Duquesne at UMass: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

UMass looks to get its first victory in Atlantic 10 play this weekend against a Duquesne squad that hasn’t played in weeks after a pause.

TV schedule: Saturday, January 8th, 12:00 pm ET. ESPN+

Arena: William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, Massachusetts

It’s been a rough start for the Atlantic 10 on both the men’s and women’s sides. The covid-related cancellations really affected the conference, with many teams playing their first league games this week. It’ll be No. 2 for UMass (7-6, 0-1), coming off a loss earlier in the week to Richmond.

The final score was 80-72 but the game was never in doubt. The Spiders were down double-digits early and trailed by as much as 19 points before getting the game closer towards the end. It’s the seventh time in 13 games the Minutemen has given up at least 80 points in a game, last in the A-10 overall at 78.2 ppg allowed.

Offense isn’t an issue for them, even in losses, as they rank at the top of the league at around 80 ppg. in the last game, Rich Kelly led the team with 20 points and five assists, while both Trent Buttrick and CJ Kelly had 16 each. Noah Fernandes, who leads UMass on the season with 16.2 ppg and 5.0 apg, had just 10 points in the loss. The team also was missing a few players in the game to either injuries or covid but this is a fairly deep roster overall, usually playing around 10 guys meaningful minutes.

They’ll be facing against a team in Duquesne (5-7) that hasn’t played since December 19th after beating UC-Irvine by 18 points. It was their best performance of the season, led by a career-high 24 points from Leon Ayers III, along with 12 points and 10 rebounds from forward Kevin Easley.

Both of them are averaging 12.9 and 12.8 ppg respectively, while forward Tre Williams and freshman guard Primo Spears are each putting up 10.9 ppg. As a team, the Dukes aren’t an elite offensive team but are better defensively compared to the Minutemen. Neither team has a ton of size or rebounds well overall, so look for that to be a key in this matchup.

The same will be in terms of backcourt production. UMass has the edge in depth and experience, as Duquesne relies a lot on freshmen Primo Spears and Jackie Johnson. But these guards don’t turn it over and can get to the basket with ease, so how the Minutemen defends them will determine how this one goes.

Between UMass being at home and Duquesne coming off a long pause, the advantage on paper has to go to the Minutemen. But their lack of defense won’t make this one easy so look for a close game towards the end, before coming out with a win.

Prediction: UMass 77, Duquesne 72