The Duquesne Dukes (6-1) and Pittsburgh Panthers (4-1) will face off at CONSOL Energy Center for this game. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Friday, Dec. 4 and can be seen on CCS.
The Dukes beat Mississippi Valley State 91-77 on Tuesday. Micah Mason was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. The Panthers, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 72-59 loss against Purdue on Tuesday. Pittsburgh lost despite the best efforts of Michael Young, who recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Pittsburgh takes on Duquesne as a nine-point favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 153 points. The Dukes are attempting to build on their records of 6-1 Straight Up (SU) and 3-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Duquesne’s offense. They are 22nd in the nation in assists with an average of 18.1 per game.
In the other locker room, the Panthers have records of 1-3 ATS and 4-1 SU. Offensively, they average 83.2 points per game, which is good for 47th in the country. The Panthers are shooting lights out from the foul line so far, with a .770 free throw percentage that ranks 18th in Division I. The Panthers are an unselfish team with an average of 20.8 assists per game, ranking fourth in Division I. Pittsburgh has not committed many turnovers, averaging only 10.2 per game.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between Duquesne and Pittsburgh. Their previous game was a Panthers victory, bumping their SU record to 10-0. The Panthers also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pitt, ATS Winner – Pitt, O/U – Over
Notes
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Duquesne.
Pittsburgh averages 83.2 points per game (ranked 47th). Duquesne, on the other hand, allows 74.9 points per game (ranked 243rd).
Ranked 14th, the Pittsburgh Panthers have an offensive rating of 120.9. The Duquesne Dukes rank 160th with a defensive rating of just 100.4.
Pittsburgh has an average effective field goal percentage of 54.2%. Duquesne is undefeated (1-0) when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
This season, Duquesne attempts 28.0 three pointers per game and Pittsburgh attempts 20.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Duquesne Dukes are 5-1 while the Pittsburgh Panthers are undefeated at 3-0.
The second-ranked team in the category, Pittsburgh has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.04 this season. Duquesne ranks 66th with an A/TO of 1.31.
Duquesne ranks 88th in rebounds per game with 40.1 and Pittsburgh ranks 61st with 41.6 rebounds per game.
The Pittsburgh Panthers rank 95th in offensive rebounds, and the Duquesne Dukes rank 19th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Pittsburgh forces a turnover rate of 16.3%. When Duquesne turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 3-1 record.
