There hasn't been a tougher matchup in the Atlantic 10 Conference for Duquesne than Saint Joseph's, which currently is the hottest team in the league.

Phil Martelli has the streaking Hawks at their efficient best, while Ron Everhart's Dukes are smarting from a 15-point loss Saturday at St. Bonaventure and continue to search for an identity.

Saint Joseph's (15-5, 6-1) has won six games in a row and 11 of their past 12 coming into the Palumbo Center to play Duquesne (13-7, 3-4) tonight.

"This is a real fragile time for us. We've got to get our confidence back, get our cohesiveness back," Everhart said. "We tend to play with, or without, a lot of confidence."

The Hawks have won 10 consecutive games and 16 of the past 17 against the Dukes, including an 89-41 victory last season that was one of the most lopsided defeats in Duquesne's history. That loss was sandwiched between a 96-93 upset win in overtime at Boston College and a 73-63 win at Saint Louis three days later.

Saint Joseph's has won the past eight games against Duquesne by an average margin of 21.9 points.

"As always, Saint Joe's is extremely well coached and disciplined. They guard you," Everhart said. "And their big guys can step out and shoot the ball well."

Everhart was referring to 6-foot-10 Pat Calathes (18.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg), who is 47 of 104 beyond the arc, and 6-8 Rob Ferguson (11.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg), who is 35 of 85.

In a 77-55 victory Monday against rival Villanova, Ferguson made 5 of 6 3-pointers and Calathes 2 of 3 as the Hawks connected on 11 of 23. They committed only 11 turnovers. Point guard Tasheed Carr (10.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg) leads the league with 6.25 assists per game and has a 2:1 assist-turnover ratio.

Everhart might be planning to defend the Hawks with a zone, using 6-10 Shawn James and 6-10 Kieron Achara at the same time and harass Calathes and Ferguson on the perimeter with smaller, but quicker players. If that's the case, the Dukes will be forced to scrap their "1040" substitution pattern and their scrambling, trapping full-court pressure defense.

Saint Joseph's is third in the league in 3-point percentage at .394, trailing Xavier (.395) and La Salle (.396).

Duquesne is 14th and last at .308. The Dukes were 14 of 58 in consecutive losses against Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure.

"We've got to start stretching defenses with our 3-point shooting," Everhart said. "St. Bonaventure was daring us to shoot, and we couldn't knock them down."

Saint Joseph's might not be at full strength because 6-9 Ahmad Nivins (14.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg) is questionable. He missed the final 12¹/₂ minutes of the Villanova game with an ankle injury that could limit him against Duquesne.

This is the fourth game in an eight-day stretch for the Hawks, who defeated George Washington, Fordham and Villanova in the first three games.

"Part of it is physical, part of it is mental," Martelli said of the stretch. "You're used to a certain rhythm and the quick turnaround between games changes your routine. This is where our experience really should carry us through."

Unlike the veteran Hawks whose nucleus of players has been together for three and four years, the Dukes have just two players -- Aaron Jackson and Achara -- who were in the program two years ago.

"Sometimes, our inexperience is overlooked," Everhart said. "We have a lot of new players still trying to get comfortable."

Saint Joseph's has a way of making things uncomfortable for Duquesne.