Rhode Island at Duquesne 1/20/21 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

The Rhode Island Rams travel on the road to the Kerr Fitness Center to take on the Duquense Dukes. Duquense has lost two in a row on the road and will no doubt be itching for a chance to get back on their home-floor after dropping back-to-back games on the road to St. Bonaventure and Dayton, dropping to 3-5 (2-4 conference) on the year. Rhode Island has been up and down, last time they were in action they beat George Mason by 20 which improved back to .500 on the year,

Rhode Island offense runs through senior guard Fatts Russell, the leader of the team and volume shooter. He’s started 75 games since coming onto campus and although the numbers for Russell have dipped this season, he’s averaging a team-high 15.4 points. He’s also sharing the ball better averaging 3.9 assists per game. 

Rhode Island is 126th in scoring offense averaging 74.5 points per game and as a team is shooting 46.4% from the field, the 87th ranked offensive field-goal percentage in the country. Junior forward Antwan Walker leads that charge shooting 59% on his six attempts per game, his most impactful contributions come on the glass averaging a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game.

Duquesne is one of the worst offenses in the entire nation this year averaging just 62.8 points per game, ranking 327th in the country in scoring offense. The Dukes shoot just 40% from the field as a team and are 327th in the country in three-point percentage. They are 259th in pace and when you’re playing at a slow tempo and not making shots, it’s going to be tough to win games. 

After returning so much from last year’s team the hope is the Duquense offense would be improved behind senior Marcus Weathers, an All-10 player last year. Weathers has been solid averaging 13.8 points on 48.2% shooting and pulling down 6.8 rebounds per game, both team-highs. As well as fellow senior Tavian Dunn-Martin who’s averaging 10.8 points and 2.6 assists per game. 

The methodical tempo of Duquenese shows defensively where the Dukes are allowing 65.2 points per game ranking 64th in the country in scoring defense. Opposing teams have struggled from three making just 28.3%, the 27th best three-point defense and Duquense is 78th in KenPom adjusted defense. Rhode Island is allowing 71.1 points per game ranking 202nd in the country in scoring defense and comes in at 43rd in KenPom adjusted defense.