The Duquesne basketball team brings a different profile to The City Game Part Deux against Robert Morris than it did in The City Game against Pitt.

The Dukes were tentative and tight at the outset and fell behind, 14-0, in the first 3¹/₂ minutes before staging a frantic comeback only to fall short in a 73-68 loss to Pitt three weeks ago before a raucous sellout crowd at Palumbo Center.

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CITY GAME ii

• Matchup: Robert Morris (7-4) vs. Duquesne (7-3), today, 7 p.m., Palumbo Center.
• Radio/Internet: KQV-1410 (AM), WPIT-730 (AM)/ www.GoDuquesne.com, www.redzonemedia.com, www.sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/collegebroadcast.
• Robert Morris: Coming off a 91-73 victory against Canisius for second consecutive win. ... Leading scorers are 6-foot-3 Jeremy Chappell (16.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg), 6-0 Tony Lee (14.0 ppg, 7.5 apg, 36 steals), 6-6 A.J. Jackson (13.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg), 5-11 Jimmy Langhurst (10.7 ppg, 27 3-pointers)..
• Duquesne: Coming off a 99-80 victory against Saint Francis, Pa., to end a three-game losing streak. ... Leading scorers are 6-10 Shawn James (14.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg), 6-1 Kojo Mensah (13.9 ppg, 4.7 apg), and 6-10 Kieron Achara (12.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg). ... Holds opponents to 37.6 shooting percentage from the field. ... Leads series, 12-5.
• Hidden stat: Duquesne's James has 50 blocks, nearly double Robert Morris' total of 27.

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Duquesne (7-3) should walk on the Palumbo court with a little bit of a swagger when it plays host to Robert Morris (7-4) at 7 p.m. today in the second half of a doubleheader. In a women's game, Duquesne (7-5), which already has equaled its win total of a year ago under first-year coach Suzie McConnell-Serio, meets Eastern Michigan (5-5) at 4 p.m.

Duquesne's men will wear throwback jerseys, but not the short shorts, to salute the 1977 team that made the school's most recent appearance in the NCAA tournament. Many of those players who won the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League championship and then lost to Virginia Military Institute in the first round of the NCAA tournament will be honored at halftime.

Unlike its role as heavy underdog against Pitt, Duquesne will be the slight favorite against Robert Morris with 'We're No. 2' bragging rights in the city at stake. Robert Morris, under Mike Rice in his first season, does not play Pitt. Duquesne has won seven of the past nine games to forge a 12-5 advantage in the series with Robert Morris, but the Colonials were a 73-72 winner last season at Sewall Center.

The Dukes have undergone a makeover since that loss, with new personnel employed in coach Ron Everhart's frantic-paced, two-platoon substitution every two or three minutes. The style wears opponents down, with Duquesne outscoring teams after intermission, 470-344, compared to 411-375 in the first half.

Robert Mitchell, who led Duquesne with 29 points against Robert Morris last year, has transferred to Seton Hall and is sitting out this season. Scott Grote (nine points) has transferred and Stephen Wood (five points) is not in Everhart's rotation. Kieron Achara didn't play a year ago because he still was recovering from a stress fracture in his foot.

Duquesne will have five new players in the mix tonight -- transfers Shawn James (Northeastern) and Kojo Mensah (Siena) and freshmen Damian Saunders, Bill Clark and David Theis.

Saunders, a 6-foot-7 forward, was named A-10 rookie of the week for the second time this season after he scored 12 points to go along with his 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 4 steals in a 99-80 victory against Saint Francis last Friday.

James, a 6-foot-10 junior, is third in the country with 5.0 blocks per game and Duquesne is second nationally with 8.9 per game.

Duquesne's 7-3 record guarantees the Dukes their first winning non-conference record since 1993-94, when they also had their most recent winning season and reached the second round of the NIT. Duquesne plays Robert Morris and South Carolina Upstate (Sunday) at home and at Bowling Green (Wednesday) before they start league play.

The non-conference games have more significance than in recent years because Duquesne needs all the victories it can muster to build a resume that will impress tournament-selection committees in March.

The Dukes currently are 30th in Jeff Sagarin's ranking and 49th in RealTimeRPI.com. Duquesne's losses have come against teams with a combined 30-2 record: Pitt (11-0), West Virginia (10-1) and Drake (9-1).

NOTES -- James is still nursing a bruised right forearm that was hurt during the Saint Francis game and Mensah's back spasms kept him out of practice yesterday, but both are expected to play against Robert Morris although their effectiveness may be limited.