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Duquesne is listed on Joe Lunardi's Bracketology this week


An A-10 fan

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I enjoy reading this message board because I am a fan of A-10 basketball.

I also enjoy seeing the passion and interest in the Saint Louis fans on this board for their team and the league.

 I wish every team in this league had the passionate fan-base that the Billikens have.

I was just wondering what any of you think about Joe Lunardi including Duquesne on this week's NCAA bracket projection.

If you watched any of the Dukes/St. Joe Hawks game on Wed., Lundardi (a St. Joes color analyst) seemed impressed by Duquesne.

Some of you seem to be skeptical about the Dukes despite the fact that 4 of their top 5 players are back from a team that went 11-7 in the league last year.

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6 minutes ago, An A-10 fan said:

I enjoy reading this message board because I am a fan of A-10 basketball.

I also enjoy seeing the passion and interest in the Saint Louis fans on this board for their team and the league.

 I wish every team in this league had the passionate fan-base that the Billikens have.

I was just wondering what any of you think about Joe Lunardi including Duquesne on this week's NCAA bracket projection.

If you watched any of the Dukes/St. Joe Hawks game on Wed., Lundardi (a St. Joes color analyst) seemed impressed by Duquesne.

Some of you seem to be skeptical about the Dukes despite the fact that 4 of their top 5 players are back from a team that went 11-7 in the league last year.

Welcome! I wouldn't read too much into the bracket. The team with the best record from each conference (currently Duquesne---that's why they are CAPS on his bracket) is automatically in Lunardi's bracket. Seeing as they are listed as a lower seed than the "at-large" teams, Lunardi doesn't currently have them as an at-large team.

However, I do think Duquesne has impressed a lot of the skeptics around the league (myself included) and still has a chance at an at-large bid if they win maybe 13-14 games in conference.

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The Dukes have a good team with elements essential to making it into the second weekend. They have both a big and guards that can score, with a guard who can penetrate and score, and a second who can hit threes when hot. They have Hughes, who creates havoc in the paint with his blocks. The center has some great up and under, and pivot moves as well.

Good balance!

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I think Duquesne is a solid team but agree with others that it's too early to read much into tournament projections. They have however put themselves in excellent position to make a run at an at large bid as they are likely to be 7-0 (at the worst 6-1 with games vs GW, Fordham, RI and UMass) before they play Dayton at the end of this month. 

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Honestly, I thought both teams were really bad when they played each other. Duq. did not impress me at all and did not look anything like a tourney team (nor did SLU).  That being said, I hope Duq wins the rest of their games save 1. They are likely better than they showed against SLU, but I don't have much confidence Duq (or SLU) will make the dance as an at-large team.

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3 hours ago, An A-10 fan said:

I enjoy reading this message board because I am a fan of A-10 basketball.

I also enjoy seeing the passion and interest in the Saint Louis fans on this board for their team and the league.

 I wish every team in this league had the passionate fan-base that the Billikens have.

I was just wondering what any of you think about Joe Lunardi including Duquesne on this week's NCAA bracket projection.

If you watched any of the Dukes/St. Joe Hawks game on Wed., Lundardi (a St. Joes color analyst) seemed impressed by Duquesne.

Some of you seem to be skeptical about the Dukes despite the fact that 4 of their top 5 players are back from a team that went 11-7 in the league last year.

The Dukes need to beat someone to impress me

I am sure Lunardi feels that way about a lot of teams that visit hawk hill because that is a bad team that is rebuilding.

The Dukes beat SLU without Thatch and Jimerson, beat Davidson that is weak because the loss of Frampton and a rebuilding St. Joes team.  Beat Rhode Island, St.B, Dayton, Richmond and VCU then I will believe they are a good team until then the Dukes have not proven anything other than they beat teams that they are supposed to.

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On 1/10/2020 at 5:28 PM, An A-10 fan said:

I was just wondering what any of you think about Joe Lunardi including Duquesne on this week's NCAA bracket projection.

 

Between Lunardi having Duquesne in and CBS having Richmond in (both along with Dayton & VCU), my take away is just that the pundits currently see the A10 as a 3 bid conference, which I'm okay with. 

 

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On 1/10/2020 at 9:28 PM, CBFan said:

The Dukes need to beat someone to impress me

I am sure Lunardi feels that way about a lot of teams that visit hawk hill because that is a bad team that is rebuilding.

The Dukes beat SLU without Thatch and Jimerson, beat Davidson that is weak because the loss of Frampton and a rebuilding St. Joes team.  Beat Rhode Island, St.B, Dayton, Richmond and VCU then I will believe they are a good team until then the Dukes have not proven anything other than they beat teams that they are supposed to.

During the Dukes' ESPN+ game at St. Joe, Lunardi explained why he liked them more after watching them in person. He said he was impressed because of the way Duquesne plays as a TEAM, more-so than the one-sided look of the score against St. Joe's.

However,  you are right. Duquesne still has a lot  to prove.  They play at the arena of all of the teams you mentioned except Richmond.  I doubt they will win all of those games.  But if they can win at least 3 difficult road games,  they have a decent shot at making the NCAA. Beating Dayton (home or away) would be huge for anybody in the A-10 although it looks like Toppin may not be able to play for awhile due to an ankle injury. So that would downgrade any team's win over Dayton if they don't have Toppin.

 Duquesne has played all of its games away from its campus.  Even their "home" games have mostly been 30-40 minute bus rides in rush hour traffic to suburban Robert Morris and Div. III LaRoche.  It is remarkable they are 14-2 considering the circumstance.  Seven out-of-conference games have been at neutral sites. Their 2 losses were due to travel fatigue according to their coach, Keith Dambrot.

I will admit, I am a Duquesne fan above all other teams in the A-10. But I would rather see 4-5 teams make the NCAA from the A-10 (even if it did not include Duquesne). I think 3-4 teams can make it this year.

I root hard for EVERY team in the league during the Nov.-Dec. non-conference part of the schedule. 

I think your Billikens have a reasonable shot at making the Big Dance if they win the same type of games that you say Duquesne needs to win.  Winning at Richmond (who has several good out of conference wins) was huge for Saint Louis.

Good luck to your team.  I'll be rooting for them the rest of the way, save for their contest against the Dukes. I've watched many Bills games on Fox Sports Midwest channel 671 on the Directv system I subscribe to. Jordair Jett is one of my all-time favorite names in college hoops. I can't believe it's been 6 years since him and Rob Loe (without the w) played there.

 

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28 minutes ago, An A-10 fan said:

During the Dukes' ESPN+ game at St. Joe, Lunardi explained why he liked them more after watching them in person. He said he was impressed because of the way Duquesne plays as a TEAM, more-so than the one-sided look of the score against St. Joe's.

However,  you are right. Duquesne still has a lot  to prove.  They play at the arena of all of the teams you mentioned except Richmond.  I doubt they will win all of those games.  But if they can win at least 3 difficult road games,  they have a decent shot at making the NCAA. Beating Dayton (home or away) would be huge for anybody in the A-10 although it looks like Toppin may not be able to play for awhile due to an ankle injury. So that would downgrade any team's win over Dayton if they don't have Toppin.

 Duquesne has played all of its games away from its campus.  Even their "home" games have mostly been 30-40 minute bus rides in rush hour traffic to suburban Robert Morris and Div. III LaRoche.  It is remarkable they are 14-2 considering the circumstance.  Seven out-of-conference games have been at neutral sites. Their 2 losses were due to travel fatigue according to their coach, Keith Dambrot.

I will admit, I am a Duquesne fan above all other teams in the A-10. But I would rather see 4-5 teams make the NCAA from the A-10 (even if it did not include Duquesne). I think 3-4 teams can make it this year.

I root hard for EVERY team in the league during the Nov.-Dec. non-conference part of the schedule. 

I think your Billikens have a reasonable shot at making the Big Dance if they win the same type of games that you say Duquesne needs to win.  Winning at Richmond (who has several good out of conference wins) was huge for Saint Louis.

Good luck to your team.  I'll be rooting for them the rest of the way, save for their contest against the Dukes. I've watched many Bills games on Fox Sports Midwest channel 671 on the Directv system I subscribe to. Jordair Jett is one of my all-time favorite names in college hoops. I can't believe it's been 6 years since him and Rob Loe (without the w) played there.

 

Your defense is what makes you dangerous.  Dambrot has your guys playing defense at a much higher level than I've seen from the Spiders since we've been in the A10.  That was the missing ingredient.  Your program always been able to score.  Belated congratulations on the coaching hire.

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26 minutes ago, An A-10 fan said:

I can't believe it's been 6 years since him and Rob Loe (without the w) played there.

Kind words.  You misspelled Raw Blow, though.  2 dubyas in that one.

And Raw Blow was full of fuokin dubyas.  Dubya was his middle name.  Dude ate wins for breakfast.

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52 minutes ago, An A-10 fan said:

During the Dukes' ESPN+ game at St. Joe, Lunardi explained why he liked them more after watching them in person. He said he was impressed because of the way Duquesne plays as a TEAM, more-so than the one-sided look of the score against St. Joe's.

However,  you are right. Duquesne still has a lot  to prove.  They play at the arena of all of the teams you mentioned except Richmond.  I doubt they will win all of those games.  But if they can win at least 3 difficult road games,  they have a decent shot at making the NCAA. Beating Dayton (home or away) would be huge for anybody in the A-10 although it looks like Toppin may not be able to play for awhile due to an ankle injury. So that would downgrade any team's win over Dayton if they don't have Toppin.

 Duquesne has played all of its games away from its campus.  Even their "home" games have mostly been 30-40 minute bus rides in rush hour traffic to suburban Robert Morris and Div. III LaRoche.  It is remarkable they are 14-2 considering the circumstance.  Seven out-of-conference games have been at neutral sites. Their 2 losses were due to travel fatigue according to their coach, Keith Dambrot.

I will admit, I am a Duquesne fan above all other teams in the A-10. But I would rather see 4-5 teams make the NCAA from the A-10 (even if it did not include Duquesne). I think 3-4 teams can make it this year.

I root hard for EVERY team in the league during the Nov.-Dec. non-conference part of the schedule. 

I think your Billikens have a reasonable shot at making the Big Dance if they win the same type of games that you say Duquesne needs to win.  Winning at Richmond (who has several good out of conference wins) was huge for Saint Louis.

Good luck to your team.  I'll be rooting for them the rest of the way, save for their contest against the Dukes. I've watched many Bills games on Fox Sports Midwest channel 671 on the Directv system I subscribe to. Jordair Jett is one of my all-time favorite names in college hoops. I can't believe it's been 6 years since him and Rob Loe (without the w) played there.

 

SLU’s chances of making the NCAA tournament has been greatly diminished with the loss of Thatch and Jimmerson.  Losing the best defender and shooter hurts and has shown itself the last 3 out of 5 games.  Since SLU was deep Hargrove can replace Jimerson’s points however Thatch’s defense cannot be replaced.

The Dukes will have their chance to prove themselves and since you are a fan I wish your favorite team good luck.  I think Dambrot is a good coach and it is tough not having a home court to play on the coach has managed the team well.  Your team lost its best player and still manages to score and beat the teams they are supposed to beat.  I think bigger conference teams will try to poach your coach if Dambrot continues to win and that will hurt the A10 so I hope Dambrot is a lot like coach Schmidt and stays there.

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14 minutes ago, CBFan said:

SLU’s chances of making the NCAA tournament has been greatly diminished with the loss of Thatch and Jimmerson.  Losing the best defender and shooter hurts and has shown itself the last 3 out of 5 games.  Since SLU was deep Hargrove can replace Jimerson’s points however Thatch’s defense cannot be replaced.

The Dukes will have their chance to prove themselves and since you are a fan I wish your favorite team good luck.  I think Dambrot is a good coach and it is tough not having a home court to play on the coach has managed the team well.  Your team lost its best player and still manages to score and beat the teams they are supposed to beat.  I think bigger conference teams will try to poach your coach if Dambrot continues to win and that will hurt the A10 so I hope Dambrot is a lot like coach Schmidt and stays there.

Hargrove will not replace Jimerson's points.  Jimerson was an outside threat needed to keep the other team honest with its defense in the paint.  Hargrove may score as many but his points will be in the paint not the perimeter.  I do agree that Thatch and Jimerson being out has hurt us.

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6 minutes ago, cheeseman said:

Hargrove will not replace Jimerson's points.  Jimerson was an outside threat needed to keep the other team honest with its defense in the paint.  Hargrove may score as many but his points will be in the paint not the perimeter.  I do agree that Thatch and Jimerson being out has hurt us.

Your right cheese it was the points total I hoping to get not the outside shooting.

I watch Hargrove in the shoot around before games, Hargrove can hit several behind the arc but it does not show itself during the games and is similar to French sinking most of his free throws during the shoot around.

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I've said this before but Duquesne is a five-man team with occasional contributions from Baylee Steele.  What makes Duquesne go is the same thing that makes Bonaventure go --- their point guard with the ball in his hands, Sincere Carry.  Right now, Marcus Weathers has been arguably the most improved player in the league to date.  And I'm really high on Maceo Austin.  Dunn-Martn goes cold and he becomes a defensive liability.  

Duquesne has still played no one and until they do, I'll reserve decent judgement.  But don't sleep on the mental aspect of sports ---- winning breeds winning.  Duquesne has a nice record as far as that aspect is concerned.  

One question I'll raise now is can you keep guys like Austin and Carry?  You've managed to lose guys in the past like Lewis and Williams, Jr.  That is the trend across the college basketball landscape but with truly a five-man team, the loss can be amplified.

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6 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

I've said this before but Duquesne is a five-man team with occasional contributions from Baylee Steele.  What makes Duquesne go is the same thing that makes Bonaventure go --- their point guard with the ball in his hands, Sincere Carry.  Right now, Marcus Weathers has been arguably the most improved player in the league to date.  And I'm really high on Maceo Austin.  Dunn-Martn goes cold and he becomes a defensive liability.  

Duquesne has still played no one and until they do, I'll reserve decent judgement.  But don't sleep on the mental aspect of sports ---- winning breeds winning.  Duquesne has a nice record as far as that aspect is concerned.  

One question I'll raise now is can you keep guys like Austin and Carry?  You've managed to lose guys in the past like Lewis and Williams, Jr.  That is the trend across the college basketball landscape but with truly a five-man team, the loss can be amplified.

And the fact that they only give up 61 points a game.

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13 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

I've said this before but Duquesne is a five-man team with occasional contributions from Baylee Steele.  What makes Duquesne go is the same thing that makes Bonaventure go --- their point guard with the ball in his hands, Sincere Carry.  Right now, Marcus Weathers has been arguably the most improved player in the league to date.  And I'm really high on Maceo Austin.  Dunn-Martn goes cold and he becomes a defensive liability.  

Duquesne has still played no one and until they do, I'll reserve decent judgement.  But don't sleep on the mental aspect of sports ---- winning breeds winning.  Duquesne has a nice record as far as that aspect is concerned.  

One question I'll raise now is can you keep guys like Austin and Carry?  You've managed to lose guys in the past like Lewis and Williams, Jr.  That is the trend across the college basketball landscape but with truly a five-man team, the loss can be amplified.

I guess we aren't someone

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28 minutes ago, CBFan said:

Your right cheese it was the points total I hoping to get not the outside shooting.

I watch Hargrove in the shoot around before games, Hargrove can hit several behind the arc but it does not show itself during the games and is similar to French sinking most of his free throws during the shoot around.

I understand but the paint points that Hargrove gets are duplicates of others already on the floor.  I hope you are right that he can turn into at least a threat from the outside.

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