GAME 20
Duquesne (10-9 | 2-4 Atlantic 10) at Loyola Chicago (5-15 | 1-6 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 | 2:00 p.m. ET
Chicago, Ill. | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,557)
 
Stream: ESPN+ with Jordan Bernfield (pxp) & Nick DiNardi (color)
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) (pxp) & Noah Buono ('22) (color)
 
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Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team heads to Chicago, Ill., Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. ET tip against Loyola Chicago at Joseph J. Gentile Arena.
 
- The Dukes will look to get back in the win column after dropping an 81-77 decision to No. 24 (AP) Saint Louis (Jan. 20) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Junior guard Jimmie Williams led all scorers in the contest, pouring in a career-high 28 points while adding seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. He shot 11-for-22 from the field, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, and was also 2-for-2 at the free-throw line.
 
- Williams, who has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games, ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring against conference foes with an average of 18.8 points per game in six contests.
 
- Also against the Billikens, senior guard Tarence Guinyard contributed 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, while senior forward David Dixon just missed a double-double, registering nine points, 10 rebounds and a season-high four blocks.
 
- Duquesne enters Saturday's game against the Ramblers ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 in both scoring offense (84.1 ppg) and field goal percentage (.482). Individually, Guinyard is tied atop the A-10 leaderboard in assists per game (5.3) with Christian Henry of Fordham while also ranking fifth in the circuit in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.30).
 
- The 2025-26 season marks the 110th 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). Thanks to an 83-63 victory over Niagara (Nov. 3) in its 2025-26 season opener, Duquesne earned program victory No. 1,500.
 
- In today's day and age of college basketball with the NCAA Transfer Portal, Duquesne offers senior forward David Dixon, who will play his final season with the Dukes in 2025-26 and has spent his entire career on the Bluff. Dixon, 6'9" and 230 pounds, owns career totals of 700 points and 519 rebounds and is just the second player in program history to eclipse career totals of both 100 blocks and 100 dunks.
 
- Dixon is one of just four players in the Atlantic 10 this season that have spent their entire career with one program, joining 6'10" forward Sean Logan of Davidson, 6'10" forward Christian Fermin of VCU and 6'11" center Mike Walz of Richmond. Ironically, each of the four student-athletes to have played their entire career at one institution are post players.
 
- Redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards scored 10 points in a 92-80 win over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7) to reach exactly 1,000 points for his career. Named the 2023 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Edwards scored 722 in two seasons at George Washington before transferring to the Bluff and has scored 393 points in his time at Duquesne. He owns a career scoring average of 9.9 points in 113 games at the NCAA Division I level thanks to 1,115 points.
 
- The Dukes return home to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for a two-game homestand after their game with Loyola Chicago, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. tip vs. St. Bonaventure Wednesday, Jan. 28.
 
At The Helm – Dru Joyce III was named the 18th head coach in the 110-year history of Duquesne basketball March 28, 2024, and in his second year at the helm in 2025-26. He owns an overall record of 23-28 (.451) in his first head coaching job. Joyce III, a native of Akron, Ohio, spent two seasons as associate head coach for the Dukes under Keith Dambrot from 2022 to 2024, helping guide Duquesne to an overall record of 45-25 (.643), including a 20-16 (.556) mark in the Atlantic 10, during that span. The Dukes made an appearance in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) before earning the automatic bid for the A-10 in the 2024 NCAA Championship by winning four games in five days en route to the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship crown in Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Barclays Center. Duquesne, as a No. 11 seed, made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1977 and earned its first victory in the championship since 1969 thanks to a 71-67 win over No. 6 seed BYU in Omaha, Neb., at CHI Health Center Arena. 
 
Scouting the Ramblers – Saturday marks the 21st game between Duquesne and Loyola Chicago, with the Dukes owning a 13-7 (.650) advantage in the all-time series … The series dates back to a 29-13 Loyola win in Chicago, Ill., Dec. 11, 1929 … The two met 15 times between 1929 and 1962 and did not play again until two meetings in 1993 as conferences foes in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) in 1993 (DU's only non-A-10 season) … In last year's meeting at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, the Dukes closed the game with an 11-1 burst to earn a 69-56 victory over the Ramblers … Despite missing its first 11 shots of the second half, Duquesne shot 50 percent (13-for-26) from the floor after the break, closing by converting 13 of its final 15 shots … Four Dukes scored in double figures, including 11 from Cam Crawford and 10 points each from forwards David Dixon and Jakub Nečas … Crawford helped seal the win, as his three-pointer with 1:31 to go gave the Dukes a 66-55 lead.
 
Saint Louis Leftovers – The Billikens have won the last two meetings with the Dukes by a total of six points to knot the all-time series, 19-19 ... The two games during the regular season in the last two years featured 12 ties and 23 lead changes, including five ties and eight lead changes this season ... The contest against No. 24 Saint Louis marked the first time Duquesne hosted a ranked foe on campus since a four-point setback, 76-72, also to the Billikens, Jan. 22, 2014 ... SLU entered that game ranked 19th according to the Associated Press ... The Dukes held a 42-38 edge in rebounds, including a 17-9 advantage on the offensive glass ... Of the 10 rebounds for senior forward David Dixon, five were of the offensive variety ... Saint Louis shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field in the second half and 49.1 percent (28-for-57) overall.
 
On The Block – Senior forward David Dixon has been a rim protector for the Dukes since the schedule has switched to Atlantic 10 action. Despite an 81-77 loss to No. 24 Saint Louis (Jan. 20) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Dixon set a season-high with four blocks while also scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds. It marks the fifth time in six conference tilts he has logged at least three rejections. Dixon enters Saturday's game at Loyola Chicago with 17 blocks in six conference games, an average of 2.83 per game that ranks second in the A-10, trailing only Miles Rubin (2.90) of the Ramblers, who owns 20 rejections in seven contests. Dixon has also averaged 8.8 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent (16-for-28) from the field and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) at the free-throw line against conference foes. During that span, Dixon set a career-high with 13 rebounds in an 89-83 double overtime victory at Davidson (Dec. 30) to open Atlantic 10 play as well as recorded his second career double-double with a season-high 15 points and 12 boards at Saint Joseph's (Jan. 7). Overall this year Dixon is tied for fourth in the conference with an average of 1.42 blocks per game.
 
The Comet – Arguably turning into the most consistent scorer for the Dukes this season is junior guard Jimmie Williams. Williams has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games after garnering game-high honors for the second consecutive game with a career-high 28 points against No. 24 Saint Louis (Jan. 20). During that stretch, Williams has produced averages of 17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals per contest while shooting 52.9 percent (91-for-172) from the field and 84.1 percent (37-for-44) at the free-throw line. Williams, who was named the final Atlantic 10 Player of the Week (Dec. 29) of the 2025 calendar year, ranks 19th overall this season in the conference in field goal percentage at 50.5 percent (111-for-220). He also enters Saturday's contest having hit at least one three-pointer in each of his last 16 games. Meanwhile, since opening his Duquesne career just 2-for-7 at the free-throw line in the first three games of the year, Williams has converted 42 of his last 50 opportunities (84%).
 
Compare, Contrast – The starting backcourt of senior Tarence Guinyard and junior Jimmie Williams is reminiscent of a former Duquesne duo that also produced for the Dukes just two years ago. Through 19 games, Guinyard and Williams have combined to average 32.1 points per game, with Guinyard having scored one more point (305-to-304) than Williams this year. Through 19 games of the 2023-24 campaign, guards Dae Dae Grant (2022-24) and Jimmy Clark III (2022-24) combined to average 30.4 points per contest. Guinyard (16.1 ppg) and Williams (16.0 ppg) enter Saturday's game at Loyola Chicago ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Atlantic 10 in scoring while also owning the top two totals for Duquesne this year in assists and steals.
 
Distributor – Not only does senior guard Tarence Guinyard possess the ability to score the basketball, he's just as good at creating offense, as well. For the second time this season, Guinyard missed his first career double-double by just an assist in a 74-63 victory at Fordham (Jan. 17), scoring 11 points while matching a career high with nine assists. He also registered a career-high six steals in the win over the Rams. Guinyard originally established a career high in dimes with nine in a 103-59 victory over Canisius (Dec. 22), a game in which he also contributed 21 points. Duquesne is 8-1 (.889) this season when Guinyard posts at least six assists in a game, as the Dukes suffered their first loss of the year against Dayton (Jan. 13) when he handed out six dimes. When Guinyard finishes with five dimes or less, Duquesne is 2-8 (.200).
 
Three Ball, Corner Pocket – In a 74-64 win at Fordham (Jan. 17) that snapped a three-game slide, Duquesne finished 10-for-24 (41.7%) from beyond the arc as seven different players hit at least one three-pointer. The Dukes are 7-2 (.778) this season when draining at least 10 triples in a game and overall among Atlantic 10 leaders rank fourth in the conference with an average of 9.32 per contest. Arguably the most consistent shooter this season has been junior forward Jakub Nečas, who has picked his spots, converting 44.4 percent (12-for-27) of his attempts on the year. Guards Tarence Guinyard (2.11) and Jimmie Williams (2.00), meanwhile, enter Saturday's game at Loyola Chicago ranked 11th and 14th, respectively, in the A-10 in three-point field goals made per game.
 
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