While fans coming for Homecoming or the Greek basketball game may have Saturday’s game against Duquesne circled on their calendars, some eyes are already drifting to Tuesday’s matchup at No. 16 VCU.

But no conference game should be overlooked, and before the Colonials head to the house of havoc Tuesday they’ll have to knock off the visiting Dukes to avoid a second Atlantic 10 loss.

GW should be able to put up points for the second straight game against a porous defense as they go for their best start to the A-10 season in eight years.

The Case for Duquesne:

The Dukes haven’t been able to stop anyone this season, but at least they won’t have to stop everyone on GW’s roster if rookie sixth man Yuta Watanabe doesn’t play Saturday. Watanabe went down early in GW’s Thursday night rout of Fordham and didn’t return. Lonergan described his injury as a sprained ankle.

Duquesne’s defense is bad, but strong defenses haven’t been the Dukes’ kryptonite either. They’ve had narrow losses to teams like VCU and Rhode Island while offensive-minded teams, unlike GW, have given them more trouble.

That’s probably because Duquesne can be a lot to keep up with. The Dukes have topped 100 points twice (once in double-overtime) and are averaging 72.5 points per game. They shoot .382 on 3-pointers thanks to the performances of guards Micah Mason and Derrick Colter, who rank fourth and fifth in the league in made threes and are averaging 11.0 and 12.8 points per game, respectively.

And sharing is caring, at least according to Duquesne. They’re second-best in the conference with 15 assists per game, while GW clocks in second from the bottom with 11.3.

The Case for GW:

Coming into the game off a 20-point road win at Fordham, this is a good opportunity for the Colonials to keep rolling on offense. GW’s rhythm had looked off at times, but was clicking with 79 points and 15 assists against the Rams.

It’s rare that GW needs to score upwards of 70 points to win, but it’s par for the course for Duquesne’s league-worst scoring defense to give up that many. Opponents are scoring 72.5 points per game against the Dukes.

A big scoring night would likely thrill a crowd that should fill the Smith Center to the gills, giving GW”s already-strong home-court advantage an extra punch. The Colonials are on a 10-game home winning streak while the Dukes have lost five straight road games.

This one might not be close, but if it is, the Colonials will have the added benefit of an opponent making less than 60 percent of its free throws, last in the A-10 at .585. GW has had its share of struggles from the stripe, but is in the upper half of the A-10 with a .687 percentage this season.

A win would be a good omen, though. The Colonials haven’t opened an A-10 season 6-1 since the 2006-07 season, the last year GW won the A-10 Championship title.