guard Sid Dambrot - has given up fewer points per game:

Opponent PPG	Year
53.5	1953-54
57.3	2019-20
58.2	1954-55
61.1	1961-62
63.4	1955-56
64.0	1958-59
64.9	1956-57
65.5	1968-69
65.8	1962-63
66.0	1981-82

THE SERIES vs. COLUMBIA
Series Record: Duquesne leads 2-0
At Pittsburgh: Duquesne leads 1-0
At New York, N.Y.: Never met
Neutral: Duquesne leads 1-0
Dambrot vs. Columbia: First meeting
 

Jan. 2, 1965	H	W	102-65
Dec. 21, 1974	N1	W	88-63

N1 - Big Sun Invitational, St. Petersburg, Fla.

NOTES
Ivy League ... located in New York City ... this will be the third meeting between the Dukes and Lions and first since an 88-63 DU win on Dec. 21, 1974 at the Big Sun Invitational in St. Petersburg, Fla. ... Duquesne also took the first meeting, 102-65, at home on Jan. 2, 1965 ... Columbia was scheduled to return four starters from last year's 10-18 team, however leading scorer 6-3 junior Gabe Stefanini (13.8 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 116 assists, 41 steals), a native of Bologna, Italy, who was a second team All-Ivy pick after leading the conference in assists, is out after undergoing preseason lisfranc surgery ... 5-11 senior guard Mike Smith, who missed the final 16 games of 2018-19 with a torn meniscus, ranks among the nation's top scorers at 21.9 ppg. ... the Lions finished the 2019 season strong with wins in four of their final six games including road wins at Penn, Brown and Yale ... Columbia is in its fourth season under head coach Jim Engles ... Engles came to Columbia after eight seasons at NJIT ... his 2014-15 Highlanders defeated Duquesne 84-81 at the Palumbo Center one week before pulling off an upset at No. 16 Michigan ... Duquesne is 11-8 all time vs. the Ivy League, including a 6-2 record at home.

COLUMBIA THIS YEAR

• This is the seventh road game for the Lions, who are 1-8 away from home (0-7 in true road games and a 1-1 split in a pair of games in the HOF Tip-Off Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena). Columbia erased an 18-point deficit to pull within four at then-unbeaten Delaware before falling, 84-76, on Dec. 2.
• This is the third of three road games in a week for Columbia which was at Delaware on Dec. 2 (L, 76-84) and at Bryant on Dec. 6 (L, 65-67 on a steal and layup with seven seconds left).
• Senior guard Mike Smith has scored 20 or more points in six consecutive games and in eight of 10 contests this season. He is the first Columbia player to accomplish that feat since 1973.