In the 84th meeting against Pittsburgh (4-1) this evening, Duquesne (6-1) plans to focus on defense and rebounding to outpace the Panthers.
“Right now we’re playing really well, and I think that starts on the defensive end,” said Micah Mason, Duquesne senior guard. “Every game that we’ve won so far we’ve got stops. We picked up two big wins in Florida, and it was all about defense. I think this is the most confidence we’ve had going into a Pitt game.”
The Panthers, coming off a No. 11 Purdue 72-59 loss at home Tuesday night, lead the series 52-31.
The Dukes host Pitt after a 91-77 home win over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday.
Duquesne head coach Jim Ferry said his team last season failed to get over the hump, falling behind the Panthers by 6 points with six and a half minutes left in regulation.
“Hopefully we can defend as well as we’ve been defending — actually I think we need to defend even better,” Ferry said. “It’s going to come down to defending and rebounding. If we can defend and rebound with these guys, then we’ll give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
Derrick Colter, senior guard for the Dukes, said speed is his team’s strength.
“We have a lot of speed and quickness,” Colter said. “They’re slower than us and we can push the tempo on them a lot—especially in transition—and get open threes and open shots for everybody else.”
Darius Lewis, junior center for Duquesne, said the Dukes look to improve upon last year’s season.
“Being a part of this program where we’ve lost the past couple of years — that’s somebody that you want to beat,” Lewis said.
CBSSN will broadcast the City Game at 7:00 p.m.
