Duquesne finds itself in essentially the same situation the UMass men’s basketball team did earlier this week at Richmond.
The Dukes’ last four games were canceled or postponed, and they haven’t played since Dec. 19 against UC-Irvine in Akron, Ohio. That’s a 20-day layoff ahead of Saturday’s noon showdown with the Minutemen at the Mullins Center for their Atlantic 10 conference opener.
UMass (7-6, 0-1 Atlantic 10) returned from its own 17-day layoff Wednesday against the Spiders and lost 80-72. It was the Minutemen’s sixth loss away from the Mullins Center in seven attempts this season. They are 0-3 in true road games.
But Saturday’s contest is at home. UMass hasn’t played in Amherst since Dec. 17, an overtime win over Fairfield. The Minutemen are 6-0 in the Mullins Center this season and outscore their opponents by an average of 11.5 points per game.
Expect points in bunches Saturday. The Minutemen (78.2) and Dukes (71.2) boast the worst and third-worst scoring defenses in the Atlantic 10. UMass also possesses the worst field goal percentage defense in the league (48.6 percent), while Duquesne is 13th out of 14 teams (46.3 percent).
UMass has buoyed itself by its dynamic offense, scoring 79 points per game and shooting 40.8 percent from the 3-point line, both second in A-10.
The Dukes are the best offensive rebounding team in the league, grabbing 13 boards per game. UMass has the 11th-worst rebounding margin in the league (-2.9). Both teams rank at the bottom of the league in defensive rebounding (22.2 per game for UMass, 23.5 for Duquesne).
Four Duquesne players average double-figure scoring led by Leon Ayers III’s 12.9 points per game. Kevin Easly Jr. (6.7 rebounds per game) follows close behind at 12.8 per contest, while Amir “Primo” Spears and Tre Williams (2.3 blocks per game) each score 10.9 per contest.
The Dukes’ 41.5 percent clip from the field ranks 13th in the conference. But Tyson Acuff is tied for the league lead making 53.3 percent of his 3s (16-of-30 in 12 games).