Duquesne (5-7, 0-1) prepares to face Saint Joseph’s (6-6, 0-1) in their Atlantic 10 home opener game tonight at 7:00 pm ET at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
Both teams are reeling from Saturday losses: the Dukes are coming off an 81-55 loss at Dayton and the Hawks look to rebound from a 64-60 George Washington home loss.
Saint Joseph’s is the defending Atlantic 10 champions, picked to finish 8th in the preseason poll of league coaches. The Hawks, however, began the week as the second-lowest scoring team in the Atlantic 10 with 61.0 ppg, and are ranked last in the conference in field goal percentage (.405) and 3-point percentage (.264).
Duquesne’s junior guards Derrick Colter and Micah Mason form the nation’s second-best 3-point shooting backcourt, based on NCAA minimums, at .477, next to Hofstra’s Tanksley and Bernardi (.485).
This is the 51st game between the two schools in a series dating back to 1938. Saint Joseph’s leads the series 38-12, boasting a 15-8 advantage in games played at Pittsburgh. Saint Joseph’s has won the past four meetings by single-digit margins, winning three of the past seven meetings in OT.
The game will be covered by the Atlantic 10 Digital Network (http://www.atlantic10.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=31600&mid=80312), iHeartRadio, WJAS 1320 AM, 3WS H2, and streaming Red Zone Media (http://www.redzonemedia.com/viewschedule.asp?sportID=2&SchoolID=52).
