Duquesne Dukes Fan Forum / Late season surge

**Posted by Styles1229** 2/22/2024 7:26 am

I have long been a critic of KD and his inconsistent substitutions and in game extended benchings of players for seemingly no reason. I will happily eat crow if this tactic has worked to keep the team fresh, rested and better positioned for a tourney run. Do you think the late season surge is more a function of this or the weaker competition they have seen in recent weeks? Or something else? Keep in mind, the Dukes have perennially lost to lesser competition down the stretch.

**Posted by Wildwood13** 2/22/2024 8:03 am

This may help you answer your question on whether it is the competition we are playing. This 7-2 run I have listed the team , the out come and Ken Prom ranking as of today.
St Bonnies w 95
Fordham w 217
Chic St w 300
Rhode I w 181
Davidson L 112
St Bonnies w 95
Dayton L 29
St Joes w 115
St Louis w 210
Best team we beat was St Bonnies and did it twice. They 95 and falling downward fast.

**Posted by CityDuke** 2/22/2024 8:52 am

It’s not just who they’ve beaten, it’s how they’ve done it. It’s been wonderful to watch this team come together and hound opposing teams’ star players. Parker was a ghost. Reynolds was a ghost. Venning a non-factor. Clark has been electric. Grant finding his range. Dixon progressing continuously. Dimichele doing all the dirty work and probably the most consistent freshman in the conference. Mahorcic finding his legs. Drame with some star-like performances sprinkled in. And how about Williams last game! Hopefully that continues as well.

You can only play who is in front of you. But the way we’ve beaten these teams leaves me very optimistic.

**Posted by phil95** 2/22/2024 8:55 am

55% lesser competition, 10% better coaching, & 35% team improvements.

The addition of Jake to the lineup along with the development of Dixon are real difference makers. Clark's ability to stay out of foul trouble has also been a major positive change.

**Posted by townsonkid** 2/22/2024 9:02 am

I think the tinkering with lineups, starting 5, etc has finally gotten us to the point where Dambrot knows who butters the bread.
I just wish we saw progress in breaking late game presses.

**Posted by BluffHunter** 2/22/2024 9:42 am

After last nights games, these are the A10 standings with Kenpom rankings:

11-2 Richmond (76)
11-2 Loyola Chicago (100)
11-3 Dayton (29)
9-4 VCU (90)
8-6 UMass (86)
7-6 George Mason (93)
7-7 St. Bonaventure (95)
7-7 Saint Joseph’s (115)
6-7 Duquesne (104)
5-8 Rhode Island (181)
5-8 Davidson (112)
4–9 Fordham (217)
4-10 La Salle (216)
3-10 George Washington (215)
2-11 Saint Louis (210)

**Posted by lakersnixon** 2/22/2024 10:05 am

We are beating teams we are supposed to beat. We are playing good basketball right now and playing exceptionally well on defense. This team goes how Clark and Grant go. If we continue to get good play from our two senior guards, we should continue to have success. Hopefully, Dambrot and Dru are prepared to make adjustments should our opponents try to slow these two down. We have been doing a better job vs the zone when teams zone us up. Also, if we continue to make threes, we are going to win more than we lose down the stretch. Strong guard play from our leaders and shooting mid-30's+ from three should keep us smiling. Playing defense is a given for the Dukes!

Go Dukes!

**Posted by BluffHunter** 2/22/2024 11:33 am

A10 teams’ records and point differentials against the top 6 teams:

https://x.com/mlbergman_/status/1760514433007096019?s=46

Duquesne 0-5

**Posted by PhoenixRising2** 2/22/2024 9:24 pm

The 2nd through 8th teams in the conference rank from 76 to 104 in KenPom. This is not a huge hill to climb for the Dukes; they have shown that they can compete with teams on this level and also have shown that they can lose to these teams (for the season, the Dukes have a 3-3 record against KenPom teams ranked from 76-104).

With 5 games remaining, a 3-2 finish is expected. But if they can win either the George Mason or VCU game on the road, a 4-1 finish would put them into good position to earn the #6 seed. Just like most teams in the A-10, I think the Dukes can beat or lose to any other team.

The Dukes defense is what will carry them through the balance of this season; they have played at an very high level since the first Bonnies game, with the only outlier being the putrid Davidson game. If they can make some shots, the Dukes have a chance to finish this year very strong. A long way to go in this season.

**Posted by phil95** 2/23/2024 1:38 pm

This is the best post of the week.

PhoenixRising2 wrote:
The 2nd through 8th teams in the conference rank from 76 to 104 in KenPom. This is not a huge hill to climb for the Dukes; they have shown that they can compete with teams on this level and also have shown that they can lose to these teams (for the season, the Dukes have a 3-3 record against KenPom teams ranked from 76-104).

With 5 games remaining, a 3-2 finish is expected. But if they can win either the George Mason or VCU game on the road, a 4-1 finish would put them into good position to earn the #6 seed. Just like most teams in the A-10, I think the Dukes can beat or lose to any other team.

The Dukes defense is what will carry them through the balance of this season; they have played at an very high level since the first Bonnies game, with the only outlier being the putrid Davidson game. If they can make some shots, the Dukes have a chance to finish this year very strong. A long way to go in this season.