Duquesne plans Thanksgiving trip to Louisville bubble for 5-game basketball event

Duquesne signed a commitment letter to travel Louisville over the Thanksgiving holiday, live in a bubble for about 10 days and play five nonconference basketball games.

The multiteam event, known as an MTE, can begin Nov. 25, the first day the NCAA allows teams to start their seasons.

“It’s probably the safest way to get as many games in as you can,” Dukes coach Keith Dambrot said.

The field tentatively includes five teams that won at least 21 games last season. They are Duquesne (21-9), Louisville (24-7), UNC-Greensboro (23-9), Winthrop (24-10) and Arkansas-Little Rock (21-10). Western Kentucky (20-10) also might be part of the field.

The Dukes could play a game every other day, Dambrot said.

Meanwhile, the remainder of Duquesne’s schedule is in a state of flux after the NCAA, hoping to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, mandated a limit of 27 games for each team that plays in an MTE.

“We had to tear it up and pretty much start over,” Dambrot said. “It’s the strangest thing ever. We’ve talked to a bunch of people, but other than to commit to the Louisville thing, we haven’t really scheduled anything.”

Dambrot is hoping UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, currently under construction where the Palumbo Center stood, will open in time for Duquesne to play Atlantic 10 games there.

“January, I’m told, but who knows?” he said.

Construction had been delayed earlier this year by covid-19 shutdowns.

The Dukes might play some home games before the start of conference play, but they will occur at La Roche, Robert Morris and/or PPG Paints Arena. That schedule also is unknown, but cost will be a factor. The Dukes played their entire home schedule off campus last season.

Duquesne returns six players who averaged at least 21 minutes last season, including second-team All-Atlantic 10 forward Marcus Weathers.

“If everybody matures and does the right things and everything goes right for us, no injuries, I think it could be our best team,” said Dambrot, who is approaching his fourth season at Duquesne.

Some members of the team had flu-like symptoms recently, and Dambrot shut down practice for about a week. The good news is every player and staff member tested negative for the coronavirus, he said.