NORTHERN ILLINOIS (1-0) at DUQUESNE (2-0)
Monday, Nov. 20, 2006 • 7:00 p.m. (EST)
A.J. Palumbo Center (6,200); Pittsburgh, Pa.
TELEVISION: None
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.RedZoneMedia.com
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2-0 DUKES HOST NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Duquesne (2-0), off to its best start since 2001-02, returns to action to face Northern Illinois (1-0) at 7:00 p.m. on Monday (KQV radio 1410 AM on the internet at RedZoneMedia.com).
The NIU game is the second of three games in six days for the Dukes who defeated UNC Asheville, 77-76, at home on Saturday night. DU will host Oakland on Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving.
Northern Illinois opened with an 84-69 home win over St. Mary’s (Minn.) on Nov. 15. Duquesne opened with an 81-75 home win over Youngstown State on Nov. 13.
THE SERIES
This is the first meeting between the Dukes and Huskies who are members of the Mid-American Conference.
MORE ON NIU
NIU returns two starters from last year’s 17-11 Mid-American Conference West champions ... the Huskies were picked to finish second in the MAC West Division in a preseason poll of league media ... Northern Illinois is led by 2005-06 MAC Defensive Player of the Year 6-11 senior center James Hughes ... Hughes, a first team preseason All-MAC pick this year, entered the season with the top career shooting percentage in NIU history ... six-four senior guard Mike McKinney is also back ... McKinney shot 54.2% in averaging 9.2 ppg. last season ... Hughes and McKinney led the way in Northern Illinois’ season-opening 84-69 win over St. Mary’s (Minn.) with 17 and 20 points respectively.
DUQUESNE LATELY
Duquesne accomplished an Atlantic 10 first by being the first team ever named A-10 “Player of the Week” on Nov. 19 ... DU was recognized for its season-opening wins over Youngstown State and UNC Asheville
The Dukes are currently competing with eight scholarship players - one of whom is over 6-6 DU received a boost when JC guard Gary Tucker was declared eligible for Saturday’s game vs. UNCA ... Tucker, who hadn’t practiced with the team for over two weeks, came off the bench to play 16 minutes vs. the Bulldogs
6-6 freshman Scott Grote, who has led the Dukes in scoring in their first two games, hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to give DU a 77-76 win over UNC Asheville on Saturday ... Grote, who came to DU as a guard/forward, has seen the majority of his playing time at center Sophomore Aaron Jackson, who averaged 3.2 rebounds per game last season, has posted back-to-back double-doubles in DU’s first two games (12-11 vs. YSU and 15-10 vs. UNCA).
THREE IN A ROW?
DU’s 2-0 start is its best since 2001-02 when Danny Nee’s Dukes opened with back-to-back wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore and Vermont (in OT) on the way to a 9-19 season. The last DU team to start 3-0 was the 1998-99 Dukes who defeated Albany, West Virginia and Buffalo under first-year head coach Darelle Porter. The ‘99 Dukes finished 5-23.
JUST HOW HAVE THEY DONE IT?
How has a Duquesne team that has a total of 14 new players (including those injured and transfers) managed to win its first two games? A balanced offense combined with an opportunisitic defense.
The Dukes, who are averaging 79.0 points per game, have assisted on 66.7 percent of their field goals (36-of-54). As a result, a minimum of five players have scored in double figures in each of the Dukes first two games. Defensively, DU has outscored its opponents 44-22 in points off turnovers including a +17 margin vs. Youngstown State (21-4) and +5 margin vs. UNC Asheville (23-18).
TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY THERE
With two wins, Duquesne is two-thirds of the way to matching last season’s win total (3-24). The Dukes have already matched the number of home wins (2-13) produced by last year’s squad.
A NEW FACE
This is the first season at Duquesne for head coach Ron Everhart who was hired on March 29. Everhart, in his 13th season as a head coach (176-172, .506), turned around programs at McNeese State and Northeastern prior to accepting the Duquesne job. Everhart inherited a Duquesne program that is coming off a 3-24 season (ranked 308 in the final RPI). Of the 334 programs that competed at the Division I level last season only two - Savannah State at 2-28 and Jacksonville at 1-26 - had fewer wins than Duquesne. Everhart brought his entire Northeastern coaching staff to the Bluff: assistant coaches Kim Lewis, Richard Pitino and Daryn Freedman along with director of basketball operations Anthony Serro. In addition to the new staff, Everhart also retooled the DU roster, bringing in a total of 14 new players (including transfers and preferred walk-ons) in his first five months on the job.
FOUR IN A ROW AT PALUMBO
This is just the third time in the past 30 years that a Duquesne team is opening the season with four consecutive home games (2003-04 and 1986-87 were the others). After finishing the season-opening, four-game homestand, the Dukes will pack their bags as eight of the next nine will be on the road. In the seven-week span between Nov. 22 and Jan. 10, DU will have just one home game (Dec. 9 vs. West Virginia).
YOU AGAIN?
Duquesne, which had never faced Northern Illinois prior to this season, is making up for lost time as the Dukes will face NIU twice in the span of six days in a rare home-and-home non-conference series (Nov. 20 at home & Nov. 25 away). The last time Duquesne played a non-conference home-and-home series was 1968-69 vs. Saint Francis, Pa. The last time DU played a non-conference foe twice in the same year was 1993-94 (Charlotte in a regular-season road game and in the first round of the NIT at the Palumbo Center).
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | G/GS | Hometown | Quick Facts
| 23 | F | Robert Mitchell | 6-6 | Fr. | 13.5 | 8.5 | 2/2 | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 9 & 8 rebounds in DU’s first two games (8.5 rpg. avg.)
| | 30 | F | Scott Grote | 6-6 | Fr. | 20.5 | 6.0 | 2/2 | Centerville, Ohio
| Team’s leading scorer in each of first two g. (23 & 18)
| | 31 | F | Stephen Wood | 6-3 | Fr. | 7.5 | 1.0 | 2/1 | S. Jamaica Queens, N.Y. | Went 6-of-10 from 3-point arc in exhibition play
| | 1 | G | Aaron Jackson | 6-2 | So. | 13.5 | 10.5 | 2/2 | Hartford, Conn. | Has back-to-back double-doubles in DU’s two games
| | 3 | G | Reggie Jackson | 5-10 | Jr. | 10.5 | 0.0 | 2/2 | Hogansville, Ga. | Team-high 10 assists in two games (four turnovers)
| |
OFF THE BENCH
| 20 | G | Phillip Fayne | 6-2 | So. | 10.5 | 2.0 | 2/1 | Carbondale, Ill. | Started and scored 10 points in 33 mintues vs. UNCA
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| 50 | C | Almamy Thiero | 6-9 | Gr. | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2/0 | Mali, West Africa | Coming back from Oct. 9 arthroscopic knee surgery
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| 22 | G | Gary Tucker | 6-0 | Jr. | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1/0 | Pensacola, Fla. | Saw first action of the season against UNC, Asheville
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| 4 | G | Jimmy Sherwood | 6-1 | Fr. | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1/0 | Sharon, Mass. | Preferred walk-on played eight min. in two exhib. games
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| 2 | F | Kieron Achara | 6-10 | Jr. | ---- | ---- | 0/0 | Stirling, Scotland | Out indefinitely with stress fractures in left foot
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