Duquesne fans send Dukes off for 1st round of March Madness

Cheering fans lined Uptown streets Tuesday to support players from Duquesne men’s basketball team en route to March Madness.

“They’re … still dancing,” student Zach Rothrock said. “I mean, what’s not to love?”

Rothrock, 19, is a freshman majoring in business at Duquesne. He and his friends joined a crowd of proud fans outside of UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse as the players boarded buses to take them to the airport.

Duquesne plays Brigham Young on Thursday in Omaha, Neb.

The Dukes’ two coach buses received a police escort to the airport after students and fans cheered for them while they boarded with their luggage.

Jake Zucker reveled in the energy.

“We were just really excited to see all the players,” he said.

Duquesne has not played in the NCAA Tournament for 47 years.

Zucker, 18, a freshman majoring in biomedical engineering at Duquesne, said he and his friends watched all of the Atlantic 10 tournament games on TV in their dorm together. The Dukes won the tournament Sunday, defeating Virginia Commonwealth, 57-51.

“We were on the wing in our floor,” he said. “The whole floor got together to watch all the games.”

Duquesne students and fans gathered to send the team off — and some even looked on from the parking garage above @TribLIVE ???? #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/zQgn91fE0P

— Megan Swift (@mgswift7) March 19, 2024

Ryan Ditcrich and Matthew Daskibich were also a part of the Sunday watch parties. They arrived for the March Madness preview as well.

“We couldn’t miss this,” said Ditcrich, 18, a freshman majoring in health science at Duquesne.

He said getting to watch the team board the buses and cheer was a great experience.

Daskibich, 18, a freshman majoring in business at Duquesne, was holding up a Dusan Mahoric jersey. Mahoric, who wears No. 0, signed the jersey as he walked by.

“I think every win we just gained more and more confidence,” he said of the Dukes’ season.

Rothrock, who played basketball briefly in high school, said he was shocked when the Dukes took home the Atlantic 10 trophy.

“At the beginning of the season, they were looking OK, but they picked it up at the end — and they surprisingly won,” he said.

The group attended most of the home games at Duquesne during the season, and they’re part of an intramural basketball team together titled “Big City Blues.”

For Rothrock, the Dukes’ win in the Atlantic 10 tournament is a good look for the program moving forward.

“Honestly, I’m just looking forward to next season,” he said. “They have some leverage against other teams — they have a reputation to uphold.”