Duquesne Faces St. Bonaventure in Crucial A-10 Tournament Matchup

Duquesne, PA — Duquesne University begins its defense of the Atlantic 10 Tournament men’s basketball championship on Thursday with a first-round game against St. Bonaventure. The matchup is set for 11:30 a.m. at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., marking the 137th meeting between the two teams, who have a long-standing rivalry dating back to 1920.

As the ninth seed, the Dukes (13-18) will take on the eighth-seeded Bonnies (21-10) after splitting their regular-season meetings. Duquesne secured a 75-57 victory over St. Bonaventure on Jan. 18, while the Bonnies edged the Dukes with a 70-63 win on Feb. 22.

“We’ve got to be ready,” said Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III, who is embarking on his first A-10 Tournament with the Dukes. “It’s going to be a clash. Guys will have to step up and make plays. That’s the beauty of this time of year. Playmakers start to shine because everyone knows everyone’s sets. Sometimes the coaches aren’t deciding what’s happening because the players are starting to dictate more. It should be a really good game.”

The winner of this matchup will face top-seeded VCU (25-6) in the quarterfinals, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Friday. “Forget the regular season; it’s March madness now. Everyone is 0-0,” Joyce emphasized, reflecting on the fresh start that comes with tournament play.

Joyce, previously the associate head coach, looks to channel the momentum of the Dukes’ impressive run last season, which ended with a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Illinois. “It will be a tall challenge to duplicate last season’s run in what I consider one of the best conferences in all of college basketball,” he said.

Duquesne is making its 45th appearance in the A-10 Tournament, carrying an overall record of 25-42 (.373) in the event. The Dukes have recently demonstrated resilience, winning four consecutive games and matching their longest tournament winning streak in history. Despite their past struggles, Duquesne hopes to secure a second straight championship, having only previously won the title in 1977.

“It’s March. Anything’s possible,” said junior guard Kareem Rozier, recalling the thrills of last season’s tournament. “We have a good shot at doing it again. We’ve been competitive in every game except one.”

Duquesne’s discrepancies in its regular season included an 82-62 loss to Dayton. However, they came close in a rematch, narrowly losing 77-76. This season, the Dukes proved they can compete on the road, being outscored by merely 14 points across nine A-10 away games. Rozier stressed, “We can beat anybody, and I believe we can win it again.”

Fellow redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford shared similar sentiments, asserting, “We know what we have on this team. We’ve shown that we can compete with anybody. It’s just a one-game scenario now; anything can happen. We believe in ourselves, both as players and coaches, and that’s all that matters.”

The fierce rivalry between Duquesne and St. Bonaventure only adds to the significance of this high-stakes matchup. Both teams hope to advance further in the tournament, with aspirations of facing VCU in the next round. As the tournament unfolds, all eyes will be on the performance of both teams in this dramatic encounter.