2019 Atlantic 10 Championship
G32 | SAINT JOSEPH'S (13-18, 6-12) VS. DUQUESNE (19-12, 10-8)
Thursday, March 14, 2019 • 6:00 pm ET • Brooklyn, N.Y. • Barclays Center (17,732)

TV:  NBCSN with Paul Burmeister (pxp), David Kaplan (analyst) & Tim McCormick (sideline)
RADIO:  WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT CENTRAL:  Click here
DUQUESNE CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES: Click here

No. 7 seed Duquesne (19-12, 10-8) opens Atlantic 10 Championship play against No. 10 seed Saint Joseph's (13-18, 6-12) on Thursday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. (NBCSN/Paul Burmeister & David Kaplan with Tim McCormick sideline). The winner moves on to face No. 2 seed Davidson (23-8, 14-4) on Friday at 6:00 p.m. (NBCSN/same crew).

Duquesne, picked to finish 11th in the preseason poll of A-10 coaches and media, finished tied for sixth in regular-season play. This is DU's second A-10 Championship appearance under head coach Keith Dambrot. Dambrot went 27-10 in 13 Mid-American Conference Tournament appearances while the head coach at Akron (2005-13). His Akron teams reached the MAC championship game nine times and won at least one game in all 13 appearances. Duquesne has posted just three opening game wins since 1995 (that's in 21 appearances, DU did not qualify in 2006 & 2013).

NOTING THE DUKES

LEAGUE FINISH/NOTES: Duquesne (19-12, 10-8), picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, ended the regular season tied for sixth with a 10-8 record. The 10 conference wins tied the school record set in 1981 (10-3) and matched in 1991 (10-8) & 2011 (10-6). This was the sixth time in 42 A-10 seasons that DU posted a winning conference record (1980, 1981, 1991, 2009 & 2011 are the others). DU went 6-3 at home and 4-5 on the road in conference games. The four A-10 road wins tied the school record set in 1981 (4-3) and tied in 2009 & 2011 (both 4-4). DU's five-game A-10 win streak (Fordham, Saint Joseph's, at Richmond, at George Washington and Saint Louis), which ended on Jan. 26, tied the second-longest in school history.

THE SEED: This is the fifth time - and first since a memorable run in 2009 - that Duquesne will enter the Championship as a No. 7 seed. The '09 team, behind the play of first team All-A-10 guard Aaron Jackson, defeated #10 UMass, #2 Rhode Island and #3 Dayton in consecutive days, before falling to fourth-seeded Temple, 69-64, in the championship game at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. Duquesne is the only school to advance to the title game as a No. 7 seed since the A-10 discontinued its East/West divisional format in 2006. DU is 5-4 all-time as a No. 7 seed. The Dukes are also 3-0 vs. No. 10 seeds in championship play.

VS. THE HAWKS:  DU is 1-3 vs. Saint Joe's in championship play. In the last meeting in 2011, the No. 12 seeded Hawks upset No. 4 Duquesne, 93-90 in overtime, in Atlantic City.

THE BRACKET: DU 1-1 against its first two potential opponents in the bracket (1-0 vs. No. 10 Saint Joseph's and 0-1 vs. No. 2 Davidson). The Dukes are 4-3 vs. the rest of its side of the bracket (1-0 vs. No. 11 Richmond, 2-0 vs. No. 14 Fordham, 1-1 vs. No. 6 Saint Louis and 0-2 vs. No. 3 Dayton).

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: Duquesne exceeded its preseason A-10 pick (11th) by five spots (tied for sixth). It is the first time since 2009 (picked 12th, finished tied for fifth) that a DU team has exceeded its preseason pick by five or more spots.

LOOKING FOR NO. 20:  Duquesne needs one victory to reach the 20-win mark for the 14th time in its 103-year history. The last DU team to win 20 was the 2009 NIT squad (21-13). Duquesne has had just two 20-win seasons (21-13 in 2009 & 20-10 in 1981) in the past 46 years.

... AND NO. 450:  Second-year head coach Keith Dambrot enters the A-10 Championship needing two wins to reach the 450 career mark. Dambrot won 40 games at Tiffin, 48 at Ashland, 20 at Central Michigan, 305 at Akron and 35 at Duquesne.

OFF TO A GREAT START:  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). Dambrot's 35 wins are the most by a Duquesne coach in his second season.

THEY'RE YOUNG: DU's roster features 11 newcomers, including four eligible Division I transfers. The 11 newcomers are tied for third-most of any NCAA Division I program.  DU has seven freshmen and five sophomores on the 2018-19 roster.

AS IN VERY YOUNG:  97% of DU's points have come from underclassmen, including all but two in A-10 play (99.8%), which is the second-highest rate in D-I (behind Mount St. Mary's). Of the 73 points scored by upperclassmen, 67 belonged to junior Mike Lewis II who transferred to Nevada in December. The other six came from two-sport athlete Kellon Taylor, who was part of the active roster for one month before opting to concentrate on football and remain with the basketball team as a practice player (Taylor has been pressed back into action, due to injuries, for the A-10 Championship).

DID WE MENTION YOUNG?:  DU is ranked 346 of 353 schools in KenPom's listing of "most experienced" college teams. Only one member of the current roster - sophomore Eric Williams Jr. - entered conference play having seen action in an Atlantic 10 game.

TRANSFERS OF INFLUENCE:  Four first-year Division I sophomore transfers are seeing significant action in 2018-19: 5-8 G Tavian Dunn-Martin (Akron), 6-4 G Frankie Hughes (Missouri), 6-8 C Michael Hughes (Akron) and 6-5 F Marcus Weathers (Miami, Ohio). All four practiced with the team while sitting out last season.
 
SINSATIONAL:  Two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week Sincere Carry  has solidified himself as one of the nation's top impact freshmen. The 6-1 point guard ranked 12th nationally - and first among freshmen - in steals per game (2.52) and 28th nationally - fifth among freshmen - in assists per game (5.78) through Sunday.

THE WILLIAMS WAY: Sophomore Eric Williams Jr. leads the team in scoring (13.7) and rebounding (7.5). The 2018 A-10 All-Rookie Team pick 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. George Mason. Williams Jr., who has earned A-10 co-Player of the Week honors twice (Dec. 24 & Feb. 18), had a Chaifetz Arena-record 40-point game at Saint Louis on March 6. He has six double-doubles this season (17 for his career). Williams Jr.'s 8.1 career rebounds per game average ranks sixth among NCAA Division I sophomores.

BIG MIKE: Six-eight sophomore center Michael Hughes has scored in double-digits 17 times, despite missing the Longwood, Maryland Eastern Shore and Maine games with a knee injury. Hughes is shooting .595, which is tied for the fifth-highest single-season percentage in school history. The 250-pound center, who has scored 20 or more three times, never topped six points in a game as a freshman while at Akron. Hughes ranks 20th nationally in blocked shots per game (2.29).

DOWN AT THE HALF?, NO PROBLEM: The Dukes, who were 1-10 with trailing at the half last season, are 10-7 when trailing at the half in 2018-19.

DOWN DOUBLE-DIGITS?, NO PROBLEM: Duquesne has erased double-digit deficits in eight of its wins: -18 vs. Longwood, -14 vs. UIC, -12 vs. Eastern Kentucky, -15 vs. Saint Joseph's, -19 vs. Rhode Island, -18 at Fordham, -19 at George Mason & -11 vs. UMass. DU trailed by double digits in the second half in all but the SJU game (eight points in that one). The Dukes were down eight with 13:09 left in their Jan. 16 win at Richmond and trailed by five with 58 seconds left in regulation of the overtime win at George Washington.

STREAKS SNAPPED: Duquesne's 74-68 win at Richmond on Jan. 16 was its first at UR since Dec. 20, 1993 (ending a streak of 10 consecutive defeats). It was also Duquesne's second win over the Spiders in 24 tries since Richmond joined the A-10 in 2001-02. The victory also ended an eight-game series losing streak. DU followed that with a 91-85 OT win at George Washington, marking the first time since 1989 & 1990 that Duquesne has won two in a row at GW. DU's 75-72 win over Rhode Island ended an eight-game home losing streak to the Rams (which dated back to Jan. 10, 2001).

CLOSING PALUMBO IN STYLE:  Duquesne's 14 home wins (14-4 at Palumbo and 0-1 in one home game at PPG Paints Arena) were a Palumbo Center record, breaking the mark of 13 set last year (13-6). The 14 wins are the most at home since 1981 (14-2). The 27 home wins under Keith Dambrot are the most in back-to-back seasons since 1972 (16-1) and 1973 (12-1).

A PAIR OF GIANT-SIZED LOSSES:  Coach Dambrot in his staff brought in a 2018-19 recruiting class that was the tallest in school history (DU had never had a recruiting class with more than two players 6-9 or taller). The group included 6-11 Gavin Bizeau, 6-11 Dylan Swingle, 6-10 Austin Rotroff & 6-9 Amari Kelly. Six-eleven James Ellis is sitting out in 2018-19. Rotroff and Kelly were both lost for the season with knee injuries, while Swingle is redshirting - leaving Bizeau at the only active player over 6-8.

DUKES AND HAWKS
Series Record: Saint Joseph's leads 40-15
At Pittsburgh: Saint Joseph's leads 16-10
At Philadelphia: Saint Joseph's leads 21-3
Neutral Site: Saint Joseph's leads 3-2
A-10 Reg. Season: Saint Joseph's leads 35-13
A-10 Championship: Saint Joseph's leads 3-1
Dambrot vs. Saint Joseph's: 1-1

• This is the 56th game in a series that dates back to Feb. 25, 1938 ... Saint Joseph's leads the series 40-15, including a 3-1 advantage in Atlantic 10 Championship play.
• What was once a lopsided series has tightened considerably over the past 11 years. The Dukes, who lost 16 of 17 to SJU from 1994 through 2007, have won six of the past 13 with three of the five losses coming in overtime. Duquesne has averaged 79.3 ppg. (1,031 points) to 78.7 ppg. (1,023 points) to Saint Joe's over that 13-game stretch.
• Duquesne rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Hawks, 85-84, in the lone meeting this season on Jan. 12 in Pittsburgh (box and recap on page 5 of PDF game notes). Mike Hughes scored 15 of his 17 in the second half to lead six Dukes in double figures.  

TRENDING

• This is Duquesne's best record (19-12, 10-8 / t6th) and best conference finish since 2011 (19-13, 10-6 / t4th).
• Fourteen of DU's 18 A-10 games were decided by single digits, including five by three or fewer points.
• DU has come back from double-digit deficits to win eight times, including five in A-10 play: -19 vs. Rhode Island, -15 vs. Saint Joe's, -18 at Fordham, -19 at George Mason & -11 vs. UMass.
• Eric Williams Jr. has scored 61 points on 24-of-34, .706 shooting, in his past two games, including a career-high 40 at Saint Louis. His seven "3s" vs. SLU were two shy of his career-best, a school record nine last year vs. George Mason. It was DU's first 40-point game since 2009.
• Freshman point guard Sincere Carry, who leads the A-10 in assists (5.8) and is second in steals (2.5)/g., returned to the lineup after missing three games with an injured knee on March 6 at Saint Louis. DU is 2-2 without the two-time Rookie of the Week (he also missed the VCU game on Jan. 26). Carry had 10 points and 8 assists in 37 minutes vs. Dayton on Saturday.
• Six-eight center Michael Hughes, who ranks 20th nationally in blocked shots (2.29/g.), led the A-10 with 2.9 bpg. in conference games only.
• DU is 24-3 under Keith Dambrot when they are the first to reach 70 points and 17-3 this year when scoring 70 or more.
• DU leads the A-10 in blocks/g. (4.7) and is tied for first in steals/g. (8.0). The Dukes are second in scoring (73.1) turnovers forced (15.65).
• DU is on school record pace for 3-pointers attempted per game (26.4). The current record is 26.0 set in 2015-16.