NCAAB Game Preview - Duquesne at Rhode Island

Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:00 PM EST

Expect a defensive struggle Saturday when No. 24 Rhode Island hosts Duquesne in an Atlantic 10 game.

The Dukes (14-7, 5-3 Atlantic 10) and Rams (16-3, 8-0) enter the game as the two top 3-point defensive teams in the conference. Duquesne is allowing opponents to shoot only 28.2 percent from 3-point range and Rhode Island's opponents are shooting only 30.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Rhode Island (66.3 points per game allowed) and Duquesne (66.6 points per game) also rank second and third in the conference, respectively, in scoring defense.

The Rams have won 11 straight games, not allowing an opponent to eclipse 80 points in that span. Nine of the victims failed to reach 70 points and two were held under 60, including Fordham in a 78-58 Rhode Island win on Wednesday.

Andre Berry matched his career high with 20 points as Rhode Island wore down Fordham. Stanford Robinson added 16 points, six rebounds and matched a program record with seven steals for the Rams, who forced Fordham to equal its season high with 23 turnovers and held a 35-11 advantage in points off them.

"I thought we really pressured them into a ton of turnovers," Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley said. "They're obviously not a very deep team. We felt like we could really turn them over and turn those into transition points."

Duquesne has already eclipsed last season's win total (10-22) and conference victory mark (3-15) in their first-year under head coach Keith Dambrot.

This is just the fourth true road game for the Dukes, who were the last Division I team to play a road game this season (Jan. 6 at Fordham).

They are coming off a 77-73 overtime loss at home against Richmond on Wednesday. It was the third straight home game that went into at least one overtime for the Dukes. Duquesne beat LaSalle 101-94 in three overtimes on Jan. 13 and George Mason 95-89 in two overtimes last Saturday before Wednesday's game.

Sophomore guard Mike Lewis II, who leads Duquesne with 16 points a game, was held to 3 of 17 from the field and senior guard Rene Castro-Caneddy (who averages 13 points a game) was held to 1 of 11. Overall, the Dukes shot 29 of 76, or 38.2 percent.

"We're probably a little tired," Dambrot said. "We drove them the whole night, right? We pretty much got to the rim the whole night, and then overtime we didn't get to the rim. So the only thing I can put my finger on is probably a little tired. We chased them around. Again, that Princeton offense (that Richmond runs) kind of wears you and we have better depth than them, but we didn't use it as much tonight."

Dambrot's team faces a Rhode Island team off to its best conference start in program history. The Rams' 11-game winning streak is their longest in 70 years, dating back to a run that began in 1946-47 and ended in 1947-48.

The 11-game winning streak is tied for the third-longest active streak in the country behind only No. 3 Purdue (16 games) and No. 16 St. Mary's (15 games).