G12 | INDIANA STATE (9-2, 2-0) at DUQUESNE (8-3)
Sat., Dec. 17, 2022 • 2:00 pm ET • Pittsburgh, Pa. • UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+ with Tim Benz & Ellis Cannon
RADIO: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)

Duquesne (8-3), coming off its first win over a Big East team since 2002, takes on Indiana State (9-2) in the eighth of nine-straight home games on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (ESPN+).

The Dukes, who snapped a two-game losing streak with a 66-55 victory over DePaul on Wednesday, are 7-2 at home this season. DU turned in its top defensive performance of the season in limiting the Blue Demons to .309 shooting. DePaul's 55 points were a season low and 22 points below their scoring average. Dae Dae Grant and Joe Reece led the Dukes with 15 points each. DU outrebounded DePaul 48-32 and outscored the Blue Demons 34-12 in the paint.

The Duquesne game is the last of four in a row on the road for Indiana State, which saw its five-game win streak snapped at Southern Indiana (85-88 in OT) last Sunday. ISU owns road wins at Miami, Ohio (88-61) and at Southern Illinois (74-71).

Duquesne is 23-7 in non-conference home games - including wins at four different "home" venues - since 2018-19.

TRENDING

• This is the eighth of nine-straight home games for the Dukes, who won't leave UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse until their Dec. 28 Atlantic 10 opener at Dayton.
• DU, which averaged 65.2 ppg. last year, is averaging 75.4 ppg. through 11 games (+10.2 ppg.).
• DU's assists per game average is up +5.1/g. from last year (from 10.0 to 15.1).
• DU's .365 3-point percentage is the program's best under Keith Dambrot (current is .350 in 2017-18).
• Guard Jimmy Clark III, who played as a freshman and sophomore at VCU, has scored 16, 19, 16 & 13 points in DU's past four games. Clark's DI career-high entering the season was nine.
• Guard Dae Dae Grant, who has scored in double digits in 10 of 11 games - including the past nine in a row, is shooting .439 from 3-point (36-of-82). Grant, who has three games with five or more 3-pointers, ranked T17th nationally in 3-pointers/g. (3.27) and T10th in total 3-point field goals (36) thru Wednesday.
• Austin Rotroff has come off the bench to lead the Dukes in rebounding in seven times. The 6-10 forward ranked first nationally in offensive rebound percentage (per KenPom) through Wednesday.
• Tevin Brewer, who missed the opener (appendix), has handed out a team-high 27 assists in eight games and has an A-10 best assist/turnover ratio at 3.1-to-1. He is averaging 12.0 ppg. (8-of-12 from 3-point) in his past three games. Brewer missed the DePaul game due to injury.
• Freshman Kareem Rozier has come off the bench to lead, or tie for the team lead, in assists four times. Rozier has 26 assists and five turnovers this season.
• Senior Joe Reece is averaging 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in his past two games. Reece missed four games, and three-quarters of another due to an injury. He came back on Dec. 8 vs. Marshall.
• Nine Dukes (Brewer, Clark III, Dixon, Grant, Hronsky, McGriff, Reece, Rotroff & Williams) have posted double-digit scoring games on the young season.

NOTABLE

• It took the 2022-23 Dukes - with a roster that features 10 newcomers (five transfers and five freshmen) - just eight games to exceed last year's win total (6-24).
• Duquesne, picked to finish 15th of 15 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, tied the school record for November wins set in 2008 and matched in 2020 (both 6-0). DU went 6-1 in November, with the lone loss coming at No. 4 (AP) Kentucky.
• Duquesne's 66-55 win over DePaul on Dec. 14 was the program's first over a Big East school since an 86-82 victory over West Virginia on Nov. 25, 2002 at A.J. Palumbo Center. The margin of victory was DU's largest over a Power 6 school since a 78-52 win over Penn State (Big Ten) at CONSOL Energy Center on Nov. 20, 2015 (under Jim Ferry).

DUKES VS. INDIANA STATE
Series Record: Duquesne leads 2-1
At Pittsburgh: Tied 1-1
At Terre Haute, Ind.: Never met
Neutral Site: Duquesne leads 1-0

ALL-TIME MEETINGS

DATE	SITE	W/L	SCORE	MARGIN
Feb. 20, 1950	H	W	55-54	+1
Dec. 9, 1966	H1	L	84-90	-6
Nov. 21, 2019	N1	W	74-71	+3

DU was ranked No. 7 (AP) on Feb. 20, 1950; the win gave the Dukes a 21-1 record at the time
H1 - Steel Bowl first round game;  N1 - Junkanoo Jam, Bimini. Bahamas

• Indiana State, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, is located in Terre Haute, Ind. Duquesne leads the series is 2-1, including a 74-71 win in the opening round of the 2019 Junkanoo Jam in Bimini, Bahamas. DU forward Tre Williams started that game for ISU. The Bahamas meeting was the first between the Dukes and Sycamores since a Steel Bowl first round 90-84 loss on Dec. 9, 1966 at the Civic Arena. In the first meeting between the two, seventh-ranked Duquesne moved to 21-1 with a 55-54 home win over ISU on Feb. 20, 1950.
• Indiana State's 9-1 start was the program's best since 1978-80 when the Larry Bird-led Sycamores went 33-0 prior to falling to Magic Johnson's Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA Championship final.
• ISU, picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley preseason poll, is already 2-0 in conference play with a home win over Drake (75-73) and a victory at Southern Illinois (74-71).
• Indiana State has yet to trial by double digits in a game this season.
• ISU is in its second season under Josh Schertz, who went 337-69 in 13 seasons at D-II Lincoln Memorial. Last year, Shchertz's Sycamores were the only MVC team to attempt over 800 3-pointers. ISU currently ranks among the nation's Top 10 in 3-point attempts/g. (29.4).
• Grad student Courvoisier McCauley, who began his career at Lincoln Memorial and played at DePaul last year (where he had three points in 11 minutes in a win over Duquesne), leads ISU at 17.8 ppg. ISU returns four starters and six of its top seven scorers from last season.

LAST GAME: DUQUESNE 66, DEPAUL 55
Dec. 14, 2022 • UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse • Pittsburgh, Pa.

• Duquesne never trailed in posting their first win over a Big East team since 2002.
• The Dukes held the Blue Demons to .309 shooting and 22 points below their season scoring average.
• Dae Dae Grant and Joe Reece led the Dukes with 15 points each. Reece scored 11 in the second half, including eight in a 3:10 span after DePaul had cut the lead to eight with under eight minutes left.
• Jimmy Clark III had 13 points and a career-high eight rebounds for DU.
• Quincy McGriff, in his first start since Nov. 14 (S.C. State) added 8 points and a career-best 8 boards and three assists in 24 minutes.
• Freshman Halil Barre scored six points and grabbed five rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench in his Duquesne debut.
• The Dukes outscored the Blue Demons 34-12 in the paint and 12-3 in fast break points.
• It was Duquesne's largest margin of victory over a Power 6 school since a 78-52 win over Penn State (Big Ten) at CONSOL Energy Center on Nov. 20, 2015 (under Jim Ferry).
• Duquesne's largest lead was 18, at 42-24, with 16:27 left in the game ... DU took the lead for good on a Joe Reece bucket that made that made it 4-2 at the 18:26 mark the first half ... DePaul never led ... Duquesne led for 38:47.