GAME 6
Duquesne (4-1) at Nebraska (5-0)
Cornhusker Classic
Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 | 8:00 p.m.
Lincoln, Neb. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,500)
 
TV: Big Ten Network w/ Kevin Kugler & Nick Bahe
Radio: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
 
Game Notes | Record Book | Media Center | TV/Radio Spotter Chart | Live Stats | Watch | Listen
 
Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team travels to Lincoln, Neb., for its first true road game of the 2023-24 season and wraps up the Cornhusker Classic with an 8:00 p.m. ET tip against Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
 
- The Dukes are coming off a 77-58 win over Rider to improve to 2-0 as part of the Cornhusker Classic. Senior guard Dae Dae Grant scored a season-high 23 points in the win over the Broncs on 7-of-15 shooting, including a 6-for-12 effort from beyond the arc, while senior guard Jimmy Clark III added 14 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
- Senior guard Dae Dae Grant enters Wednesday's game at Nebraska leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 20.2 points per game, while Clark III paces the conference in steals with an average of 3.2 per contest. The 16 thefts for Clark III through the first five games of the 2023-24 campaign rank fourth in NCAA Division I.
 
- The 2023-24 season marks the 108th year of Duquesne basketball. The Dukes started play in 1913-14 (DU did not field a team in 1944-45-46 due to World War II).
 
- Senior guard Dae Dae Grant is the first Duquesne student-athlete to open the season with back-to-back 20-point performances since Wayne Smith (1998-2002) in 2000-01. In wins over North Carolina A&T and UNC Wilmington, Smith paced the Dukes with 28 points in each contest, shooting 20-for-35 (.571) from the floor in the two games.
 
- Forward Tre Williams is 61 points shy of 1,000 for his career and is one of four Dukes that could eclipse the plateau this season. Twins Fousseyni Drame and Hassan Drame own career totals of 940 and 728 career points, respectively, while forward Andrei Savrasov has scored 888 career points.
 
- Guard Dae Dae Grant looks to score 1,000 points in two seasons with the Dukes after pacing Duquesne last year with 511 points, an average of 15.5 per contest. Grant has scored 1,783 points at the NCAA Division I level. He is also 217 points shy of 2,000 for his career.
 
- Guard Jimmy Clark III scored 404 points in his first season at Duquesne last season and owns 623 career points entering Wednesday's game at Nebraska. Clark III also needs 56 steals to crack the top 10 in program history for thefts, as Andy Sisinni (1981-84) currently ranks 10th with 148.
 
- When holding opponents to less than 70 points under head coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne has posted a record of 58-16 (.784), including a 3-0 mark during the 2023-24 season.
 
- The Dukes return home to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse after taking on the Cornhuskers to close out the first month of the season by hosting UC Irvine Wednesday, Nov. 29, in a 7:00 p.m. tip.
 
Scouting the Cornhuskers – A member of the Big Ten, Duquesne leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 2-1 … The Dukes and Cornhuskers haven't met since 1971 ... Wednesday's game marks Duquesne's first against Nebraska since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2011 ... Lionel Billingy (1971-74) led four Dukes in double figures in a 75-53 win over Nebraska in the last meeting between the two programs w/ 17 points while also grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds, one of his 20 double-doubles in 1971-72 ... Billingy owns the Duquesne single-game record for rebounds, set against Wheeling Jan. 16, 1973, with 29 ... In his first varsity year with the Dukes during the 1971-72 campaign, Billingy averaged 21.7 points and 14.3 rebounds per contest ... Billingy owns the Duquesne career record for rebounds per game with an average of 13.7 ... Nebraska is led by head coach Fred Hoiberg (Iowa State '95), who has amassed a career record of 160-139 (.535) ... Between stops at Iowa State (2010-15) and Nebraska, Hoiberg spent three+ seasons as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls (2015-18) of the NBA ... Junior forward Juwan Gary has scored 31 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in last two games, his first contests of the 2023-24 season ... Junior guard Brice Williams is averaging 15.4 points through five games for the Cornhuskers and is 10-for-23 (43.5%) from beyond the arc.
 
Head Coach Keith Dambrot (Seventh Year at Duquesne | 26th Year Overall) – Keith Dambrot, who built Akron into one of the most successful - and most respected - programs in the Mid-American Conference over 13 seasons, was named head men's basketball coach at Duquesne University on March 28, 2017. The veteran coach wasted no time making an impact on the DU program with 65 wins in his first four seasons. His 95 wins already rank fifth on the Dukes' all-time victory list and his two 20-win seasons - in just six years - are tied for the third-most in program history. Dambrot reached a significant career milestone on Feb. 8, 2023 when he posted his 500th career victory with a 75-52 triumph over George Mason.
 
Rider Leftovers – The Dukes had never faced Rider prior to 2021 but have played the Broncs twice in the last three seasons, winning both meetings at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse ... Duquesne grabbed its biggest lead of the contest, 61-35, with 11:31 to play ... The Dukes led for 37:58 ... Led by six three-pointers from senior guard Dae Dae Grant, Duquesne finished with 12 triples, the third time in the first five games the Dukes have connected for at least 10 three-pointers ... Rider shot 31.8 percent (21-for-66) from the field, a season low by a Duquesne opponent ... The Broncs held a 43-42 edge in rebounding, including a 17-8 advantage in offensive caroms ... Freshmen guards Seamus McDermott and Lucas Perusek each made their Duquesne debuts in the win.
 
Dynamic Duo – Senior guards Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III paced Duquesne during its three-game homestand, averaging 19.3 and 18.3 points per game, respectively. The pair combined to shoot 45.3 percent (39-for-86) from the field, including 36.4 percent (16-for-44) from beyond the arc, while going 19-for-20 (95%) at the free-throw line. Grant added eight assists in the three games, while Clark III recorded 10 steals. Both Grant and Clark III have scored in double figures in each of Duquesne's five games this season.
 
Block Party – In a 77-58 win over Rider that concluded a three-game homestand at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Duquesne posted a season-high 14 blocks, including four each from sophomore forwards Halil Barre and David Dixon. Seven different Dukes recorded a rejection in the victory over the Broncs as Duquesne fell one block shy of the single-game school record of 15 that has been accomplished three times. The Dukes last posted 15 blocks in a 95-89 double overtime win over George Mason Jan. 20, 2018, in the first season on The Bluff for head coach Keith Dambrot. Dixon has been at the forefront of rim protection for the Dukes in the early portion of the 2023-24, as in five games he has rejected 11 shots, an average of 2.2 per game that ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10. The 11 blocks for Dixon is tied for second in the A-10 with Miles Rubin of Loyola Chicago and trailing Babatunde Akingbola of George Washington, who has 14 rejections.
 
Three Is For Me – Duquesne has knocked down 52 three-pointers so far this season, an average of 10.4 per game that tops the Atlantic 10. In three of their first five games the Dukes have connected for at least 10 three-pointers, including 12 in a 77-58 win over Rider in the Cornhusker Classic. In seven seasons under head coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne has posted a record of 34-14 (.708) when hitting at least 10 three-point field goals in a game, including a 3-0 record during the 2023-24 campaign. Duquesne currently sits fourth in the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage (36.9%).
 
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