PITTSBURGH - Duquesne men's basketball will play at national power Kentucky and host games versus South Carolina State and North Florida as part of a three-team round-robin multi-team event it was announced today.

The three games complete DU's 2022-23 nonconference schedule.

The Dukes will open the MTE with a trip to Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, Ky. to face the Wildcats on Nov. 11. DU will host South Carolina State at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Nov. 14 in a game that will be televised by CBSSN. DU will finish the MTE with a home game against North Florida on Nov. 21.

Kentucky, which went 18-0 at home last year and enters the 2022-23 season with the nation's fourth-longest home win streak at 19, is coming off a 26-8 season. The Wildcats, who finished last year ranked seventh by The Associated Press, have made four Final Four appearances under head coach John Calipari, a native of nearby Moon Township, Pa.

This will be the third meeting between DU and UK and first since Nov. 20, 2016.

South Carolina State, in its first season under former West Virginia assistant Erik Martin, went 15-16 in finishing fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2021-22. This will be the second meeting between the Dukes and Bulldogs, with DU taking an 83-68 decision at home on Dec. 16, 2015.

Duquesne and Atlantic Sun Conference member North Florida will be playing for the first time. The Ospreys are in their 13th season under head coach Matthew Driscoll. Driscoll, a Pittsburgh native who attended Northgate High School, graduated from Slippery Rock and also served as head coach at La Roche University from 1993-97. A three-time ASUN Coach of the Year, Driscoll is the winningest coach in UNF history.

DU, in its sixth season under head coach Keith Dambrot, will have 10 newcomers on the 2022-23 roster. Dambrot, who is entering his 25th season overall, is 1-0 all-time against the MTE field with a win over South Carolina State while head coach at Akron.

Season tickets for the 2022-23 campaign may be purchased by clicking here.

 

• Duquesne will face 13 teams from 13 conferences in non-league play: Atlantic Sun (North Florida), Big East (DePaul), Big Sky (Montana), Big South (Winthrop), Big West (UC Santa Barbara), Conference USA (Marshall), Mid-American (Ball State), Mid-Eastern Athletic (South Carolina State), Missouri Valley (Indiana State), Patriot (Colgate), Southeastern (Kentucky), Southwestern Athletic (Alabama State) and Western Athletic (New Mexico State).
• DU will play five first-time opponents in Alabama State, Ball State, North Florida, UC Santa Barbara and Winthrop.
• Six of DU's non-league foes finished last year ranked among the Top 150 in the final NET: Kentucky (9), New Mexico State (78), DePaul (103), Colgate (124), UC Santa Barbara (143) and Winthrop (147).
• Duquesne enters the 2022-23 season having won 24 of 31 nonconference home games under sixth-year head coach Keith Dambrot. Overall, the Dukes are 34-18 overall in non-league play under Dambrot.
• Dambrot, who is entering his 25th season, will be facing six first-time opponents in Alabama State, Colgate, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico State and North Florida. Dambrot is 27-9 all-time against the remaining teams on the nonconference schedule.
• Kentucky, which went 18-0 at home in 2021-22, enters the season with the nation's fourth-longest home win streak at 19.
• DePaul is completing the home-and-home series with its first trip to Pittsburgh to face the DU since Jan. 9, 1990. It will be the 29th meeting between the two schools.
• The Dukes will face four teams that finished strong in 2021-22: Colgate won 15 of its last 16, Winthrop won 10 of its last 11, UCSB won nine of its last 11 and North Florida won seven of its last 11.
• The opener vs. Montana marks the second-straight year DU will face a school from the Big Sky Conference (Weber State last season). DU, which is 3-1 all time vs. the Big Sky, is 84-3 when opening the season at home (4-0 under Dambrot).