Tim Benz: For Duquesne basketball, 'Put up your Dukes' is more than a catchphrase

OMAHA, Neb. — For supporters of the Duquesne Dukes basketball team, “Put up your Dukes” is a catchy slogan. A fun hashtag on social media. A long-used motto within the fan base.

For the players themselves, it’s become a rallying cry for how the team plays.

The Dukes won the Atlantic 10 Tournament and their first-round NCAA Tournament game against BYU with defense. They battle, grind, fight and (to use a favorite phrase of coach Keith Dambrot) “mud wrestle” to wins.

During the Dukes’ current nine-game winning streak, opposing offenses are averaging just 60.7 points per game. Eight of those teams have been held below 70 points. Teams facing Duquesne’s defense are also shooting just 40% from the floor and 29.5% from the 3-point arc during the streak.

“We’ve got to put our dukes up and guard. Keep them below 60,” sophomore David Dixon said Friday, invoking the university’s catchphrase.

That goal will be awfully difficult to accomplish against third-seeded Illinois here in Omaha on Saturday night during their second-round NCAA Tournament matchup. Granted, the 11th-seeded Dukes just held sixth-seeded BYU under 70 points in a 71-67 Round 1 victory Thursday. The Cougars ended their season averaging 81.4 points per game, ranking 20th in the country entering Day 2 of NCAA Tournament play.

But Illinois is even more dangerous on offense, ranking ninth at 84.4 points per contest.

“More isolation plays (than BYU). The big guy is playing well,” Dambrot said. “Pretty good shooting team. Obviously, a high-scoring team. A similar game plan for us. We just can’t allow for the game to get up into the 90s and 80s. We just have to grind it out.”

The “big guy” Dambrot was referencing is Dain Dainja (6-foot-9, 270 pounds). He had 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting in the Illini’s 85-69 opening-round win over 14th-seeded Morehead State. Dainja has hit 20 of his last 23 shots from the field over his last four games.

Illinois also boasts Terrence Shannon Jr., a two-time All-Big Ten player. Dambrot, who coached LeBron James in high school, said Shannon does some things in the open court that are reminiscent of the NBA legend. Shannon is third in the NCAA in scoring this year at 23.1 points per game.

“We’ll take whatever comes. I think we see a little bit of everything in the Big Ten,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said of Duquesne’s defensive prowess. “Duquesne is not going to give you anything. We are going to have to earn it. It always comes down to loose balls, offensive rebounds, can you sustain a defensive rebound? Can you get a couple baskets in transition? Can you make free throws? Those are all the things you’ll have to do to win a game like this.”

Certainly, the Dukes can lean into their defense as they always do. But they can’t rely on it exclusively because, eventually, Illinois is going to score in bunches.

Over Duquesne’s last five games, dating to its A-10 Tournament opener against Saint Louis, the Dukes have flirted with over-taxing their defense thanks to extended scoring lulls.

• In Game 1 of their A-10 Tournament opener against the Billikens, Duquesne saw a 16-point, second-half lead get whittled to four thanks to posting just six points over a stretch of 6 minutes, 19 seconds.

• In the second half of the A-10 quarterfinal against Dayton, the Dukes went 6 1/2 minutes without scoring and saw a 39-34 lead become a 42-39 deficit, before they eventually found their stride again and won 65-57.

• During the second half of the A-10 semifinal win over St. Bonaventure, the Dukes went from the 8:27 mark to the 5:41 mark stuck on 50 points as a 13-point lead shrunk to four, before the Dukes bounced back to win 70-60.

• Duquesne made only five field goals in the entire second half of the A-10 championship game against VCU and still won 57-51.

• A 46-32 lead for Duquesne at the 16:48 mark of the second half against BYU became a 52-51 game with 5:32 left as the Dukes’ offense derailed and posted only six points during that extended stretch.

In each case, the Dukes’ defense was stout enough to make sure the opposing offenses couldn’t drastically exploit an extended scoring drought to the point of suffering a defeat. But against the Illini, Duquesne can’t assume that formula will hold for a sixth straight game.

Forward Fousseyni Drame says the key is when the Dukes do get hot on offense, they need to stay hot longer.

“It’s a game of runs. Don’t get frustrated. It’s the game of basketball. People are going to make runs. You just have to sustain yours,” Drame said.

If Drame and company can’t do that Saturday night, they better keep their dukes up for 40 straight minutes and be ready to fend off Illinois’ offensive assault.

As the rest of the Big Ten will tell them, that’s a lot easier said than done.