The Duquesne Dukes and the Saint Joseph’s Hawks meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Hagan Arena. Duquesne is 12-5 so far this season. The Dukes lost to Richmond in a close game on Saturday. As for St. Joseph’s, they’re 6-9 overall and coming off a loss to Fordham in their Saturday matchup. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Duquesne kicked off the year on a 7-3 run. The Dukes lost to Kentucky, Marshall and New Mexico State in that stretch. Duquesne has since gone 5-2 with wins over DePaul, Indiana State, Winthrop, Rhode Island and VCU.
On Saturday versus Richmond, Duquesne jumped out to a 49-34 halftime lead. The Dukes were drilled 41-24 in the second half and ended up losing a tough one 75-73, though. Rodney Gunn led the team with 16 points and three rebounds.
Over on the Saint Joseph’s side, they stood at 4-6 after 10 games with wins over Lafayette, Albany, Penn and Saint Peter’s. The Hawks are 2-3 in their last five with losses to Saint Louis, Saint Joseph’s and Fordham.
Matched up against Fordham on Saturday, the Hawks took a 32-32 tie into the second half. Saint Joseph’s was outscored 34-22 in the second and lost 66-54. Erik Reynolds was the only double-digit scorer with 17 points and five rebounds.
PICK: I’m going to stay with Duquesne. Both these teams are coming off rough second halves in their Saturday games and could use good showings here, however. The Dukes have scored well lately with 72 or more points in five of their last six outings. Duquesne has also given up a combined 145 points in their last pair though, so Saint Joseph’s should be able to keep pace if they play well. Ultimately I like Duquesne to take the cover in a bounce-back effort.