Dukes to open A-10 playoffs at No. 8 Massachusetts

Duquesne will face No. 8 Massachusetts on Tuesday night in Amherst, Mass. to open the Atlantic 10 playoffs.

The Dukes closed out the regular season on Saturday as the No. 9 seed with a loss to Saint Louis at home.

The Minutemen are in the middle of a game against Rhode Island that began at 4 p.m., and will now be the No. 8 seed regardless if they win or lose.

A loss gives the Minutemen the outright No. 8 seed with an 8-8 league record, and a win puts them in a three-way tie with Dayton and LaSalle.

According to league tiebreaking scenarios that also means a No. 8 seed for Massachusetts.

The Dukes went 7-9 in the A-10 to earn the No. 9 seed, and 16-14 overall.

Duquesne fared well against Massachusetts this year, beating the Minutemen at home 80-69 on Jan. 18.

The two teams match up fairly well and this affords the Dukes, which has lost four of five, decent odds of getting to Atlantic City on Thursday.

The winner of the 8-9 game faces No. 1 Temple on Friday.