Dukes look to halt Cougars’ up-tempo offense
For the first time in 47 years, the Duquesne men’s basketball team is in the NCAA tournament. The Dukes won four games in the Atlantic 10 tournament, including a win against thenNo. 24 Dayton, to win the conference tournament championship.
Those four wins are part of an eight-game winning streak that started on Feb. 28 against La Salle.
It’s been a busy weekend for Duquesne, which played the A-10 championship for the first time since 2009. In addition, coach Keith Dambrot announced his retirement on Monday, which will happen after the season concludes.
The Dukes earned an 11seed and will play sixthseeded BYU at 12:40 p.m. Thursday. The game will be televised on TruTV.
Top storyline
BYU has a frontcourt consisting of two 6-foot-11 players, Noah Waterman and Aly Khalifa. While Duquesne has a standout backcourt in Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III, their big-man action hasn’t been very consistent. That will need to change if the Dukes want to succeed against the Cougars.
One of Duquesne’s starting forwards, Tre Williams, has been ruled out for Thursday’s game. He averaged only 2.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 19 minutes per game but is arguably their most physical player down low. Stepping in for him has been a committee of players, including Fousseyni Drame, Jakub Necas, Halil Barre and Matus Hronsky.
Necas has been a bit of a difference maker for the Dukes over the semifinals and finals of the A-10 tournament. He scored eight points against St. Bonaventure and VCU — a mark he had reached only once. He’s averaging 2.3 rebounds over the past three games. His steal and eventual 3-pointer against the Rams are credited as game-changing plays that allowed them to win the tournament championship.
Starting five-man Dusan Mahorcic has been a key rebounder with Williams’ injury. Over the past three games, he’s averaged 3.6 grabs per game. Duquesne will also continue to lean on David Dixon, who comes off the bench to average a third-best 7.1 points per game, 4.8 blocks and a team-high 1.6 blocks, which ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10.
Key players
Dae Dae Grant: The Atlantic 10 tournament MVP is coming off a team-high 10 points in their victory against VCU. He leads the Dukes in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game. He is fourth in the NCAA in free throw percentage, shooting 93.9% at the line. He burns the most time on the Dukes, averaging 32.8 minutes a game as the workhorse for the team.
Jimmy Clark III: Duquesne’s maestro of the defense will need to be even more dominant to stop BYU’s fast-paced offense. He averages 2.8 steals per game and leads a Dukes defense that holds teams to 41.9% shooting overall and 31.7% from 3-point range. He was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Defense team after leading the league in steals.
Behind enemy lines
Head coach: Mark Pope
KenPom ranking: 16
NET ranking: 12
Projected starting five (points, rebounds, assists): Noah Waterman, 6-11, senior (9.7, 5.5, 1.3); Spencer Johnson, 6-5, redshirt junior (10.3, 6.0, 3.3); Trevin Knell, 6-4, sophomore (10.9, 3.4, 1.3); Dallin Hall, 6-4, sophomore (9.0, 3.6, 5.0); Aly Khalifa, 6-11, junior (5.3, 3.8, 4.1).
The scoop
BYU is a battle-tested team. The Cougars have made their mark in the Big 12, finishing fifth in the conference. They have notable wins in the Big 12 — which is widely considered the best league in the nation this year — against Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas, TCU and Texas. BYU also has wins against NCAA tournament teams San Diego State and N.C. State.
The Cougars’ bread and butter is on the offensive end. They rank second in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 81.8 points per game. BYU is one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to assists. It averages 18.6, which is tied with Arizona for second. Dallin Hall leads the team with 5.0 assists, Aly Khalifa adds 4.1 and Spencer Johnson 3.3.
Coming off the bench is Jaxson Robinson, who leads the team with 13.8 points per game. BYU has seven players who average nine or more points. Trevin Knell, Fousseyni Traore and Spencer Johnson average 10 or more.
The Cougars are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation. Not only do they average 32.2 attempts per game, but they make 11.2 per game for a 3-point shooting percentage of 34.8%.
“It’s kind of a game of contrasting styles, I would say,” Jake DiMichaele said. “They’re a very up-tempo team. They like to score the ball at a high rate, and we hang our hat on the defensive end. It should be interesting. I feel like the key to the game is trying to get them to play our style and not fall into their style of play.”