Duquesne Basketball: 5 keys to NCAA Tournament first-round matchup with BYU Cougars

In its first NCAA Tournament in nearly 50 years, Duquesne Basketball looks to get past the BYU Cougars, one of the top shooting teams in the country.

After an improbable run in the A-10 Tournament last week, Duquesne Basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament. They take on the BYU Cougars, who went 23-10 (10-8) in its first year in Big 12 play. They're the 6 seed in this matchup but plenty of 11 over 6 upsets have happened in the past.

Here are some keys to the game that could help the Dukes in their upset quest.

1. 3-point defense

What makes BYU so dangerous is that they can launch the 3-point ball like only one other team can. They're second in the country with 11.2 makes a game and over 32 attempts from deep. They're in the middle of the pack percentage wise at 35%, showing that they're capable of going off or being cold.

Duquesne's strength is perimeter defense, allowing A-10 opponents to shoot under 30% from deep. Dayton and VCU couldn't make shots against the Dukes, which is why they're still playing. But BYU has six players who shoot at least 3 three-pointers a game. If even two of them have good games, that could be enough to win. Even if Jimmy Clark shuts one of them down, it's going to take a team effort for them to have a shot.

2. Take care of the ball

Duquesne's offense can not look pretty at times, partly because of their turnovers. They're 2nd in league play in turnovers, including Clark with nearly three a game. Part of the issue is that most of the time, their mistakes are self-made. BYU (11.1 TO per game) can sometimes be sloppy too but more than anything, they don't force turnovers at all, with teams not getting to 10 on average against them. So there's no reason why the Dukes should have a bunch of turnovers in this game unless they beat themselves.

3. Big games from Clark and Grant

It's obvious that the Dukes will need big outings from their star guard duo to have a shot at the upset. They combined for 19 points on 5/29 shooting against VCU but survived thanks to their defense. Do that against BYU and it'll be a blowout. We've seen these two have big games, including Dae Dae Grant having 27 pts in the win over St. Bonaventure. Ideally, these two will need to combine for around 40 points to jeep up with the Cougars.

4. Using Necas and Hronsky to counter BYU's size advantage

One factor that's flying under the radar is the size advantage for BYU, especially in the backcourt. All of their rotation guards are between 6'4-6'8, including leading scorer, Jaxson Robinson. Meanwhile, Clark and Grant are both 6'4, with backup guard Kareem Rozier listed at 5'9.

Duquesne does have options off the bench, including 6'8 wings, Matus Hronsky and Jakub Necas. The freshman Necas was a star for the Dukes last week, making multiple key shots and defending 1-5 on the court. He may be the ideal answer to deal with Robinson of BYU while Hronsky could be used for more minutes in this game.

5. Jake DiMichele remaining as an x-factor

One change that helped Duquesne on both ends was inserting the freshman guard into the starting lineup. The 6'4 DiMichele only averages 6.4 ppg on 30% shooting from deep but he had a great A-10 Tournament, averaging over 8.0 ppg and making six three-pointers, as well as the big layup towards the end to keep the lead over Duquesne.

The Dukes are going to need DiMichele to not only have an impact on the defensive end but also give them 10+ points. If he can do that, Duquesne Basketball will have a shot at the upset.