Keith Dambrot opened up his first official press conference in Omaha this week by sharing a fact from Dave Saba, former Duquesne basketball SID who came out of retirement this week to travel with the team. The last time Duquesne and Brigham Young University played was in 1952 in New York at the Holiday Tournament. Who played in that game? Sid Dambrot, Keith’s father.
History continually seems to be in line with Duquesne’s run during the postseason. Keith Dambrot needed to capture that elusive A-10 title not just for the program, but for his dad.
Duquesne did that with a 57-51 victory over VCU to seal the deal on Sunday afternoon from Barclays Center. The Dukes have looked locked in defensively since the beginning of the A-10 Tournament. Their offense has been led by guards Jimmy Clark III and Dae Dae Grant.
But Dambrot realizes that BYU presents even larger challenges for Duquesne on both ends of the court.
“The hardest thing about them is that they’re mentally tough and physically tough,” Dambrot said. “And everybody talks about their offense, but they’re one of the best defensive teams in the country.”
BYU certainly will give Duquesne their flowers though. BYU Head Coach Mark Pope was asked about the gameplan to slow down the guard duo of Clark and Grant, and he was brutally honest.
“Those two guards, I have no idea how to slow them down actually, so we’ll just see if we can do our best,” Pope admitted. “They’re explosive. They score at all three levels. They make plays for their teammates in huge ways.”
Couple notes for this one:
- Tre Williams is out for Thursday’s contest with a shoulder injury. Williams averages over 3 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 14.4 MPG this season.
- This is Duquesne’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1977
- Duquesne is lead in points by Dae Dae Grant, who averages 16.7 PPG
- Jaxson Robinson has averaged just under 15 points per contest over the last 10.
Jack Morgan 
Leave a comment