G16 | RHODE ISLAND (10-13, 7-9) at DUQUESNE (7-8, 6-7)  
Sat., Feb. 27, 2021 • 7:00 pm ET • Pittsburgh, Pa. • UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

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

Duquesne (7-8, 6-7) and Rhode Island (10-13, 7-9) meet for second time in five weeks when the Dukes host the Rams on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) in the regular-season finale for both schools.

This is the second trip to Pittsburgh for the Rams, who fell to the Dukes, 71-69, at La Roche University's Kerr Fitness Center on Jan. 20.

This time, the two will meet at the newly renovated UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse which opened for DU's 69-64 win over Dayton on Feb. 2.

This is the second game on campus for the Dukes who played home games at three venues - D-III La Roche, Robert Morris' UPMC Events Center and PPG Paints Arena - during the 22-month renovation project.

Located on the site of the former A.J. Palumbo Center, UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is named after DU alumnus and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Chuck Cooper - the first Black player drafted by an NBA team.

This is DU's 14th A-10 game (instead of the usual 18). DU will finish with seven league games at home and seven on the road and will have faced all but George Mason, UMass, Saint Louis & VCU in the regular season.


TRENDING

• A win would clinch three-straight non-losing conference seasons for the first time in school history (10-8 in 2019, 11-7 in 2020 and 6-7 so far this year).
• La Salle set opponent season highs for points (85), 3-pointers (11), 3-pt pct. (.478) and free throws made (22) in its 85-65 win over DU on Wednesday. DU has held nine of 13 A-10 opponents under 70 points.
• DU ranked 11th nationally in 3-point pct. defense (.291) thru Wednesday's games (Kenpom). The Dukes lead the A-10 in 3-pt defense and rank second in field goal percentage defense in league games only.
• Marcus Weathers, the only Duke to start all 14 games, has scored in double digits 14 times, including the last nine games in a row. He is coming of a 23-point outing at La Salle.
• Michael Hughes has posted double-doubles in four times in A-10 play. Hughes, who has emerged as one of the better passing big men in the A-10, ranks second on the team with 30 assists.
• Tavian Dunn-Martin ranks 8th on DU's career 3-pointers list with 143. He needs 22 to pass Mike Lewis II (164) and take over the No. 7 spot.
• Freshman Chad Baker, who has hit five or more 3-pointers twice in A-10 play (5-5 vs. URI & 7-11 at Fordham), is 21-of-51 from the arc (.412) in conference games. His 3-point percentage ranks 6th in A-10 games only.
• Fellow freshman Andre Harris, has come off the bench to post a new season scoring high in each of DU's past two games (10 at Richmond and 11 at La Salle).

DUKES AND RAMS
Series Record: Rhode Island leads 34-27
At Pittsburgh: Tied 14-14
At Kingston: Rhode Island leads 20-11
Neutral Site: Duquesne leads 2-0
A-10 Regular Season: Rhode Island leads 31-23
A-10 Championship: Duquesne leads 2-1
Dambrot vs. URI/at Duquesne: 2-4/2-2

• This is the 62nd meeting in a series that dates to Jan. 13, 1966. Rhode Island, winner of 21 of the past 29, leads the all-time series 34-27. In games in Pittsburgh, the series is tied a 14-14. URI won eight in a row in Pittsburgh prior to DU's 75-72 win in 2019. The Dukes followed that with a 71-69 win over the Rams a La Roche University on Jan. 20.
• In the last two Pittsburgh meetings, DU has rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit (75-72 in 2019) and 15-point second-half deficit (71-69 on Jan. 20) to win.
• Twelve of the past 15 games between the two (10 URI wins) have been determined by eight or fewer points. Three of the four games under current DU coach Keith Dambrot have been one possession affairs.
• Keith Dambrot is 2-4 vs. URI, with the first two meetings coming while at Akron.
• This is the first time since 2000-01 that DU and URI are meeting twice in the same regular season.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
Duquesne is limiting opponents to .416 shooting from the field. It is the lowest opponent pct. since 2004 (.416). DU is also on pace to be the top 3-point defensive team in school history:
 

OPPONENT CATEGORY		LOWEST SINCE
Field Goal Percentage	.416	2004 (.416)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage	.291	*school record pace

* DU limited opponents to a program-best .301 from 3-point last season


LAST GAME
LA SALLE 85, DUQUESNE 65
Feb. 24, 2021 • Tom Gola Arena • Philadelphia, Pa.

Game 15 Recap

• La Salle broke open a two-point game with a 13-0 run five minutes into the second half. The win was the Explorers' sixth in a row over the Dukes in Philadelphia.
• Marcus Weathers led DU with a game-high 23 points. Freshmen Toby Okani and Andre Harris added 11 each. Harris' total was a season high.
• La Salle shot 53 percent and made 11-of-21 3-point attempts to counteract a Duquesne opponent-high 22 turnovers, while DU shot 39 percent including 4-of-16 from long distance and turned it over a season high-tying 17 times.
• Duquesne's largest lead was four, the last of which came at 20-16 with 6:36 left in the first half ... La Salle's largest lead was 22, at 85-63, with :45 left ... there was one tie and five lead changes before La Salle took the lead for good on a Jack Clark dunk that made it 28-26 with 1:23 left in the first half ... Duquesne led for 5:13 ... La Salle led for 32:47.