G9 | MARSHALL (7-1) at DUQUESNE (7-1)
Thurs., Dec. 8, 2022 • 7:00 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)

It will be a battle of winning streaks as Duquesne (7-1), which extended its win streak to six with a 78-77 buzzer-beating win over Ball State on Saturday, welcomes Marshall (7-1), winner of seven-straight, on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7:00 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (ESPN+).

The Dukes, with a roster that features 10 first-year players, took just eight games to exceed last year's win total (6-24).

This is the fifth of nine consecutive home games for DU, which is averaging 82.5 points per game at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

Marshall, which is 1-1 on the road, has wins over three MAC schools (at Miami, Ohio, Akron & Ohio). The Herd (83.8 ppg.) have posted a +16.4 ppg. margin of victory thus far.

Duquesne is 22-5 in non-conference home games - including wins at four different "home" venues - since 2018-19.

Duquesne, which went 11-of-22 from 3-point in the win over Ball State, began the week ranked 19th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.399). DU's best 3-point shooting season under Keith Dambrot is .350 in 2017-18 (Dambrot's first season).

TRENDING

• 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.
• This is the fifth 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 season, is averaging 79.0 ppg. through eight games this year. The Dukes have scored 495 points in their first six home games - an average of 82.5 ppg.
•  DU's assists per game average is up +6.1/g. from last year (from 10.0 to 16.1).
• Guard Dae Dae Grant is shooting .527 from the field and .547 from 3-point (29-of-53). Grant, who has three games with five or more 3-pointers, began the week ranked 3rd nationally in 3-point percentage (.547), T5th in 3-pointers/g. (3.62) and T9th in total 3-point field goals (29).
• Guard Jimmy Clark III, who played as a freshman and sophomore at VCU, set new career highs for points (16) and rebounds (6) vs. Ball State. Clark III had never hit more than one 3-pointer in a D-I game before going 4-of-8 from deep vs BSU.
• Austin Rotroff has come off the bench to lead the Dukes in rebounding in six of eight games. The 6-10 forward ranked second nationally in offensive rebound percentage (per KenPom) through Tuesday. Rotroff, who is shooting .771, is 15-of-18 from the field in his past four games.
• Tevin Brewer, who missed the opener (appendix), has handed out 21 assists in seven games. He is averaging 13.5 ppg. (5-of-6 from 3-point) in his past two games.
• Freshman Kareem Rozier has come off the bench to lead the team in assists twice. Rozier has 20 assists and two turnovers in 110 minutes this season.
• Freshman David Dixon is averaging 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in four games as a starter.
• Nine Dukes (Brewer, Clark III, Dixon, Grant, Hronsky, McGriff, Reece, Rotroff & Williams) have posted double-digit scoring games on the young season.

DUKES VS. MARSHALL
Series Record: Duquesne leads 4-3
At Pittsburgh: Duquesne leads 3-0
At Huntington, W.Va.: Marshall leads 2-0
Neutral Site: Duquesne Tied 1-1
Dambrot vs. Marshall: 8-2 (7-0 at Akron, 1-2 at Duquesne)

• Duquesne leads the series 4-3, with Marshall having won the past two, 83-61 at the Cleveland Classic at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Dec. 29, 2019 and 72-71 last year at Huntington, W.Va.
• Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot is 8-2 all time against Marshall (7-0 at Akron and 1-2 at Duquesne).
• The Herd is in its ninth season under head coach Dan D'Antoni who won 11, 17, 20, 25 & 23 games in his first five years ... he is the first Marshall coach to post three-straight 20-win seasons since Cam Henderson in 1946, 1947 and 1948 ... Marshall was picked to finish 6th of 14 teams in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll.
• Marshall is led by 6-5 fifth-year guard Taevion Kinsey, a preseason All-Sun Belt pick who went over the 2,000 career point mark earlier this season ... the Columbus, Ohio native, who is averaging over 16 points per game for his career, is coming off a 18-point outing in Saturday's 83-69 win over Ohio.
• 7-foot-1 freshman center Micah Handlogten (21 blocks) ranked 11th nationally in blocks percentage (per KenPom) through Sunday ... Marshall, know for its uptempo style of play, ranked fifth nationally in average possession length (14.7) through Sunday (per KenPom) ... Marshall has trailed for just 16:29 of 320 minutes this season.

LAST GAME: DUQUESNE 78, BALL STATE 77
Dec. 3, 2022 • UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse • Pittsburgh, Pa.

• Jimmy Clark, who hit a last-second 3-pointer to end the first half, did one better, drilling a contested 3-pointer from the left wing at the final horn to give Duquesne a 78-77 win over Ball State. Clark's make was the 11th lead change of the game.
• Clark, who entered the game 4-of-19 from the arc, went 4-of-8 from deep in scoring a career-high 16 points. Tevin Brewer (4-of-5 from 3-point) had 14 points and Dae Dae Grant added 11 for the Dukes who went 11-of-22 from the arc.
• It was the 18th time Duquesne came back from a double-digit deficit to win under Keith Dambrot. DU's largest deficit was 14, at 18-4, with 12:02 left in the first half.
• Ball State outshot Duquesne 54.2 percent to 47.5 percent.
• Duquesne's largest lead was four, the last of which came at 73-69, with 2:56 left ... Ball State's largest lead was 14, at 18-4, with 12:02 left in the first half ... there were four ties and 11 lead changes, the last of which came on Clark's game-winner ... Ball State led for 27:33 ... Duquesne led for 9:35.