Pittsburgh—On November 19-21st, Duquesne will host three teams in a round robin sub-regional tournament that is part of the Progressive Legends Classic. The sub-regional will feature two games each day, with 4:30 PM and 7:00 PM start times. Duquesne is scheduled to play in the 7:00 PM game all three days. James Madison, North Dakota State and Youngstown State will all be participating in the tournament.
The sub-regional that will take place at the A.J. Palumbo Center this week is one of two similar round robin “mini tournaments” that will be going on within the Legends Classic this week. Another sub-regional event will be going on in Huntsville, Texas (hosted by Sam Houston State) the same three days. The Legends Classic began last Sunday when the Georgetown Hoyas hosted Duquesne in the Washington, D.C. regional. The other regional rounds (Bloomington (Ind.), Los Angeles (Calif.), and Athens, (Ga.)) came to a close last Thursday. The four host schools (Georgetown, Indiana, UCLA, and Georgia) will play in a championship round at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn on November 19th and 20th.
In its first five years, the Progressive Legends Classic has featured seven teams that would eventually advance to the Sweet Sixteen or farther. This group includes the 2009 Pitt team that went all the way to the Elite Eight. This year’s field looks strong again, with the likes of No. 1 Indiana and No. 13 UCLA in the mix.
The Duquesne Dukes are set to square off against CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) opponent James Madison on Monday in what will be their home opener. Duquesne is 88-8 all-time in the first home game of the season, but James Madison has won the only two meetings between these two teams. The visiting Dukes (yes, James Madison is the only other D-1 program with the nickname “Dukes”) return four starters from last year’s 12-20 squad that was wracked by injuries. JMU ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA last year in 3-pointers per game (7.8).
North Dakota State also returns four starters and is coming off a 17-14 season last year. Summit League Newcomer of the Year Lawrence Alexander is among these returning starters. Youngstown State went 16-15 last season, but is coming off a 68-56 road victory over Georgia in a regional round of the Legends Classic.
The Dukes should see some solid non-conference competition this week, which is what pre-season tournaments are for. Although they will certainly count toward the team’s overall record, these games will be a good opportunity for Duquesne to fine tune some things before they head into the meat of the season.
Photo Credits: Duquesne
