The first big upset of March Madness has happened! The 11th-seeded Duquesne Dukes defeated the sixth-seeded BYU Cougars 71-67. The Dukes are making an early push to be this year’s Cinderella team.
They were up by as much as 14 points, but the Cougars fought back to tie the game at 60 with 1:47 left to play. The Dukes came through in the end, with senior guard Jimmy Clark III scoring clutch buckets down the stretch. Not to be outdone, senior guard Dae Dae Grant led the team with 19 points. All in all, it was a well-earned victory by the Dukes.
BYU has to be disappointed by this outcome. They were highly ranked for much of the season and were viewed well by advanced analytics. This team had potential, but it didn’t come through on the court today. Senior guard Jaxson Robinson stood out in the game, scoring 25 points for the Cougars. Without his strong play, the game simply wouldn’t have been close. The Cougars will reload and look to next year, as they remain in a difficult Big 12 conference.
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About Current Coach Keith Dambrot
Fans who have followed basketball for a while might recognize the Dukes coach Keith Dambrot. Dambrot previously coached St. Vincent-St. Mary High School from 1998-2001. While there, he coached future NBA superstar LeBron James. He then coached at Akron University until 2017. He moved to Duquesne next. Dambrot’s dad previously played for Duquesne, so this move meant a lot to him.
Dambrot already announced that, once the Dukes lose he will be retiring. However, the team won’t let that happen just yet. His team was not expected to make this tournament, but a run in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament propelled them to get the automatic qualification.
After this upset, the team will continue on its Cinderella run. In their next game, they’ll face the winner of third-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini and 14-seeded Morehead State Eagles. After this win, the momentum is with Dambrot. And, in his final season, it might be nice if the Dukes had a Cinderella run in them.
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