G9 | RHODE ISLAND (7-7, 4-3) at DUQUESNE (3-5, 2-4)
Wed., Jan. 20, 2021 • 6:00 pm ET • McCandless, Pa. • Kerr Fitness Center (1,200)

TELEVISION: ESPN+ with Tim Benz & Ellis Cannon
RADIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)

Duquesne (3-5, 2-4), coming off road losses at Dayton and at St. Bonaventure in a three-day span, returns home to host Rhode Island (7-7, 4-3) on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 6:00 p.m. at Kerr Fitness Center on the campus of La Roche University (ESPN+). This is the third of four scheduled home games at La Roche - a Division III school located 10 miles from DU's downtown Pittsburgh campus - which is serving as Duquesne's temporary home while renovation work to the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in completed.

Rhode Island, which leads the Atlantic 10 in games played with 14, has yet to have a game postponed or canceled this season. URI is 1-4 on the road with A-10 losses at Richmond and UMass sandwiched around a road win at VCU.

The Dukes are 5-1 all time at Kerr Fitness Center, including a 1-1 record this season (a loss to Davidson and a win over Fordham). The URI game begins a stretch of three-of-four at home for the Dukes whose two home games played this far are tied with Saint Joseph's for the fewest by an A-10 team.

TRENDING

• Duquesne has held its past four opponents to 60.0 ppg. on .369 shooting (80-217), including .256 from 3-point (23-90). Over that same span DU is averaging 51.8 ppg. on .350 shooting (76-217), including .250 from 3-point (21-84). The big difference has come at the foul line where opponents have made 57 free throws (57-78, .731) to 34 for the Dukes (34-63, .540).
• Head coach Keith Dambrot has used at least 10 players in each of the Dukes' first eight games. Fifth-year seniors (Marcus Weathers, Michael Hughes and Tavian Dunn-Martin) along with true freshmen (Toby Okani & Chad Baker) have started the past three games. Three other freshmen, Tyson Acuff, Andre Harris and Mike Bekelja - along with first-year grad transfer Ryan Murphy, who joined the team on Dec. 11 - have also been part of Duquesne's rotation.
• Marcus Weathers, who will be playing in his 102nd college basketball game on Wednesday, averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in DU's two games last week.
• Michael Hughes began the week ranked 10th among active D-I players in career blocks (170) and 18th in blocks/g. (1.95).
• Duquesne is playing its first four home games at Division III La Roche University located 10 miles north of campus while renovation work to the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is completed.
• Duquesne hasn't played a game on campus since Mar. 9, 2019 (vs. Dayton). The Dukes have had to board a bus for 32 of their past 38 games (including "home" games) dating back to last season.
• DU (8), UMass (8), Saint Louis (8), St. Bonaventure (7) & Fordham (6) are the only A-10 schools who began the week having played eight or fewer games.
• Tavian Dunn-Martin, Michael Hughes & Marcus Weathers graduated in December, giving the Dukes four players with degrees (grad transfer Ryan Murphy is the fourth).

DUKES AND RAMS
Series Record: Rhode Island leads 34-26
At Pittsburgh: Rhode Island leads 14-13
At Kingston: Rhode Island leads 20-11
Neutral Site: Duquesne leads 2-0
A-10 Regular Season: Rhode Island leads 31-22
A-10 Championship: Duquesne leads 2-1
Dambrot vs. URI/at Duquesne: 1-4/1-2

• This is the 61st meeting in a series that dates to Jan. 13, 1966. Rhode Island, winner of 21 of the past 28, leads the all-time series 34-26. In games in Pittsburgh, Rhody holds a 14-13 advantage. URI won eight in a row in Pittsburgh prior to DU's 75-72 win in 2019.
• Eleven of the past 14 meetings between the two (10 URI wins) have been determined by eight or fewer points. Two of the three games under current DU coach Keith Dambrot have been one-possession affairs.
• In the last Pittsburgh meeting (Jan. 30, 2019), DU rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit (41-22) to defeat the Rams, 75-72. Frankie Hughes scored all 20 of his points - including five 3-pointers - in the second half to fuel the comeback. The win avenged a 2018 loss at the Ryan Center when the No. 24 (AP) Rams defeated the Dukes, 61-58, on a Sanford Robinson buzzer-beating 3-pointer. DU led for 29:59 of that game. Keith Dambrot is 1-4 vs. URI, with the first two meetings coming while at Akron. Jim Baron's Rams defeated the Zips at home, 79-50, on Jan. 3, 2009 and also won the next season in Akron, 68-63 on Jan. 5, 2010.
   

FROM OLD TO YOUNG ...
Duquesne began the season with five returning starters, two of whom left the team in early January and a third who has temporarily stepped away from the program. Two of the three have been replaced by freshmen:

The three accounted for 121 starts:
Sincere Carry, Jr.  --  63g / 63 starts
Lamar Norman, Jr.  --  61g / 25 starts
Maceo Austin, So.  --  33g / 33 starts
(Austin has stepped away from program and is expected to return)

Replaced by:
Tavian Dunn-Martin, Sr.  --  *106g / 22 starts
Chad Baker, Fr.  --  5g / 3 starts
Toby Okani, Fr.  --  8g / 3 starts
(*includes 36g / 1 start as a freshman at Akron)


LAST GAME
St. Bonaventure 62, Duquesne 48
Friday, Jan. 15 at Olean, N.Y.
Recap