Robert Morris, Duquesne Set to Renew Crosstown Rivalry

The general consensus of college basketball fans in and around the city of Pittsburgh have long asked for the local programs, Pitt, Duquesne and Robert Morris, to renew the rivalries and play against one another during the non-conference portion of the season.

While the group of three Pittsburgh-based Division-I programs will not all play against one another this coming season, it is confirmed that one of the crosstown rivalries will in fact be renewed this year.

Robert Morris and Duquesne are scheduled to face-off on the hardwood for the first time since the 2017-2018 season as the two programs will play a non-conference game at PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 9 as part of a doubleheader headlined by Pitt and West Virginia, according to Rocco Miller.

The all-time series between Robert Morris and Duquesne began back in the early 1980’s. The two crosstown rivals frequently faced off against one another through the duration of the 80’s and 90’s before the series became an annual showdown starting in the early 2000’s.

The two Pittsburgh-based programs played a non-conference game every season for 15-years straight from 2003 until 2017 before the series went on an eight-year hiatus. Duquesne leads the all-time series with a 16-12 record but Robert Morris is currently on a two-game winning streak.

Despite Pitt not playing either Robert Morris or Duquesne this season, the matchup between the Colonials and Dukes in December will feature the city’s two most recent NCAA Tournament programs. Duquesne won the Atlantic-10 Championship in 2024 while Robert Morris won the Horizon League Championship in 2025.

While Andy Toole’s and Dru Joyce’s squads are completely different since the two programs last made the Big Dance, both have enjoyed success since.

Robert Morris is coming off of a second-consecutive 20-win season and a trip to the Horizon League semifinals while Duquesne pushed the eventual A-10 champions to the brink of an upset in the quarterfinal round of their respective conference tournament last season.

Many still await the year that the city’s three programs face off in a multi-team event of sorts, but with the news of Robert Morris and Duquesne meeting up in a neutral site game in the same venue and on the same night as Pitt plays West Virginia, it appears that a possible MTE could happen sooner rather than later.

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