By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PITTSBURGH - Xavier has not won 16 straight Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season games by overlooking such matchups as tonight's against Duquesne.

It is more enticing to look ahead to Saturday's home game against Saint Joseph's, and rightly so. The Hawks have moved up to No. 6 in the rankings and, with All-America point guard Jameer Nelson, will be Xavier's highest-profile opponent so far this season.

But Xavier players and coaches have their minds set on today's 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Palumbo Center against an underpublicized Duquesne team that nearly upset nationally ranked Xavier last season. Most of that Duquesne team, which lost in overtime to Xavier, is back. And though Duquesne's record is 5-8 (0-2 Atlantic 10), the Dukes have played competitively in several of those setbacks.

Duquesne has lost its games by an average margin of 8.3 points.

Xavier (9-4, 1-0 A-10) expects Duquesne's effort to be no different tonight. Opening the Atlantic 10 season with its second straight road game, Xavier has relied on experienced players, such as Romain Sato and Lionel Chalmers to keep the team's focus in adverse situations.

"We know what it takes to win," Chalmers said. "Especially on the road. It's just a matter of expressing that to the guys and leading the team and getting it done."

The Musketeers lost four of their first five road games this season but won at Rhode Island Sunday in their Atlantic 10 opener. That gave Xavier its 10th straight conference road victory.

What Xavier coach Thad Matta most wants his veteran players to instill in the minds of the younger players is that Xavier is still a long way from its goal of winning the Atlantic 10 title. Sunday's win at Rhode Island was arguably the biggest of the season for Xavier, but it will mean a lot less if the Musketeers cannot pull out another road victory tonight as the favored team.

"We're only 1-0 right now," Matta said. "We have to continue to build. We've still got 15 games to play."

That is why Matta downplayed the Rhode Island win, even though it proved for the first time this season that Xavier could win a big road game. There are several more to come, including tonight's.

"We stressed that," Chalmers said. "And we'll continue stressing that until the game's over. But I don't think we're looking ahead. We won two championships in a row understanding that."

Xavier players aren't likely to forget what happened here last season. The Musketeers came in as overwhelming favorites but needed a last-second tip-in from Anthony Myles to send the game into overtime before winning 80-78.

"We know what to expect," Chalmers said. "They're going to give it all they have. They're a good team, especially at home."

This season's Duquesne squad might be even more equipped to challenge Xavier, particularly because of the presence of transfer point guard Martin Osimani. He is averaging a school-record 6.15 assists per game, and with a total of 80 assists he has more than any Duquesne player the last two seasons.

"He's still putting names and faces together and getting to understand what's going on out there," Duquesne coach Danny Nee said. "But with the on-the-job training, he's doing a pretty good job."

Xavier at Duquesne

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. today, Palumbo Center (6,200), Pittsburgh.

Records: Xavier 9-4 (1-0 Atlantic 10), Duquesne 5-8 (0-2).

Radio: WKRC-AM (550).

TV: Fox Sports Net Ohio.

Series: Xavier leads 21-13.

Line: XU by 8.

XAVIER

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Anthony Myles	Sr.	6-9	10.5
Justin Doellman	Fr.	6-9	6.2
Lionel Chalmers	Sr.	6-0	13.6
Romain Sato	Sr.	6-5	16.8
Dedrick Finn	So.	6-1	9.8

Coach: Thad Matta (61-16, third season; 85-24 overall).

DUQUESNE

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Elijah Palmer	Sr.	6-7	14.2
Ron Dokes	Sr.	6-8	8.8
Jimmy Tricco	Sr.	6-8	10.8
Bryant McAllister	So.	6-3	10.8
Martin Osimani	Jr.	6-4	4.5

Coach: Danny Nee (24-47, third season; 392-326 overall).

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com