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GAME NOTES: In the first game at the new CONSOL Energy Center, the third- ranked Pittsburgh Panthers and the Duquesne Dukes meet in a Steel City showdown.

Duquesne, which competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference, has won its last two games to move to 3-1 on the young season. On Saturday, the club put forth another tremendous offensive effort in a 101-69 romp over UMBC. The Dukes have now scored at least 90 points in three of their four outings and are a tremendously balanced offensive club.

As for Pittsburgh, it is a perfect 7-0 this season, and five of the wins have come at home. Jamie Dixon's team has four double-digit wins to its credit, including an 82-58 victory over Penn in the most recent outing on Saturday. A Big East Conference powerhouse, Pitt plays tremendous defense, having held four opponents to fewer than 59 points.

Pittsburgh owns a 47-31 series advantage over Duquesne, which includes a 67-58 double-overtime victory over the Dukes last season. The Panthers have won the last nine meetings.

It comes as no surprise that Bill Clark is leading Duquesne in scoring and rebounding, as the standout forward is one of the best players in the A-10. Clark is posting 17.8 ppg and 7.0 rpg, while B.J. Monteiro provides 14.5 ppg. Sean Johnson checks in with 11.8 ppg, and with a total of six double-digit scorers in the fold, Duquesne has no trouble finding viable options at the offensive end. The club is averaging a staggering 91.0 ppg on 50.2 percent shooting from the field, and it is holding foes to 64.8 ppg on 38.5 percent shooting. In the romp over UMBC on Saturday, Clark had 18 points, one more than Damian Saunders. The Dukes played six players in double figures and shot 55.6 percent from the floor, including an 11-of-22 effort from three-point range. A 30-14 edge in points from the foul line certainly helped the cause, as did 20 forced turnovers.

There are only two double-digit scorers in the fold for Pittsburgh, which relies heavily on the duo of Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker at the offensive end of the court. Gibbs leads the team with 18.1 ppg on 44.9 percent shooting from the floor, and he is an 84 percent shooter from the foul line. As for Wanamaker, who is dishing out 5.6 apg, he tallied 14.3 ppg on the strength of his 50.8 percent field goal efficiency. The Panthers are generating 82.6 ppg while holding opponents to 60.7 ppg on 39.6 percent shooting. The fact that they have been able to outrebound foes by more than 16 boards per contest has certainly helped the cause. Gibbs scored 12 points in the recent victory over Penn, while Dante Taylor and J.J. Moore contributed 11 points apiece off the bench. Pitt connected on 52.6 percent of its field goal attempts in that tilt and earned a 35-20 rebounding edge.

Duquesne does have the talent to defeat Pittsburgh, but don't expect that to happen this evening. The Panthers will pull away in the final minutes to extend their winning streak over the Dukes to 10 games.