G26 | DAVIDSON (22-4, 12-2) at DUQUESNE (6-19, 1-12)
Wed., Feb. 23, 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)

Duquesne (6-19, 1-12), returns to Pittsburgh for the penultimate home game of 2021-22 when it hosts league-leading Davidson (22-4, 12-2) on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7:00 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (ESPN+).

This is the second meeting in nine days between the Dukes and Wildcats, as DU looks to avenge a 72-61 defeat at Davidson on Feb. 14. DU cut a 17-point second half deficit to six with under four minutes to go but couldn't close the gap in falling to the Wildcats at Belk Arena. Freshmen Primo Spears and Jackie Johnson III led DU with 20 and 14 points respectively in that game.

Duquesne, which has dropped 12 in a row, is 3-9 at home (0-6 in conference play), while Davidson is 8-1 on the road, with the lone loss coming at Rhode Island in its last A-10 road game (Feb. 12).

Davidson enters Wednesday's game among others receiving votes in this week's AP Top 25.

Duquesne will hit the road for consecutive road games at Rhode Island (Feb. 26) and George Washington (Mar. 2), before concluding the A-10 regular season at home vs. La Salle on Mar. 5.

TRENDING

• Duquesne, which opened A-10 play with a 78-74 win at UMass and followed that with a 72-71 last-second defeat at Fordham, has scored 62 or fewer points in its past 11 games (617 points/56.1 ppg. over that span).
• DU is averaging 58.9 ppg. on .383 shooting in conference play.
• Duquesne ranks fourth nationally in fewest fouls per game (13.3). Only four schools committed fewer total fouls than DU's 332 thru Sunday.
• Duquesne's 11.6 turnovers/g. are the third-fewest in school history. The school record low of 11.0 was set in 2013-14.
• 6-11 redshirt freshman center Mounir Hima, who is only in his fourth season of organized basketball, has 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in his past two games (32 minutes). His nine points at St. Bonaventure (on 3-of-3 shooting) were a career high.
• Second-year freshman Tyson Acuff, who leads the Dukes with a .453 (24-of-53) 3-point pct, shot 294 (10-of-34) from the arc last season.
• Second-year freshman Mike Bekelja, who entered Saturday's game at St. Bonaventure with nine points in 17 games, posted five points and a team high-tying four rebounds in a season high 22 minutes vs. the Bonnies.
• Freshman guard Primo Spears came off the bench for the first time this season to post his team-high fifth 20-point game in the first meeting with Davidson. It was his top scoring game since a 20-point effort at Fordham on Jan. 12.
• First-year Indiana State transfer Tre Williams, who leads the Dukes with 54 blocked shots, ranked 36th nationally in blocks/g. (2.16) thru Sunday.
• According to KenPom.com Duquesne ranks 353rd of 358 Division I teams in the "experience" category (thru Feb. 21).
• This is the first time since 2000-01 that the Dukes are playing nine games in February (due to rescheduled games).
• The Dukes have used 10 starting lineups, including seven in 12 non-conference games. Nine players have started at least once. Kevin Easley Jr. and Tre Williams are the only players to start every game this season. DU has used four different starting lineups in its past four games.

DUKES AND WILDCATS
Series Record: Davidson leads 9-1
At Pittsburgh: Davidson leads 4-1
At Davidson: Davidson leads 5-0
A-10 Regular Season: Davidson leads 9-1
Dambrot vs. Davidson: 1-4
Current Streak: Davidson won one

• This is the 11th meeting between Duquesne and eighth-year Atlantic 10 member Davidson. The Wildcats - who were a home-and-home opponent of the Dukes in each of their first two A-10 seasons - won the first seven series meetings prior to DU's breakthrough 71-64 home win in 2020 at Robert Morris' UPMC Events Center. This is the first year since 2015-16 that the Dukes and Wildcats will play home-and-home, as last year's  series was unable to be completed due to a pandemic-related cancellation. Davidson won the first meeting this season, 72-61 at Belk Arena on Feb. 14.
• Last year Duquesne, which was up 26-17 with 4:54 left in the first half, went 4-of-28 (including 4-of-23 in the second half), the rest of the way in falling to the Wildcats, 61-48, at Kerr Fitness Center on the campus of La Roche University. Only three members of the current roster - Toby Okani, Tyson Acuff and Austin Rotroff - saw action in that game. The threesome combined for three points.
• Davidson, the preseason pick to finish sixth in the A-10, runs one of the most-efficient offenses in college basketball under 33rd year head coach Bob McKillop. The Wildcats began the week ranked among the Top 15 nationally in both field goal (.485, 13th) and 3-point (.391, 8th) shooting percentage.
• First meeting this year: Davidson 72, Duquesne 61

LAST GAME
St. Bonaventure 81, Duquesne 55
Feb. 19, 2022 • Reilly Center • Olean, N.Y.
Game 25 Recap

• Duquesne shot .351 in falling to the Bonnies at Reilly Center.
• Leon Ayers III was the lone Duke in double figures with 12 points.
• Mounir Hima came off the bench to score a career-high nine points in 15 minutes.
• Mike Bekelja, who entered the game with nine points, had five off the bench in a season-high 22 minutes. The five points were one shy of his career high.
• SBU, which outrebounded the DU 42 to 25, outscored the Dukes 48-22 in the paint.
• St. Bonaventure's largest lead was 36 (69-33) with 7:37 left ... Duquesne's lone lead came at 2-0 .... there was one tie and one lead change before Osun Osunniyi gave SBU the lead for good on a dunk with 17:03 left in the first half ... St. Bonaventure led for 37:03 ... Duquesne led for 0:59.