Duquesne Basketball: 3 keys to home matchup with last place Saint Louis Billikens

Outside of a late 8-minute stretch at Dayton, Duquesne Basketball has been playing very well, coming off a 66-56 home win over St. Joe's. They're still at home, taking on Saint Louis (9-16, 2-10), who is currently last in the Atlantic 10 standings. To their credit, they've been competitive in the last couple of weeks, including a pair of last-second defeats, along with a road win at La Salle.

As the previous loss at home to Davidson shows, the Dukes are vulnerable to losses to bottom-half teams. Here's a look at the keys to Duquesne avoiding the upset to move to 6-7 in league play.

1. Slow down Sincere Parker

Duquesne did a great job on the red-hot Xzayvier Brown, who averaged 28 ppg in the two games prior to just eight points and five turnovers. But the team has an even bigger task against Sincere Parker, who has scored 30+ points in the last three games, including 30 against the defensively stout VCU Rams. His ability to create his own shot makes him even more potent for defenses to deal with.

The Dukes will have to defend him well but they also will need to watch for Gibson Jimerson (14.1 ppg) making 37% from deep. As a team, the Billikens rank top-50 nationally in 3-point shooting but Duquesne has been great in that category, ranking 1st since A-10 play started. Slow them down from deep and they'll be in good shape.

2. Wear out Bradley Ezewiro

One bright spot for the Billikens has been the emergence of Ezewiro, the transfer from Georgetown who is averaging 12.6 ppg and 6.1 rpg in 22 mpg on 52% shooting since becoming eligible. He's an athletic center who good post-skills and for a team with no frontcourt depth (especially with forward Tim Dalger gone), he's been needed to keep them viable.

Duquesne, leading with David Dixon, has the bodies to bother him down low. And since he only plays around 22 mpg, they'll have the advantage whenever he's off the floor. It'll be a similar gameplan with Chad Venning of St. Bonaventure; limit him when he's on the floor and beat them down low when they're off.

3. Make good decisions on offense

That statement above could be used for any game but I think it's very important for this matchup with the Billikens. They're the worst defense in the A-10, ranking last in 3-point shooting and free throw lines. They also don't force any turnovers, averaging just eight a game. Duquesne could get anything it wants if they want to, both inside and out.

That being said, Saint Louis is still good enough offensively to turn this into a shootout, making every possession important. Between Dae Dae Grant's shot-selection and Jimmy Clark's propensity to turn it over at times, Duquesne's offense can struggle. As long as the mistakes are held to a minimum, the Dukes should be able to put up their best scoring numbers since league play started.