Duquesne Dukes Fan Forum / Game Thread - Fordham University Rams (H)

**Posted by PhoenixRising2** 1/26/2024 8:53 pm

12:30pm EST tip on Saturday 1/27/2024 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Pittsburgh, PA

Betting line: Dukes are 8½ point favorites; Over/Under 143½
Duquesne 6-11 Against the Spread: Fordham 8-11 ATS

NET Ranking: Dukes 94; Fordham 179

Per KenPom (362 D-1 Teams):
Dukes #103 (10-8; 1-5 A10) vs Fordham #192 (9-10; 3-3 A10)
Game prediction: Dukes win by 10, 77-67 - Dukes with 81% probability of a win.
https://kenpom.com/gameprep.php?g=3586
Per Haslametrics:
Dukes #113 vs Fordham #188
Game prediction: Dukes win by 10, 75.76-66.17
https://haslametrics.com/preview.php?yr=&tid1=4483&tid2=4391&neut=0
Per BartTorvik:
Dukes #94 vs Fordham #182
Game prediction: Dukes win by 11, 77-66 - Dukes with a 84% probability of a win.
https://barttorvik.com/team.php?team=Duquesne&year=2024
Duquesne Preview: https://goduquesne.com/news/2024/1/25/mens-basketball-duquesne-continues-homestand-vs-rams.aspx Duquesne Game Notes: https://goduquesne.com/documents/2024/1/26/19_Fordham.pdf Fordham Game Notes: https://fordhamsports.com/news/2024/1/26/mens-basketball-mens-basketball-travels-to-duquesne-on-saturday.aspx
Sports Reference College Basketball Team Pages:
Duquesne: https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/duquesne/men/2024.html Fordham: https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/fordham/men/2024.html
Dukes KenPom Best Wins: UC Irvine (71); Bradley (77); St. Bonaventure (86); College of Charleston (128)
Dukes KenPom Worst Losses: Loyola Chicago (124); Santa Clara (114); UMass (98); Saint Joseph's (87); Richmond (84); Princeton (53); Nebraska (45)
Fordham KenPom Best Wins: North Texas (72): St. Bonaventure (86); George Washington (165); Rhode Island (201): Norfolk St. (206)
Fordham KenPom Worst Losses: NJIT (338); Central Connecticut St (233); La Salle (226); Abilene Christian (204); Kent St. (166)

Shooting Percentage Offense/Defense (per KenPom)
Dukes 3 Point: Offense 33.5%, 185 in D-1; Defense 34.3%, 216 in D-1
Fordham 3 Point: Offense 32.7%, 223 in D-1; Defense 35.5%, 282 in D-1
Dukes 2 Point: Offense 48.3%, 248 in D-1; Defense 48.4%, 71 in D-1
Fordham 2 Point: Offense 47.6%, 278 in D-1; Defense 46.6%, 52 in D-1
Dukes FT: Offense 69.3%, 262 in D-1; Defense 70.1%, 117 in D-1
Fordham FT: Offense 65.3%, 335 in D-1; Defense 72.9%, 260 in D-1

Points per Possession and Number of Possessions (per KenPom)
Fordham Adj Offense Efficiency - 103.1; 252 in D-1 vs Dukes Adj Defense Efficiency - 102.2; 78 in D-1
Fordham Adj Defense Efficiency - 105.5; 139 in D-1 vs Dukes Adj Offense Efficiency - 108.9; 142 in D-1
Fordham Adj Tempo - 70.5; 61 in D-1 vs Dukes Adj Tempo - 67.6; 206 in D-1

Miscellaneous (per KenPom)
Experience - Fordham 1.96 yrs; 153 in D-1; Dukes 2.57 yrs; 44 in D-1
Average Height - Fordham 77.1"; 187 in D-1; Dukes 76.3"; 317 in D-1

**Posted by NapaDuke** 1/26/2024 9:00 pm

Great stats. Dukes really need this win to build on. Let's hope those dollar beers brings in the fans. Let's get some dollar dogs to go with those beers next home game. Then the place will surely be full. Go Dukes!

**Posted by lakersnixon** 1/27/2024 8:31 am

Should be a great environment today! We beat the Bonnies despite one of our worst offensive games. If we can get back on track offensively and play the same tenacious defense this afternoon, we should be 2-0 at home this week.

Go Dukes!

**Posted by townsonkid** 1/27/2024 12:39 pm

Worst starting 5 in DU history? Whats the point of this?

Ended last game not scoring, start today 0 pts in 4+ minutes.

🙏🏼 c’mon Dae Dae!!!

Are there no 21 y/o students. My crew woulda been camped out for $1 beers back in the day.

Last edited by townsonkid (1/27/2024 12:48 pm)

**Posted by Mike Ignelsi** 1/27/2024 1:35 pm

Where’s the O?

**Posted by MikeR** 1/27/2024 1:55 pm

I guess ugly ball is the new norm.

**Posted by CityDuke** 1/27/2024 2:03 pm

How can all three officials miss that offensive basket interference?

**Posted by townsonkid** 1/27/2024 2:05 pm

Flop on Rose there and goaltending of Fordham.
At least the refs didnt buy the flop.

The little kick by fordham was right call.

Good game.

If Williams could shoot, at all, he’d be on 1st or 2nd all A10 team.

Last edited by townsonkid (1/27/2024 2:07 pm)

**Posted by townsonkid** 1/27/2024 2:49 pm

1:42 gonna take 35 minutes.

Really nice having Grant back for those last few minutes.

Last edited by townsonkid (1/27/2024 3:09 pm)

**Posted by phil95** 1/27/2024 3:15 pm

That was a pretty solid win with important contributions from many players. I hope putting the game away cleanly builds confidence for future games. The defense was, once again, very strong.

Gotta get the 3pt shooting back on track to keep opponents honest.

**Posted by NapaDuke** 1/27/2024 4:44 pm

The rotation of players looked more smooth this game. If we hit some 3's I think the Dukes would have scored 80, but solid defense again. Anyone know why Andre isn't getting off the bench?

**Posted by CLK** 1/27/2024 5:15 pm

Post Game Interviews

https://twitter.com/PghSportsNow/status/1751351597085450734?t=vkYMhvDUcUCQbsfREdOuKQ&s=19

**Posted by Prince of Pilsner** 1/27/2024 6:15 pm

I'm not real knowledgeable about the game, but after listening to KD's breakdown of the games, it sounds to me like he knows what the heck he's talking about. I think it's easy to have 20/20 hindsight, but I for one am very comfortable how he runs the program. I don't think the game has passed him by, but again, I'm no expert. I just hope everyone sticks around in the future, I think there is a lot of talent on this team from top to bottom.

**Posted by Prince of Pilsner** 1/27/2024 6:18 pm

P.S., I really enjoy physically going to the games, they're exciting and very enjoyable (although sometimes very stressful). Great deal for the price of a ticket!

**Posted by townsonkid** 1/27/2024 8:23 pm

If they can add to Dixon, Hronsky, Necas, DiMichele and Rozier they can be solid. Need scorers. A 4 who can score would be sweet. Couple guards point and shooters. I think we got one of each coming in. Juco SG. Fresh PG.

**Posted by Ironduke81** 1/28/2024 10:11 am

Defense indeed wins championships. The Steelers of the 70’s had the steel curtain.This Duquesne team needs a moniker. Fort Duquesne? 🤔

**Posted by VBC** 1/28/2024 6:08 pm

Ironduke81 wrote:
Defense indeed wins championships. The Steelers of the 70’s had the steel curtain. This Duquesne team needs a moniker. Fort Duquesne? 🤔

I like it, but I think they'll need to defend us all the way into the NCAA tournament to really deserve it.

**Posted by 1111 Vickroy** 1/28/2024 6:17 pm

I'm having some problems with the site but I only want to state that Mahorcic had 8 points and 5 rebounds in 8 minutes. Is this correct?

**Posted by Ironduke81** 1/28/2024 6:31 pm

Vickroy I am missing your comment. 🤔. VBC thanks love your support👍

**Posted by StillatShales** 1/28/2024 7:35 pm

Dusan needs to play more than 8 min... I know Dambrot said they are watching his minutes because of his injury, but he doesn't look hampered me, quite the opposite really. Dude is a beast underneath, play your 6' 10" guy.

Also, not saying I "know" what our rotation should be, but we need to keep reducing it working towards the A10 tournament. I think 11 guys played this last game, need to get that down to 10 really. But I like the use of KD rotation this past game more than previous ones.

Lastly, I know the view on Rozier is kind of polarizing on this board. But he's better as a backup and in smaller chunks at this point. This last game was a good example of that. Especially now with the emergence of Jake. And I know a lot of his minutes recently were out of necessity with Dae Dae out. But he's back (thank goodness because he brings a bit of calm to this offense, and great FT shooting) so no need to overuse him now.

Hopefully these last two wins start some nice momentum for us. Honestly we should win these next three, setting us up for an important rematch with the Bonnies. Right now per ESPN's projections, we'll be 19-12 by the time the A10 tournament starts. Something I wouldn't have been thrilled with or signed up for, but would be pretty impressive with after an 0-5 start in A10 play.

Keep the faith gents.

**Posted by phil95** 1/28/2024 8:31 pm

My only lineup feedback is that I would prefer to see Savrasov play over Chabi & Necas because of his ability to contribute offensively.

Savrasov is a well rounded player, very experienced, a willing defender, decent shooter, decent passer, a strong body, he draws fouls, careful with the ball, & proven rebounder.

I don't think it is a coincidence that Andrei had very strong performances in the Duke's 2 best, according to KenPom, wins; Bradley & UCI.

Tre, Dusan, Dixon, F. Drame, & Savrasov should be the strongest rotation of 4s & 5s.

**Posted by CLK** 1/29/2024 8:55 am

Can't underestimate what the emergency of DiMichele means to this team's dynamites. Starting this season many of us felt we were one experienced guard short. We missed out on a couple of guards from the Portal that we offered. With Dae Dae returning to the lineup he and Jimmy can get more minutes at the point and we can play bigger like we did Saturday. KD in his interview made it clear he is going to play his best players given the match ups. However, I am also scratching my heard why Savrasov is not playing. I think Necas has great potential but right now there is no question that offensively he is struggling. On the other hand Savrasov statistically is one of our better three-point shooters, has more experience, and a decent rebounder.

2023-24 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics - Duquesne University Athletics (goduquesne.com)

**Posted by Ironduke81** 1/29/2024 10:04 am

CLK wrote:
Can't underestimate what the emergency of DiMichele means to this team's dynamites. Starting this season many of us felt we were one experienced guard short. We missed out on a couple of guards from the Portal that we offered. With Dae Dae returning to the lineup he and Jimmy can get more minutes at the point and we can play bigger like we did Saturday. KD in his interview made it clear he is going to play his best players given the match ups. However, I am also scratching my heard why Savrasov is not playing. I think Necas has great potential but right now there is no question that offensively he is struggling. On the other hand Savrasov statistically is one of our better three-point shooters, has more experience, and a decent rebounder.

2023-24 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics - Duquesne University Athletics (goduquesne.com)

Last edited by Ironduke81 (1/29/2024 10:06 am)

**Posted by Ironduke81** 1/29/2024 10:10 am

CLK I agree with your analysis. I suspect Savrasov has a medical issue preventing him to see playing time. I would hope this is not a personal issue between Coach Dambrot & Savrosov. I believe this is his final year of eligibility. If he was a soph or Jr & was unhappy with playing time telling his teammates of a pending portal transfer then don’t play him. This situation is puzzling.

Last edited by Ironduke81 (1/29/2024 10:11 am)

**Posted by NapaDuke** 1/29/2024 11:22 am

Ironduke81 wrote:
CLK I agree with your analysis. I suspect Savrasov has a medical issue preventing him to see playing time. I would hope this is not a personal issue between Coach Dambrot & Savrosov. I believe this is his final year of eligibility. If he was a soph or Jr & was unhappy with playing time telling his teammates of a pending portal transfer then don’t play him. This situation is puzzling.

I do think Andre should get some minutes in the next game and put in some set play to get him looks at 3's and see if he can hit them on a regular basis. He's a good all round player and at this point no one on this team is knocking down 3's except maybe F.Drame.