Where: CONSOL Energy Center
Radio: WHIO-AM (1290), WHIO-FM (95.7)
TV: None
Series: UD leads 43-19
Probable starters
| Dayton | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos. | Cl. | Ht. | Avg. |
| C. Wright | F | Sr. | 6-8 | 13.4 |
| C. Johnson | F | Jr. | 6-6 | 12.2 |
| D. Searcy | C | Sr. | 6-10 | 4.4 |
| P. Williams | G | Jr. | 6-4 | 9.0 |
| J. Staten | G | Fr. | 6-0 | 8.8 |
| DUQUESNE | ||||
| Player | Pos. | Cl. | Ht. | Avg. |
| B. Monteiro | F | Jr. | 6-5 | 11.2 |
| B. Clark | F | Sr. | 6-5 | 17.3 |
| D. Saunders | F | Sr. | 6-7 | 12.6 |
| T. McConnell | G | Fr. | 6-0 | 11.3 |
| M. Talley | G | Fr. | 5-10 | 7.8 |
About the Flyers
Chris Wright has 1,408 career points and passed Hall of Famer Garry Roggenburk (1959-62) and Brooks Hall (1999-2003) to move into 21st place on the all-time UD list by tallying 22 against Richmond on Tuesday. Next up is Mark Ashman, who had 1,449 points and was inducted into the Hall this year. Wright is three blocks away from tying the program record of 139 set by Sean Finn (2004) ... Chris Johnson had his streak of 12 straight double-figure games snapped in the Richmond loss. ... The Flyers are second in the league in field-goal-percentage defense (39.9) but last in field-goal shooting (40.0). ... They’ve been strong on the boards, leading the A-10 in rebound margin per game (plus-6.0). They’re second in offensive rebounds (14.1 per outing). ... Juwan Staten broke the UD freshman record for assists set by Negele Knight (1985-90) and leads the league in assists (6.5) and assist-turnover ratio (2.8-1.0). Staten will be facing his primary competition for the A-10’s top newcomer in the Dukes’ T.J. McConnell. Both have won four rookie of the week awards this season. ... UD has split its last 10 meetings with the Dukes.
About the Dukes
Duquesne didn’t notch any notable nonleague wins, but the team is 9-0 since junior guard Eric Evans returned from a foot injury. ... McConnell became the first Duquesne player to tally double-figure assists since 1993 by getting 10 in a 91-72 road win against Fordham on Wednesday. He’s in the top-five in the A-10 in four categories: first in steals (2.9), second in assist-turnover ratio (2.6-1.0), third in assists (4.7) and fifth in field-goal percentage (53.2). ... Bill Clark has hit five or more 3-pointers four times and is shooting 41.1 percent from the arc. The Dukes shot just 26.1 percent on 3s last season but are at 38.3 this year. ... Damian Saunders is the school’s all-time leader in blocks and steals. ... The Dukes are the league’s highest-scoring team at 81.8 points per game. Their Achilles’ heel has been rebounding. They’re getting out-boarded by about one per game.
FYI
The Dukes were a national power in the 1950s and had several clashes with great UD teams then, but they’ve been beyond awful for much of their history in the A-10. They’ve finished higher than fifth only once since winning consecutive crowns in 1979-80 and ’80-81, coming in fourth in the West Division in ’82-83. They never won more than 12 games from 1994-2007.
Quote
Duquesne coach Ron Everhart on his team’s success so far: “Our whole philosophy from day one is it’s all about wearing a hard hat and work clothes to practice every day and not getting too excited if things are good and not getting too down if things are bad.”
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