Atlantic 10 Basketball: Bonnies on top heading into conference tournament

9. Duquesne Dukes

• 2020-21 record: 8-8 overall, 7-7 A-10
• Previous ranking: 8th

COVID-19 pauses have not been kind to the Dukes, who – at the time of the last rankings’ publication – were coming off three-straight A-10 wins to claim an overall and conference winning record, but were in the middle of a pause.  Since returning, Duquesne endured back-to-back losses for the first time since mid-January, but are most recently coming off a rebound win.

The one loss – a seven-point loss at Richmond – is understandable, but the Dukes also suffered a 20-point setback at La Salle, in a game where Duquesne mustered just 0.88 points per possession despite earning 23 points from Marcus Weathers.  The Dukes enter the postseason now with some optimism, however, having just recently usurped URI, 86-75.

Four different players in the starting lineup reached double-figures in the completion of a season sweep over URI, spearheaded by Weathers’ monster double-double of 28 points (11-17 2PT, 1-3 3PT, 3-6 FT) and 14 rebounds – all the while freshman Chad Baker stuffed the stat-sheet, posting 21 points, six boards, two assists, three blocks, and three steals.

Now, Duquesne – potentially returning to how they looked at the end of February – will have a rematch with Richmond in the A-10 Tournament.  Locked in as the 9th-seed, the Dukes have valuable opportunities ahead of them – a win grants them a date with a St. Bonaventure squad that the Dukes lost to, in their last meeting, by just four.