Duquesne Basketball: 5 takeaways from first 10 games of 2021-22 season

Duquesne has to avoid the big runs from the opponent

For those who haven’t watched Duquesne, it hasn’t been as if they’ve been down 80% of the time in games as their record would suggest. In the seven losses, only two were clearly blowouts. In the other five, the Dukes had a double-digit lead against everyone but Hofstra. And against them, the Dukes went from down 18 to just 3 in a matter of six minutes before it got away from them.

Duquesne’s season may have had more 10-0+ runs than any team in the country, both from them or against them. This is a team Coach Dambrot has said early on is “consistently inconsistent” and the team has continued to prove that. Part of it involves having specific lineups that are either scoring challenged or defensively challenged as well.

This is also a streaky team led by Spears, as well as Ayers and Johnson in the backcourt. When they’re on, the Dukes can go off but they also can go on 5-minute droughts. That has to change once league play comes or teams such as Fordham, La Salle, and George Washington can easily beat this team.

The best way to prevent opposing likely involves Acuff, the team’s best defender that gets consistent minutes, being on the court more. And if Rotroff needs to get around 10 mpg to spell Williams and have him fresh for the last stretch, that may be an adjustment that is needed.