I know Duquesne won the game, but lowly Rhode Island outscores Duquesne 46-28 in the paint as still another team exposes a vulnerability the Dukes cannot or will not deal with.  Lacking the quickness on the perimeter to 1) pressure the ball, 2) stop penetration and  3) provide weak side help when the opposing team (all too easily) passes the ball into their post, I'm perplexed as to why Duquesne does not try something differently on defense- like a 2-3 zone.

The inability or the decision not to change how we defend makes the Dukes highly vulnerable down the stretch and into the A-10 Tournament.  I cannot see them defeating Dayton (and now a healthy) St. Joseph's playing this type of defense. When your opposition is quicker and more athletic, telling the players to defend better is asking them to do something they're not capable of. 

Last night I saw 2 top 20 teams (Oregon and Oregon State) play zone for part of their games because they were having problems defending their respective opponents' athleticism and quickness.  There is no shame playing zone. 

What am I missing?

Being overly critical of a 22-5 team might seem a bit unappreciative of their success; but from an execution standpoint that game was hard to watch.  Perhaps our strategy was simply to outscore URI, a team that has had little success; and that was accomplished; but the lack of defensive awareness, and the careless play on offense left me mumbling to myself. 
URI didn’t seem to be a threat from the perimeter, yet our defense routinely allowed their guard to drive right nearly every time a still get easy layups straight down the key.  Could we have forced her to go left just once?  Their center was impressive, and successful all day just backing our bigs into the basket, no doubling on her repeated dribbling, although we did take one charge and blocked her shots on several occasions; she still cashed in many opportunities. 
Offensively, perhaps it was too easy, leading to some sloppy, I’ll-advised passes.  There were periods of good execution, as the lead approached 20, followed by several bad offensive and defensive trips as the lead quickly dissipated.  Regardless of the opponent I always like the approach that you play against the game of basketball trying to perfect your game each opportunity; not sure I saw this yesterday. 
The Dukes did play a lot of people and substituting freely perhaps leading to some uneven play; and got some extended minutes  for three freshmen; so that may help build some depth and rest some people.  I know it is a long season and every game won’t be a masterpiece; so I guess we take the win and move on.  Fordham will require much more focus on defense and better execution on offense!

I usually don’t post during the season but the fact that this team has won 22 games is a tribute to the coaches and players. There are obvious weaknesses especially on defense where we are very, very slow. Since  Connor is the only player that gives the team on the ball pressure, the team is susceptible to the dribble drive offenses and they are seeing more of that. Kadri Ann has been the only consistent big. It would be nice to see Helmi get more minutes since she can add size (you never have enough of that!) and some offense. I heard Coach Dan talk about continuity in his press conference yesterday after the game, but changes on the D in particular are needed. We are very passive, do not close out well and allow too much penetration. A zone seems like a good answer.  And, yes, we do try to outscore teams which is not bad. The Fordham game will be a challenge since they have an inside presence and a driver. Hopefully, we can double the post and protect the middle. Make Fordham beat you from the outside. Hoping for a winning streak that brings an A10 championship just like the swim team! Go Dukes!

I was down in Richmond on Sunday, watching them grind out a win against their arch rival, VCU and sweep their series. Earlier, I saw them destroy St. Bonaventure (on the A10 Network) and totally frustrate the Bonnie's top scorer, Ruff.

The Spiders have won 5 of their last 6 (only loss to the Dukes; a game Richmond almost won), so they are on a roll.
I would not count them out as a Tournament surprise.