Duquesne Basketball: 3 keys to road matchup at Marshall Thundering Herd
Duquesne Basketball looks to end a 3-game skid to local foe Marshall in West Virginia. What are the keys to the Dukes winning on the road?
It’s been a good start for Duquesne Basketball in the 2023-24 campaign, 5-2, and coming off a win over top-100 UC-Irvine at home. Up next is the team’s last true road game in the non-conference slate, taking on Marshall. The Herd is 2-5 on the year and has lost its last three games but has historically done well against Duquesne, winning the last three matchups.
This might look like a matchup that favors the A-10 team on paper but with the spread being around five points. In a game Duquesne needs to win to keep an at-large resume alive, here are some keys for them to beat the Thundering Herd.
1. Continue last game’s frontcourt success
It was a rare collective off-game from the trio of guards for Duquesne, with Dae Dae Grant, Jimmy Clark and Kareem Rozier combining to produce 25 pts on 8/26 shooting. The frontcourt scored the other 31 pts, led by a season-high 15 pts and 7 rebs from Andrei Savrasov. The transfer from Georgia Southern had a slow start to the season but the hope is last Wednesday was the start of a run for him.
Marshall isn’t an overall big team but they do have a lot frontcourt depth, with four forwards all between 6’8 and 6’9. And 6’8 forward and leading scorer Obinna Anochili-Killen (14.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg) has moved to the starting lineup, giving Marshall a 3-forward lineup. So it’s going to be an important game for Jimmy Clark to avoid foul trouble against a bigger opponent.
2. 3-point defense
Outside of shot-blocking, Duquesne has largely been average on the defensive end without Tre Williams and Dusan Mahoricic. The big weakness to this point has been defending 3s, ranking 307th nationally at 36% allowed. They don’t allow a ton of shots but opponents have been efficient against the Dukes.
However, shooting from deep isn’t a strength for Marshall. They make just 6.7 a game at 27%, ranking 339th in the nation. Still, teams shoot better a home and if the Herd can make some shots from long-range, it’ll give them confidence to stay within range.
3. Don’t have this be competitive in the second half
Duquesne’s offense can get streaky but as we saw against College of Charleston, it can run a team out of a gym. Marshall has never been a great defense in the Dan D’Antoni era but the team currently allows 80.9 (340th nationally), including giving up 118 points in a loss to Kentucky.
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The Herd has yet to allow fewer than 66 points in a game and plays at a pace that the Dukes prefer. It’s a nice game for Grant and Clark to go off and if the frontcourt can continue to contribute, it should be an easy game overall. Don’t let this one be close towards the end, take care of business early and get a double-digit lead and force Marshall to be on its heels all night.