G12 | SAINT JOSEPH'S (1-13, 0-8) at DUQUESNE (5-6, 4-5)
Sat., Jan. 30, 2021 • 7:00 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 (5-6, 4-5), winner of two of its past three, returns home to host Saint Joseph's (1-13, 0-8) on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) at Kerr Fitness Center on the campus of La Roche University.

This is the last of five scheduled home games at La Roche - a Division III school located 10 miles from DU's downtown Pittsburgh campus. La Roche served as Duquesne's temporary home while renovation work to the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse was completed.

The Dukes are scheduled to play their remaining home games in UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, beginning with Tuesday's Dayton game.

Duquesne is 6-2 all time at Kerr Fitness Center (2-2 this year).

The Saint Joe's game begins a stretch of three in a row at home for the Dukes, who are coming off an 86-62 win at Fordham. SJU, which is 0-8 on the road, has been idle since a 79-56 home loss to Richmond on Jan. 26. Duquesne is 2-2 vs. Saint Joseph's under fourth-year head coach Keith Dambrot, including a 1-0 mark in Pittsburgh.

TRENDING

• DU is coming off a season-high 86-point game at Fordham (86-62).
• The Dukes got 46 points and 11 3-pointers from five freshmen in the Fordham game.
• The Dukes, who have held seven A-10 foes under 70 points, rank 2nd in scoring defense in conference play (63.8 ppg.) thru Wednesday.
• DU ranked 11th nationally in 3-point pct. defense (.276) thru Wednesday's games.
• Michael Hughes has posted three-straight double-doubles: 15-10 vs. URI, 15-12 vs. St. Bonaventure & 13-11 at Fordham. The last Duke to post four in a row was Damian Saunders in 2009-10 (9 in a row).
• Hughes has emerged as one of the better passing big men in the A-10. The 6-8 center ranks second on the team with 23 assists.
• DU is getting significant contributions from five true freshmen in swingmen Chad Baker & Toby Okani, forward Andre Harris and guards Tyson Acuff & Mike Bekelja. First-year grad transfer guard Ryan Murphy, who joined the team on Dec. 11, has also been a key part of Duquesne's rotation.
• Duquesne hasn't played a game on campus since Mar. 9, 2019 (vs. Dayton). The Dukes have had to board a bus for 35 of their past 41 games (including "home" games) dating back to last season.
• Tavian Dunn-Martin ranks 9th on DU's career 3-pointers list with 138. He needs three to pass Courtney Wallace (140) and take over the No. 8 spot.
• Freshman Chad Baker has hit five or more 3-pointers in two of DU's past three games (5-5 vs. URI & 7-11 at Fordham). He is 16-of-36 from the arc (.444) on the season.
• Marcus Weathers, the only Duke to start all 11 games this season, has scored in double digits 10 times. He is coming off a 19-12 double-double at Fordham.

DUKES AND HAWKS
Series Record: Saint Joseph's leads 41-16
At Pittsburgh: Saint Joseph's leads 16-10
At Philadelphia: Saint Joseph's leads 21-4
Neutral Site: Saint Joseph's leads 4-2
A-10 Reg. Season: Saint Joseph's leads 35-14
A-10 Championship: Saint Joseph's leads 4-1
Dambrot vs. Saint Joseph's: 2-2

• This is the 58th game in a series that dates back to Feb. 25, 1938 ... Saint Joseph's leads the series 41-16, including a 16-10 advantage in games played in Pittsburgh ... Duquesne has won two of the past three at home.
• What was once a lopsided series has tightened considerably over the past 12 years. The Dukes, who lost 16 of 17 to SJU from 1994 through 2007, have won seven of the past 15 with three of the five losses coming in overtime. Duquesne has averaged 79.7 ppg. (1,195 points) to 78.3 ppg. (1,175 points) to Saint Joe's over that 15-game stretch.
• Duquesne's 18-point margin of victory (78-60) at Saint Joe's last year was its third-largest in the series and most since a 96-70 win over the Hawks in an A-10 Championship game at the Palestra on Mar. 3, 1990.
• Saint Joseph's (1-13, 0-8) was picked to finish 12th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll of league coaches and media.
• Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot is 2-2 vs. Saint Joseph's with all four meetings coming at Duquesne.

NOTABLE

ALL HANDS ON DECK: Head coach Keith Dambrot has used at least 10 players in 10 of the Dukes' first 11 games. The only exception was the Jan. 23 St. Bonaventure game where nine saw action. Eight members of the current roster (10 total) have started at least once in 2020-21.
 
VETS: DU returns three fifth-year seniors in Marcus Weathers (third-year Miami, Ohio transfer), Michael Hughes and Tavian Dunn-Martin (both third-year Akron transfers).

WEATHERS REPORT: Senior Marcus Weathers was at his best against the A-10's best last season. In six total g. vs. the league's top four finishers (Dayton, Richmond, Rhode Island & Saint Louis) the 6-5 forward averaged 19.2 pts and 8.0 rebs. and shot .625 (40-of-64).

REJECTED: Center Michael Hughes  is ranked 12th among active D-I players in career blocks (174) and 19th in blocks/g. (1.93) thru Wednesday.

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?: Duquesne's 48 points in the Jan. 9 win over Fordham (48-45) were its fewest in a victory since a 43-34 home win over Steubenville on Dec. 4, 1972. It was also DU's fewest ever in an Atlantic 10 win. By contrast, Duquesne scored 48 in the first half of the rematch at Fordham on Jan. 27. The 24-point win in the
Bronx (86-62) set a new school record for margin of victory in an A-10 road game.


LAST GAME
DUQUESNE 86, FORDHAM 62
Jan. 27, 2021 • Rose Hil Gym • Bronx, N.Y.
Game 11 Recap

• Duquesne set a school record for largest margin of victory in an A-10 road game (+24) in posting its sixth-straight win over the Rams.
• Freshman Chad Baker led the way with 23 points, including 7-of-11 from 3-point. He became the third Duquesne freshman to make seven or more 3-pointers in a game joining Eric Williams Jr. (school record 9-of-15 vs. George Mason on Jan. 20, 2018) and Melquan Bolding (7-of-10 vs. Dayton at the A-10 Tournament on Mar. 13, 2009)
• Marcus Weathers (19-12) and Michael Hughes (13-11) posted double-doubles for DU. It was the first time since last year vs. Lipscomb that the two doubled up in the same game. It was the third-straight double-double for Hughes who added a career-high six assists.w
• Duquesne's 25 assists (on 32 field goals) tied the Dambrot Era high set in a 97-48 win over Delaware State in Dec. 9, 2017.
• Duquesne's largest lead was 35 at 72-37 with 10:47 left ... Fordham's largest lead was at 3-2 ... Duquesne led for 38:34 ... Fordham led for 0:28.