Duquesne Dukes
Date: Saturday February 7th, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM ET
Venue: UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (Pittsburgh, PA)
TV: ESPN+
Ranks: 114th (KenPom), 115th (Bart Torvik), 113th (Haslametrics), 108th (EvanMiya), 132nd (Sports Illustrated)
2024-25 Record: 13-19, 8-10 (9th in A10)
2025-26 Projected Record: 17-14, 9-9 (T-7th in A10)
NET Ranking: 133rd (Q2 Game)

Head-to-Head: 55-37, although Duquesne has won the last three matchups. In those games, GW has scored just 67, 65, and 65 points. Assuming Slim remains out for another week, it feels like GW will fall somewhere in that ballpark again.

In last year's game at home, GW fell 73-65. Duquesne took a decisive 13 point lead into halftime behind some very strong shooting. In the first half, they knocked down seven threes and shot 50% from the field. On the other hand, the Revs were just 2/7 from downtown and 33% from the field. The home team never really got it going offensively after halftime, but it certainly helped that the Dukes cooled down quite a bit, shooting just 35% in the final 20 minutes. GW managed to cut the deficit to one with just over five minutes to go and the game remained within one possession even in the final stretch of the game. Unfortunately, missed free throws and shots did the team in, as GW scored just one point in the last 2.5 minutes. Max Edwards had a revenge game in his return to DC, leading the Dukes with 22 points in just 17 minutes off the bench. Tre added 12 points. For GW, Slim led all scorers with a double-double (27 points, 13 rebounds) while Gerald and Trey pitched in 10 points apiece.

The most recent game in Pittsburgh ended up being the regular season finale for both teams during the 2023-24 season. Unlike last year's game, neither team really took control of the game. Duquesne never led by more than eight points. In what was a rough season for GW, the Revs played as well as you could have expected against a Duquesne squad that not only made the NCAA tournament, but ended up winning a game as well. The Revs shot 37% from 3 in the game. JB ended up making a jumper to tie the game at 65 with 42 seconds left. GW got Duquesne to miss on the next play, but unfortunately were not able to come up with the loose ball before it fell out of bounds which allowed the Dukes to keep possession. Duquesne got the home whistle on the next play, and a foul was called with 2 seconds left. Tre Clark III knocked down the FTs to seal the game. Part of the reason the call was tough was that not many fouls were called all game. The two teams combined to commit just 20 fouls and attempt 20 FTs. Anyways, that's not really a game I wanted to remember with all the recent struggles being able to close games. Jun led the way with 19 points/7 rebounds, JB added 17 points (although it was on 18 shots) and Max had 12 points off the bench.

Offensive Efficiency: 130th (KenPom), 129th (Bart Torvik), 123rd (Haslametrics), 123rd (EvanMiya)
Defensive Efficiency: 115th (KenPom), 120th (Bart Torvik), 131st (Haslametrics), 111th (EvanMiya)
Pace: 51st (KenPom), 44th (Bart Torvik), 69th (Haslametrics), 65th (EvanMiya)
Offensive Shot Quality Rank: 107th
Defensive Shot Quality Rank: 134th
Rim & 3 Rate: 90% (25th)

Strengths (2025-26 Season):
Fastbreak Points: 14.43 PPG (45th; 2nd in A10)
Effective Field Goal Percentage: 55.4% (47th; 2nd in A10)
Assists Per Game: 16.6 APG (52nd; 2nd in A10)
Field Goal Percentage: 47.5% (64th; 3rd in A10)
Scoring Offense: 82.3 PPG (65th; 4th in A10)
Three Pointers Per Game: 9.4 3PM/G (67th; 4th in A10)
Three Point Attempts Per Game: 26.5 3PA (75th; 4th in A10)
Steals Per Game: 7.9 SPG (81st; 3rd in A10)
Three Point Percentage: 35.6% (88th; 7th in A10)
Free Throw Attempts Per Game: 22.9 FTA (91st; 4th in A10)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 25.96 DRPG (98th; 4th in A10)

Weaknesses (2025-26 Season):
Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 TO/G (315th; 14th in A10)
Fouls Per Game: 20.3 PF/G (346th; 14th in A10)

Projected Starting Lineup:
#1 G Tarence Guinyard (Senior; Tampa, FL) - 16.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg; 44% FG, 33% 3-PT, 74% FT per 28.3 mpg/32 GP at UT-Martin last season
#0 G Brandon Hall (RS Junior; Chicago, IL) - 16.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.4 spg; 42% Fg, 27% 3-PT, 71% FT per 31.8 mpg/18 GP at Howard College (JUCO) during 2023-24 season
#3 G Jimmie Williams (Junior; Solon, OH) - 7.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.2 spg; 46% FG, 40% 3-PT, 75% FT per 18.3 mpg/30 GP at South Florida last season
#2 F David Dixon (Senior; Memphis, TN) - 5.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.4 bpg; 54% FG, 27% 3-PT, 64% FT per 18.3 mpg/32 GP at Duquesne last season
#9 F Jakub Nečas (Junior; Blansko, Czechia) - 6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 apg; 39% FG, 25% 3-PT, 71% FT per 23.9 mpg/29 GP at Duquesne last season

Key Bench Players:
#4 F John Hugley IV (Graduate Student; Cleveland, OH) - 2.9 ppg, 2 rpg; 47% FG, 50% 3-PT, 60% FT per 10 mpg/34 GP at Xavier last season
#6 F Alex Williams (Graduate Student; Dayton, OH) - 13.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1 apg; 44% FG, 40% 3-PT, 76% FT per 26.9 mpg/25 GP at Furman during 2023-24 season
#22 G Maximus Edwards (RS Junior; Stratford, CT) - 8.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.1 apg; 44% FG, 31% 3-PT, 75% FT per 19.8 mpg/32 GP at Duquesne last season
#5 G Cam Crawford (RS Junior; Birmingham, AL) - 8.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.1 apg; 45% FG, 43% 3-PT, 79% FT per 23.1 mpg/29 GP at Duquesne last season
#44 G Jake DiMichele (RS Sophomore; McKees Rocks, PA) - 10.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1 spg; 50% FG, 32% 3-PT, 61% FT per 24.3 mpg/7 GP at Duquesne last season

Key Losses:
Tre Dinkins (Transferred to George Washington; Chester, PA) - 12.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.1 apg; 41% FG, 38% 3-PT, 78% FT per 29.1 mpg/32 GP
Jahsean Corbett (Graduated; Orlando, FL) - 8.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.7 apg; 42% FG, 26% 3-PT, 44% FT per 25.5 mpg/31 GP
Kareem Rozier (Transferred to Winthrop; Detroit, MI) - 6.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.1 spg; 34% FG, 32% 3-PT, 71% FT per 26.7 mpg/32 GP
Matúš Hronský (Transferred to Portland; Poruba, Slovakia) - 5.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg; 37% FG, 35% 3-PT, 75% FT per 16.9 mpg/32 GP
Eli Wilborn (Transferred to James Madison; Middletown, CT) - 5 ppg, 3.5 rpg; 59% FG, 52% FT per 12.8 mpg/28 GP

Preview:
Duquesne took a major leap of faith last season. Following the retirement of Keith Dambrot, who coached 22 seasons at the D1 level between Central Michigan, Akron, and Duquesne, top assistant coach Dru Joyce III took over. Going into last year, Duquesne had more momentum than they've seen in decades. Not many coaches can say they went out on top, but Dambrot certainly did by making the big dance in his final year at his dad's alma mater and knocking off BYU in the first round.

Joyce's promotion is nowhere near as bad as the time GW promoted Mojo back in 2016, but when he got the HC job his collegiate experience as an assistant coach was definitely on the lighter side for an A-10 level gig. The Akron native spent three seasons at Cleveland State and just two at Duquesne, although he was the top assistant when he was promoted. There's no doubt that Dambrot had a major say in who took over, and Duquesne really couldn't ignore his wishes given the magical season in 2023-24. I mentioned back in the Davidson preview that the Wildcats internally promoted partly to appease Steph Curry. He may have contributed to the program regardless, but the amount may have been less without a McKillop in charge. For Duquesne, Joyce not only played under Dambrot in both HS and college, but he was teammates with LeBron and they remain good friends to this day. Ahead of the 2024 NCAA tournament, James gifted all the Duquesne players new sneakers and I wouldn't be surprised if he's currently helping out Joyce a bit on the NIL front.

November 2024 was not a kind month to Duquesne as Joyce was just starting out as head honcho. The Dukes lost their first six games of the season, although three of those games were by just two possessions. To his credit, Joyce settled in a bit in December, going 5-2 with some big wins over Towson and UC Irvine. In conference play, Duquesne raced out to a 4-1 start, but hit another skid late in January. After that point, they were unable to win more than two games in a row and finished the year with three losses in a row. They were bounced by St. Bonaventure in their first game of the tournament. Things have been a bit better this year, as Duquesne went 8-5 in non-conference games. The Villanova, Boise State, and Nevada games were not unexpected losses since they were all away from home but I'm sure they'd want the losses to a couple CAA foes in Northeastern and William & Mary back. The loss to the Tribe came at home.

Joyce did attempt to maintain the DNA of the 2023-24 Duquesne squad when he took over. The Dukes did not play particularly fast last season and they dug in defensively. Offensively, it wasn't a particularly potent unit. The Dukes struggled to take care of the ball and finish shots, particularly inside the arc. Since they settled for jumpers, getting to the FT line wasn't emphasized. That may have been a good thing, because Duquesne shot under 65% from the charity stripe when they did. That was tenth worst in the nation. Three point shooting from guys like Tre Dinkins and crashing the glass on offense was their best bet to put points on the board. They were also able to generate some offense by turning other teams over (45th in defensive turnover percentage). Finishing inside the arc proved to be challenging for opponents, as Duquesne was top 100 in both defensive 2P percentage and block percentage. Honestly, they were probably a tad unlucky with opponent three point shooting. Only 36% of opponent attempts came from distance, but teams made 36% of their threes when they did take them, which was 307th nationally. One of the byproducts of playing an aggressive defense though is fouling a lot - the Dukes were 323rd in defensive FT rate last year.

This year's team is better offensively, and Joyce has cranked up the tempo quite a bit (51st in tempo, per KenPom). Ball control remains a problem, but they are finishing inside the arc better and getting to the line a lot more. The three point shooting on the roster is also a better fit for the Joyce system which prioritizes that shot (59th in attempt percentage this season). The offensive rebounding isn't quite as good as last season but it's otherwise a better team on that side of the ball. Interestingly, the regression in offensive rebounding has come with an improvement in defensive rebounding, but the interior defense isn't quite as elite as it was last year. The Dukes continue to struggle with fouling, as they rank 310th in defensive free throw rate.

The Dukes have a solid nucleus returning, although most of them actually come off the bench. In the backcourt, they bring back Jake DiMichele, Cam Crawford, and Maximus Edwards.

DiMichele, a former walk-on, first burst onto the scene back in 2023-24. He is mediocre from behind the arc over his career (31%) and prior to this season was not particularly good from the FT line either (although he doesn't get there particularly often). While the numbers don't pop out, he does the little things well. In last week's games against Mason and URI, he averaged 7.5 ppg - both wins.

Crawford began his career at Indiana State in Josh Schertz's first year. He then sat out all of 2022-23 and played the following season at Marshall, where he got more shot attempts but saw his efficiency plummet. He's re-found his three point stroke in his time at Duquesne (39%) but is just 10/17 from the FT line this year for some reason. Crawford has largely been a starter this season, but Joyce has opted to bring him of the bench in recent contests. He is capable of explosions, but has been quiet lately. Following a 16 point performance against Fordham, he's scored just 16 points in the last five games combined. Crawford had 9 points/6 rebounds in last year's matchup, although he also turned it over five times.

I'm a bit surprised that Max is playing this year after he was charged with simple assault back in August. I guess the charges were dropped. Edwards missed both of Duquesne's games last week, which I assume is due to injury. He had a quiet January, averaging just 3.9 ppg with just one double figure game scoring in seven games played. Of course, that probably matters little when he sees GW on the court if last year is any indication.

Wing Alex Williams is technically a returner as well. He missed all of last year due to a knee injury after transferring in from Furman. He will provide floor spacing as a career 39% three point shooter and also provides a touch of rebounding. Williams comes off the bench for Duquesne this year, but made a major impact last week, totaling 37 points in two games. Overall, he's 6/13 from distance in his last three games, so GW will need to be aware of where he is on the court. Williams does struggle a bit defensively, sporting a -0.86 DBPR on EvanMiya (weakest on team). Another 6'5" player in Brandon Hall also missed last year due to an injury at his last stop. At his JUCO, Hall put up points, but wasn't the most efficient and played on just an okay team. He's entered the starting lineup for the Dukes over the last couple weeks. Hall has shown the ability to make an open three but his efficiency inside the arc is quite brutal (just 3/16 on the year) and has a -1.47 OBPR on EvanMiya which is far and away the weakest on the team. He's mostly a low-usage option who sees roughly 12 minutes a game.

Up front, the Dukes return program pillars Jakub Nečas and David Dixon. Both players have spent their entire careers with Duquesne, something you don't see a lot of nowadays. Nečas gained notoriety during Duquesne's 2023-24 run, making some big plays in the A10 tournament semis and championship. He put up 12 points in the first round of the NCAA tournament against BYU. He's a good rebounder (leads the team at 5.7 rpg) and is having a career best year offensively this season, shooting 55% from the field and 47% from deep. The Czechia native ran into a bit of foul trouble in the last two games he's played, fouling out against St. Bonaventure and committing four personals against URI. He sat out their last game against Mason and is questionable for tomorrow. In last year's game against GW, he scored 8 points/had 5 rebounds.

Dixon provides some rim protection for the team, having blocked 163 shots in his college career. This season, he is 88th nationally in blocks per game. Offensively, he can provide a couple buckets near the rim but is only a career 21% from behind the arc. Like Nečas, Dixon is a fairly good presence on the glass when he's playing. The Tennessee native has been a full-time starter during conference play and is coming off an important 13 point, 7 rebound performance in a win against George Mason. He came off the bench against GW last year, putting up six points and blocking five shots.

A trio of portalers have played big roles for Duquesne this year. Tarence Guinyard has played at a high level this season despite taking a sizable jump in competition from the OVC. He's benefitted from having better talent around him, which has allowed him to improve his three point shooting to 39%. The Tampa native is a bit streaky as a shooter though. He's had five games this year where he's made 5+ triples, but also has games like in his last two where he combined to go 3/13. At his best, he gets to the rim where he's really hard to stop and contributes on the boards, setting up the offense (42nd in assists in the country, which leads the A10), and being a pest defensively along the perimeter. During conference play, Guinyard has scored in double figures in all but one game thus far (against Dayton). Against St. Bonaventure, he posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists. It's worth pointing out that he missed their last game against GMU. I don't get the sense that it's a long-term injury but he may be questionable tomorrow.

Like Guinyard, Jimmie Williams has also started every contest for the Dukes. The South Florida transfer attended the same HS as Sincere Carry (Solon HS) who played on the team several seasons ago. Williams may be the most important player on the team although he prefers to be more of a complementary player. He's an excellent three point shooter (38% at the D1 level), rebounds well defensively, can provide a bit of playmaking, and leads the team in steals (1.7 spg). There's only been two games all year where he hasn't scored in double figures. Over the last few weeks, he's alternated good and bad shooting performances from 3. Unfortunately, the last game was one of the bad ones against Mason (1/5) so hopefully that pattern gets broken tomorrow.

Perhaps the biggest enigma on the roster is Cleveland native John Hugley IV, who is on to his sixth year of college basketball after stops at Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, and Xavier before returning to the city where he made a name for himself. The 2021-22 version of him at Pitt is probably not coming back, but when his head is on right he can still be a major presence down low for the team, crashing the glass and putting up points for the team. The big fella can even step out a bit, making a respectable 9/28 (32%) of triples on the year. Back in December, he was suspended and ended up being away from action for over a month. He's come off the bench upon returning but has played less and has scored in double figures just once (against St. Bonaventure). Still, given GW's challenges up front he figures to pose a major threat.

Finally, a trio of players in Dom Aekins, Lazar Milošević, and Stef van Bussel may see action depending on other player availability. Aekins is an undersized freshman, cut from a similar cloth as the now departed Kareem Rozier. He's not much of a shooter but is fairly decent getting to the rim. Aekins is yet to score in conference play. Milošević, another freshman, hails from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has a nice touch near the rim and can rebound but his range is somewhat limited right now. Bussel returns to the A10 after beginning his career at SLU. He redshirted at Charleston last season and is a bit raw right now. Still, he's a career 21/30 from the field (70%) which is better than nothing. It never hurts to have an extra big man - especially in a case when one of your starters goes down with an injury.

Honestly, there's not really a lot to like about this matchup compared to Fordham and St. Joe's. Duquesne has had GW's number recently, and there's not much evidence to suggest that the Revs can limit their strengths and take advantage of their weaknesses. On offense, the Dukes will be able to get whatever they want, especially down low with superior size and strength. They can also live at the free throw line and will have plenty of good looks from deep. GW may be able to turn them over on occasion, but that's about all they can do defensively. Guinyard will be able to get into the lane without trouble if he's able to play. On the other side of the ball, GW may have a lot of one and done possessions going up against a team good at defensive rebounding. Duquesne is decent but not as intimidating inside the arc as the last two teams GW has faced, so hopefully the shot diet is a bit more balanced. Their biggest weakness defensively is fouling and putting teams on the line but GW doesn't figure to take advantage of that. Outside of Slim, this team seems allergic when it comes to getting to the line. I expect Tre to come out motivated, but at this point it's just playing the waiting game until Slim is able to get back out there.

Projected Score: GW 82, Duquesne 81. 51% chance to win (KenPom). Bart Torvik forecasts a 46% chance at a W. ESPN predicts a 57.3% chance for GW to move to 14-10.
 

Excellent preview, as always.
If past is any guide, Edwards or Dinkins or both will have big games against their former 
teams.
  We're really due for a good shooting game and a win.
  Would feel it, but GW fan.

Shooting close to 43% and a rebounding margin and still tied.
See if they fall in the second half.
Playing well in some of our weak points.
But Echo GW0509's lack of confidence.

Need Dinkins to wake up against his former team

Need to get a stop when we take the lead.  We keep going up by 1 and then giving up an easy bucket at the other end.

Let's see if Caputo can coach us to a win in these final minutes

Close game. No prob for us.

GW0509 wrote:

Let's see if Caputo can coach us to a win in these final minutes

Looking like a no...

Free Quebec wrote:

Inside of 5 minutes, we missed 2 threes but got the offensive boards, but then turned it over.  And missed another three.   At the other end, dukes hit a prayer three and got 2 layups (one of which they missed).

And as I’m typing we miss two shots point blank.

This team just can’t close. Am I missing the adjustments that are being made? Caputo reminds me of Hobbs in that it’s all about the team’s decision making on the floor. There are no sets. No offensive or defensive changes that make it easier for GWor harder for the opponent

Last edited by FredD (2/07/2026 4:05 pm)

No Mas. No Mas.