GAME NOTES: The first round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament commences on Wednesday night when the 11th-seeded Duquesne Dukes square off against the 14th-seeded Saint Louis Billikens at the Barclays Center.

The winner will face the sixth-seeded George Washington Colonials on Thursday.

Duquesne closed out its regular season by losing two of its final three games, including a 107-78 blowout versus Davidson last Saturday. The Dukes enter the tourney with a 6-12 league mark and an overall record of 11-18.

Saint Louis heads to Brooklyn on a four-game losing streak, which includes a 67-51 defeat at Richmond on Saturday. The Billikens ended their regular season with a conference record of 3-12 and an overall mark of 11-20.

This bout marks the 21st meeting between these programs, with Saint Louis holding a slim 11-9 series advantage. The teams split their two games against one another this season with Saint Louis winning 78-69 on Jan. 14, and Duquesne scoring a 79-66 victory on Feb. 25.

Although the Dukes shot an impressive 47 percent from the field against Davidson, including 8-of-20 from beyond the arc, they allowed the Wildcats to convert 61.5 percent of their field goal tries, which included a remarkable 20-of-36 from 3-point distance. Micah Mason led Duquesne with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists while Dominique McCoy contributed 15 points and eight boards in the loss.

Derrick Colter is the top scorer for Duquesne at 13.2 ppg, while Mason is second with 12.2 ppg. The Dukes have the second-best scoring offense in the A-10 with 72.3 ppg and ranks near the top for field goal percentage (.453), which includes the A-10's second best 3-point field goal percentage (.367). The Dukes do however, rank last in the league in scoring defense (75 ppg) and near the bottom in field goal percentage defense (.439), which includes the A-10's worst 3-point field goal defense (.382). The Dukes have the second-most assists in the league (439), but the fewest number of steals (149).

Saint Louis converted only 35.2 percent of its field goal tries against Richmond, including a mere 4-of-18 from 3-point distance. On defense, the Billikens allowed the Spiders to convert 48 percent of their total shots and were outscored by Richmond off turnovers (21-4). Reggie Agbeko finished with a double-double consisting of 13 points and 11 boards for the Billikens, while Ash Yacoubu added 10 points in the loss.

The Billikens finished the regular season without a top-20 scorer or rebounder in the Atlantic 10, and Yacoubu is the team's only double-digit scorer (10.3 ppg). Offensively, the team ranks last in the conference in scoring offense (59.9 ppg) and near the bottom in field goal percentage (.416). At the defensive end, Saint Louis allows 66.5 ppg and ranks last in the A-10 is field goal percent defense (.454). The Billikens are in the red in rebounding margin (-3.4), and they rank last in the A-10 in blocked shots (70).

Saint Louis has not played well leading up to the tournament and despite boasting one of the lowest-ranked defenses in the A-10, the Dukes can score. Expect Duquesne to be too much for the Billikens to handle.