St. Joseph's is one of the few teams the Dukes have played with less athleticism and pure talent than themselves.

Having said that, first the positives:

Duquesne begins and ends with poise and efficiency.  There was a point in the first half when the Dukes offense was clicking like the days of old.  Impressive.  Ball movement was very good.  Duquesne exceptional from the free throw line, especially when it counted late in the 4th Q. Paige Cannon had some good post moves and showed aggressiveness.  With the exception of some ill-advised drives to the basket, Libby played with growing maturity and confidence.  Duquesne got away playing man-to-man against a team that had no players who could dribble drive to the hoop- so their defense was not much of an  issue. 

Questions and concerns:

Sole plays (maybe 1 minute), makes a defensive mistake, gets pulled and never returns to the game.  Other players make MULTIPLE mistakes and stay in the game.  What message does that send to someone like Sole?  This has been a coaching pattern for years with young post players.  How do you develop when you are constantly looking over your shoulder (worried about being pulled), and not allowed to focus on your game?  St. Joseph's went to a zone for part of the second half and made Duquesne very uncomfortable.  The Dukes never really adjusted.  Fortunately for them, St. Joseph's never got closer than 7.  With one or two exceptions, Duquesne's fast break attempts were unsuccessful- players out of control, trying to make difficult shots they are not athletically equipped to do.  I understand that Dan wants the team to run.  Problem is- he does not have the talent at the right positions to pull that off.  Don't understand why Lass did not set up in the low post (when St. Joseph's made their run), but rather faded to the side and attempted more difficult jumpers that (unfortunately) did not go in.  

Let me end on a positive - Duquesne has now won 4 of their last 5.  - first time since late Nov. early Dec. Maybe they can pull off an upset at home against VCU on Saturday.