PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon tries to treat his team’s annual game against crosstown rival Duquesne as just another nonconference matchup.
The players on both sides beg to differ.
The 17th-ranked Panthers (5-1) and the Dukes (4-2) spend the summer playing with and against each other in pickup games. They know the other’s tendencies, their strengths and their weaknesses.
And while Pitt has ripped off 10-straight wins in a series that dates back to 1932, Duquesne hasn’t exactly been a pushover. The Dukes hung around in a 14-point loss last season and took the Panthers to double overtime before falling two years ago.
The Dukes are undersized but like to get out and run. The Panthers have lacked their usual brilliance on defense, though Dixon believes his young team is improving.
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