Duquesne ends 47-year NCAA Tournament drought with A10 title

Get ready to learn how to pronounce Duquesne.

The program, whose name somehow rhymes with “Michael Caine,” snapped a 47-year conference title drought with a 57-51 win over VCU in the Atlantic 10 championship game. 

The last time Duquesne reached the NCAA Tournament, comedian Jay Leno had just made his TV debut as a guest on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” ended it's seven-season run and “Rocky” was named Best Picture at the Oscars. 

VCU, the projected A10 automatic qualifier entering Saturday, was in line to be a 12-seed, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. Duquesne, with its two Quad 1 wins, has a strong case to be a 12-seed as well. At worst, it should be no lower than a 13.

The Dukes are led by their defense, which ranked 34th in the nation in points allowed per game (66.5) prior to Sunday's A10 title game.

Per EvanMiya.com, they played at their best this season against their toughest competition, which could bode well for their chances of pulling off a first-round upset.

At the very least, Duquesne's opponent in the Round of 64 won't have a cakewalk for its first tournament game.

With a win on Thursday or Friday, the Dukes will have their first in the NCAA Tournament since 1969.