Duquesne vs Hofstra: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
After a heartbreaking loss to open the season, Hofstra looks to rebound against Duquesne on the road. Who has the edge in this matchup of mid-majors?
TV schedule: Saturday, November 13th, 7:00 pm ET. ESPN+
Arena: UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
There were a number of upsets on opening night of the college basketball season. Besides several “buy game” defeats, a number of ranked opponents either lost or in one-possession games at the end. One of them was No. 15 Houston, who was trailing for most of its matchup with Hofstra on Tuesday. The Pride led by as many as double-digits throughout the night and a barrage of three-pointers nearly led to a major upset.
Unfortunately for Hofstra (0-1), they couldn’t hold on, losing 83-75 in overtime to Houston. NJIT transfer and 5th-year senior Zach Cooks led all scorers with 26 points and played all 45 minutes in the game. Oregon transfer Aaron Estrada had 15 points and seven rebounds in the backcourt as well, helping offset the missing Jalen Ray, who led Hofstra with 19.3 ppg last year but has yet to play this season. His status for this upcoming game is unknown but odds are he won’t be suiting up.
But the Pride’s new-look roster looked impressive without Ray, including Arkansas transfer big man Abayomi Iyiola, who led all players with 11 rebounds as well. Hofstra has a great chance to win the Colonial Athletic Conference and to get in the winning column this weekend against Duquesne (1-0).
The Dukes were able to get their first win of the season over Rider, 73-61 after trailing by three points at halftime. It was the frontcourt duo of Tre Williams (14 points and 7 rebounds) and Kevin Easley (team-high 16 points) that paved the way for the A-10 program to get ahead, while point guard Amir Spears had an impressive freshman debut, going for 14 points and seven assists.
Duquesne’s new-look roster may lack some depth with the ankle injury to forward RJ Gunn (questionable for matchup against Hofstra) but their top-end talent shows that they’ll be formidable in the middle of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Who had the edge on paper?
In the frontcourt, Duquesne has the two best forwards in this game in Williams and Easley. It’s notable that the Indiana State transfer big man Williams played 38 out of 40 minutes against Rider, showing how important he is to the team. If the Pride can get him into foul trouble, that could cause big problems for the Dukes.
In the backcourt, the Pride has the talent and experience edge over Duquesne, even without Ray playing in this one. But Cooks is 5’10 and Estrada is 6’3, while the opposing guards (Primo, Tyson Acuff, and Leon Ayers) are 6’3-6-3, with starting wing Tobi Okani listed at 6’8. The size could cause issues for a three-point happy Hofstra team that shot 43 times from deep against Houston.
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Both teams looked impressive in their respective debuts, but I wonder what will be the mindset for a Hofstra squad that missed a huge opportunity against a ranked team to start out the season. And with head coach Speedy Claxton going up against veteran Keith Dambrot for the Dukes, Duquense, who is playing at home, may have the emotional edge on Saturday night.
Prediction: Duquesne 72, Hofstra 68