# 2017–18 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team represented Duquesne University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dukes, led by first-year head coach Keith Dambrot, played their home games at the A. J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 7–11 in A-10 play to finish in a three-way tie for 10th place. As the No. 10 seed in the A-10 tournament, they lost Richmond in the second round.

## Previous season

The Dukes finished the 2016–17 season 10–22, 3–15 in A-10 play to finish in last place. In the A-10 tournament, they lost in the first round to Saint Louis.
On March 13, 2017, Duquesne fired head coach Jim Ferry after five seasons. The school then hired Akron head coach Keith Dambrot on March 28.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Darius Lewis | 00 | C | 6'11" | 250 | Senior | Lexington, KY | Graduated |
| Emile Blackman | 5 | G | 6'3" | 195 | RS Senior | Dix Hills, NY | Graduated |
| Kale Abrahamson | 14 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Senior | West Des Moines, IA | Graduated |
| Nakye Sanders | 20 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Sophomore | Staten Island, NY | Transferred to Towson |
| David Haus | 21 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Junior | Pittsburgh, PA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Spencer Littleson | 25 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Freshman | Rochester Hills, MI | Transferred to Toledo |
| Josh Steel | 30 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Sophomore | Harlow, England | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Isiaha Mike | 45 | F | 6'8" | 200 | Freshman | Scarborough, ON | Transferred to SMU |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Chas Brown | 0 | F/C | 6'8" | 240 | RS Senior | Baltimore, MD | Transferred from Coppin State. Will be eligible to play since Brown graduated from Coppin State. |
| Marko Krivacevic | 22 | F | 6'9" | 205 | Junior | Szombathely, Hungary | Junior college transferred from Miami Dade College |
| Tavian Dunn-Martin | | G | 5'8" | 160 | Sophomore | Huntington, WV | Transferred from Akron. Under NCAA transfer rules, Dunn-Martin will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Frankie Hughes | | G | 6'4" | 192 | Junior | Cleveland, OH | Transferred from Missouri. Under NCAA transfer rules, Frankie Hughes will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Michael Hughes | | F | 6'9" | 265 | Sophomore | Liberty, MO | Transferred from Michigan. Under NCAA transfer rules, Michael Hughes will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Craig Randall II | | G | 6'4" | 184 | Junior | Youngstown, OH | Transferred from Memphis. Under NCAA transfer rules, Randall II will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Michael Weathers | | G | 6'2" | 161 | Sophomore | Overland Park, KS | Transferred from Miami (OH). Under NCAA transfer rules, Weathers will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Eric Williams Jr. SG | New Haven, MI | New Haven High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 15, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Tydus Verhoeven PF | Manteca, CA | Manteca High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Apr 22, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Nicholas Kratholm PF | Lexington, KY | IMG Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017. ||||||

### 2018 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Gavin Bizeau #26 C | Plainfield, IN | Plainfield High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | Aug 5, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Dylan Swingle PF | Bainbridge, OH | Paint Valley High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 275 lb (125 kg) | May 15, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Brandon Wade PG | Ann Arbor, MI | Skyline High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 1, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Amari Kelly PF | Norcross, GA | Meadowcreek High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017. |||||||

## Preseason

In a poll of the league’s head coaches and select media members at the conference's media day, the Dukes were picked to finish in last place in the A-10. Mike Lewis II was named to the conference's preseason third team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 5:30 pm | | St. Francis Brooklyn | W 80–70 | 1–0 | Palumbo Center (1,833) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm | | VMI | W 77–61 | 2–0 | Palumbo Center (1,307) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Nov 19, 2017* 5:30 pm | | Robert Morris | L 59–66 | 2–1 | Palumbo Center (1,481) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Nov 27, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Cornell | L 71–78 | 2–2 | Palumbo Center (1,204) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 1, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium | | vs. Pittsburgh City Game | L 64–76 | 2–3 | PPG Paints Arena (10,118) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 4, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 86–61 | 3–3 | Palumbo Center (1,201) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 6, 2017* 8:00 pm | | Stetson | W 73–59 | 4–3 | Palumbo Center (1,191) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 9, 2017* 12:30 pm | | Delaware State | W 97–48 | 5–3 | Palumbo Center (1,213) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 13, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Mississippi Valley State | W 73–49 | 6–3 | Palumbo Center (1,175) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 17, 2017* 12:30 pm | | North Carolina A&T Las Vegas Classic | W 74–58 | 7–3 | Palumbo Center (1,201) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Lamar Las Vegas Classic | W 65–64 | 8–3 | Palumbo Center (1,156) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 22, 2017* 8:30 pm, FS2 | | vs. San Francisco Las Vegas Classic | W 67–65 | 9–3 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| Dec 23, 2017* 8:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. Southern Illinois Las Vegas Classic | L 64–74 | 9–4 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| Atlantic 10 regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 4:00 pm, ATTSNP | | Dayton | W 70–62 | 10–4 (1–0) | Palumbo Center (2,572) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm | | George Washington | W 69–52 | 11–4 (2–0) | Palumbo Center (1,347) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Fordham | W 64–41 | 12–4 (3–0) | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,805) Bronx, NY |
| Jan 9, 2018 8:00 pm, Stadium | | at VCU | L 76–78 | 12–5 (3–1) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| Jan 13, 2018 12:30 pm, NBCSN | | La Salle | W 101–94 $^{3OT}$ | 13–5 (4–1) | Palumbo Center (2,145) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 17, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Saint Louis | L 63–76 | 13–6 (4–2) | Chaifetz Arena (5,227) St. Louis, MO |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:30 pm, NBCSN | | George Mason | W 95–89 $^{2OT}$ | 14–6 (5–2) | Palumbo Center (2,543) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNP | | Richmond | L 73–77 $^{OT}$ | 14–7 (5–3) | Palumbo Center (1,786) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 27, 2018 12:00 pm, NBCSN | | at No. 24 Rhode Island | L 58–61 | 14–8 (5–4) | Ryan Center (7,432) Kingston, RI |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm | | at George Washington | W 75–73 | 15–8 (6–4) | Charles E. Smith Center (2,412) Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 3, 2018 6:30 pm, NBCSN | | St. Bonaventure | L 81–84 | 15–9 (6–5) | Palumbo Center (3,411) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Dayton | L 73–88 | 15–10 (6–6) | UD Arena (13,245) Dayton, OH |
| Feb 10, 2018 12:00 pm, ATTSNP | | Fordham | L 57–80 | 15–11 (6–7) | Palumbo Center (2,871) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 17, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Saint Joseph's | L 75–82 | 15–12 (6–8) | Hagan Arena (3,651) Philadelphia, PA |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm | | at St. Bonaventure | L 67–73 | 15–13 (6–9) | Reilly Center (5,089) Olean, NY |
| Feb 24, 2018 12:00 pm, ATTSNP | | Davidson | L 60–71 | 15–14 (6–10) | Palumbo Center (2,555) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Saint Louis | W 76–69 | 16–14 (7–10) | Palumbo Center (2,272) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Mar 3, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Massachusetts | L 75–85 | 16–15 (7–11) | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| Atlantic 10 tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 6:00 pm, NBCSN | (10) | vs. (7) Richmond Second round | L 68–81 | 16–16 | Capital One Arena (6,514) Washington, D.C. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
Source