The Duquesne men's basketball team was picked to finish in a fifth-place tie with Temple in the Atlantic 10 Conference preseason poll released yesterday.

The Dukes are coming off a 21-win season and a trip to the National Invitation Tournament.

As expected, Dayton, which defeated West Virginia in a first-round NCAA tournament game last year, was picked to win the league, with Xavier second and Richmond third.

Duquesne coach Ron Everhart understands that a preseason ranking in the top half of the league comes as a result of a rollover effect.

"I feel like our guys took the offseason very seriously," said Everhart, who enters his fourth season as Duquesne's coach.

"A lot of that had to do with the success last season."

Among individual preseason honors, Duquesne junior forward Damian Saunders is a second-team all-conference selection, while teammate Bill Clark, a junior forward/guard, made the third team.

Duquesne is not taking an easy road into conference play this season, either.

Before Atlantic 10 play starts Jan. 6 at home against Richmond, the Dukes will play a schedule that includes trips to West Virginia, Iowa, Western Carolina and Old Dominion, a neutral site game against Pitt and home dates with Radford and Robert Morris, teams that played in the NCAA tournament last season.

"This is a different animal," Everhart said of his team's non-conference schedule.

"What we have done is upgrade, considerably. ... Our out-of-conference schedule, I'd put it up against anyone, anywhere, and I think, with a young team, it is a big challenge early.

"But I do believe, one of the things that is important in playing a schedule such as this is that it will prepare us to become a better team at tournament time."

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