It's not a concept that has been associated with Duquesne's basketball team the past three decades of losing:

Overconfidence.

But that's one of coach Ron Everhart's concerns as the Dukes try to go 6-0 for the first time since 1979-80 when they meet Cal State Northridge (4-0) at 6 p.m. today in the first round of the Iowa Realty Invitational at Drake's Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

Drake (3-1) will face North Carolina Central (1-7) in the other game with the winners advancing to the championship game and the losers to the consolation game tomorrow night.

"I don't think anybody on our team has been through something like this before," Everhart said earlier this week.

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Scouting report

• Matchup: Duquesne (5-0) vs. Cal State Northridge (4-0), 6 p.m. today, Iowa Realty Invitational, Drake Knapp Center, Des Moines, Iowa.
• Radio/Internet: KQV-AM (1410); www.redzonemedia.com, GoDuquesne.com.
• Cal State Northridge: Coming off a 78-68 victory at Cleveland State led by Tremaine Townsend's 16 points and 15 rebounds. ... Off to best start since 1983-84. ... Averages 90.2 points per game. ... Has been ranked in the top 25 in steals nationally 10 of the past 11 seasons.
• Duquesne: Coming off a 76-65 victory against Niagara to go 5-0 for first time since 1985-86. ... Averages 95.0 points per game. ... Leading scorers are KoJo Mensah (16.2 ppg), Kieron Achara (15.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Shawn James (12.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg), Damian Saunders (10.6 ppg). ... Has limited opponents to .337 shooting from the field.
• Hidden stat: Duquesne won the 2002 Florida International New Year's Classic with victories against St. Francis, N.Y., and Florida International for its only in-season tournament championship since the 1978 West Virginia Classic.

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"Being 5-0 is something to take a little pride in, but it's not like we're playing perfect basketball. Overconfidence is something I've already addressed with the players."

Have they gotten the message?

"They've heard it," he said. "I think they're listening."

Duquesne is 2-0 on the road with victories at Rice and Oakland University, and Everhart is eager to take the Dukes into unfamiliar territory again.

"It's always good to play away or on neutral floors," he said. "You learn more about your team away from home, where they live together and focus on basketball together as a team. You're supposed to win at home, but a win on the road can be a more valuable experience."

The game against Cal State Northridge, a member of the Big West Conference, should be a high-scoring affair because these are two of the top offenses in Division I. Duquesne's 95.2 average is second only to Mississippi's 96.4 and Cal State Northridge averages 90.8.

"They play a lot like we do," Everhart said. "Theirs is a style we're familiar with."

The Matadors have retooled with junior-college transfers 6-foot-9 Tremaine Townsend (12.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and 5-10 Josh Jenkins (11.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg) joining veterans 6-8 Calvin Chitwood (15.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and 6-6 Jonathan Heard (16.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg).

Cal State Northridge will be a contrast to Duquesne's most recent game, a hard-fought 76-65 victory against Niagara. The Purple Eagles slowed the tempo by milking the shot clock and playing a zone defense that forced the Dukes to play a half-court game.

Everhart tweaked his two-platoon substitution when the Dukes fell behind by a season-high 10 points in the first half and trailed for the first time this season in the second half of a game.

Shawn James' 32 minutes, Kojo Mensah's 29 and Gary Tucker's 26 all were season highs.

"We'll continue to mix and match our players depending on the opponent, the matchups and who's getting the job done," said Everhart, who has 10 players averaging between 14 and 23 minutes per game.

"That's part of the luxury of having depth."

Host Drake, coming off an 80-59 victory against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, average 10.3 3-pointers per game and is led by 6-foot-1 Josh Young (19.0 ppg), 6-3 Leonard Houston (17.5 ppg), 6-8 Jonathan Cox (12.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and 6-1 Adam Emmenecker (4.8 ppg, 5.0 apg, 11 steals). Houston has made 19 of 32 shots from beyond the arc.

North Carolina Central, playing as an independent in its inaugural season in Division I after moving up from Division II, is playing an ambitious schedule that already includes lopsided road losses against Florida, Duke, Rutgers, Wake Forest and Davidson. The Eagles will travel a total of 22,240 miles for 22 road games.

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NOTE -- Everhart, who missed practices Tuesday and Wednesday and didn't take the flight with the team yesterday morning to Des Moines, Iowa, took a later flight in time to be at practice in the afternoon. A university spokesman said Everhart's absence was for "personal issues." Everhart hasn't returned phone calls this week and a spokesman said he preferred not to discuss his situation.