In 2019-2020, Duquesne had a thin and weak non-conference schedule. This year, it appears as if the Dukes will rectify last year's lackluster non-conference slate.
On Friday, Pittsburgh Sports Now reported that Duquesne has added two more opponents to their 2020-2021 non-conference schedule: the Towson Tigers and the Winthrop Eagles.
According to the D1 Docket, the dates of both games are yet to be determined.
Winthrop has become a very successful mid-major program over the past half-decade.
In eight seasons under head coach Pat Kelsey, have won two Big South Tournament championships (2017, 2020). Since 2015-2016, the Eagles are an overall 110-50 with a spectacular 65-23 record in Big South play.
In 2016-2017, Winthrop made it to the NCAA Tournament, where they were defeated as a 13-seed by the 4-seed Butler Bulldogs. In 2019-2020, the Eagles earned the Big South's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament before the tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Towson Tigers are a respectable force in the Colonial Athletic Association. In 2019-2020, Towson went 19-13 with a 12-6 conference record. As the 6-seed, the Tigers were defeated in the conference tournament semifinals by the 3-seed Northeastern Huskies.
Due to delayed construction on the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Duquesne could be forced to play part or all of their 2020-2021 season away from Duquesne University. In 2019-2020, the Dukes split their home games between PPG Paints Arena, UPMC Events Center (Robert Morris University) and Kerr Fitness Center (LaRoche University).
Regardless of where in Pittsburgh the contest is played, it will not be Towson's first trip to the city in recent memory. In 2017-2018, the Tigers were hosted by the Pitt Panthers for a late December meeting. Towson was actually favored, but fell to Pitt, 63-59, in what would be the final win of an 8-24 campaign for Pitt.
Winthrop University is located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, approximately 470 miles from Duquesne University. The university is located just 25 miles from downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.
Towson University is located, in Towson, Maryland, about 250 miles from Duquesne University. The school is located less than 15 miles from downtown Baltimore.
Duquesne's 2020-2021 non-conference schedule now looks as follows:
Monday, 11/16: vs Cal Baptist Lancers (Maryland Showcase)
Wednesday, 11/18: vs San Jose State Spartans (Maryland Showcase)
Sunday, 11/22: at Maryland Terrapins (Maryland Showcase)
Saturday, 12/5: at Wyoming Cowboys (Mountain West/Atlantic 10 Challenge)
TBD: vs Belmont Bruins
TBD: vs East Tennessee State Buccaneers
TBD: vs Furman Paladins (expected to be neutral-site game)
TBD: at Marshall Thundering Herd
TBD: vs Towson Tigers
TBD: vs Winthrop Eagles
Expect the remainder of the non-conference schedule to be finalized in the coming weeks.
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