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Live Video: Queens Sports Network

Live Stats: QueensAthletics.com
 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 20/21 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (8-2, 3-1 SAC) hosts Tusculum University (8-4, 3-1 SAC) on Saturday afternoon in its final game before the Holiday break and a matchup of two regionally-ranked teams. Opening tipoff from the Levine Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Royals and the Pioneers will meet for the 17th time, with Queens holding a 15-1 all-time edge. Queens has won six-straight games in the series, including a 97-88 win in the most recent encounter on Feb. 9, 2019. The Pioneers' only win in the series came over the then-12th-ranked Royals, 96-89, in double overtime on Feb. 27, 2016, in the final game of the 2015-2016 regular season.

General admission is $6 for adults, $4 for children ages 13-17, and free for seniors (60 and older) and children 12 and under. Queens students, faculty, and staff will also receive free admission with the presentation of their Queens ID card.
 

Quick Facts
No. 20/21 Queens Royals (8-2, 3-1 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last time out, a two-handed tip-in layup by Gavin Rains as time expired lifted No. 20/21 Queens to a 70-68 road win at Coker University on Wednesday. Rains finished with nine points and 10 rebounds, Van Turner Jr. scored 15, and Jay'Den Turner scored eight points with nine boards. Jamari Smith led the Royals with 17 points in his first game back from injury.

-So far this season, Queens has collected notable wins over the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (No. T-5) and Lees-McRae College (No. T-5), two regionally-ranked teams. The Royals have also beaten Emmanuel College and Lenoir-Rhyne University, two 2019 NCAA Tournament participants. Queens' only losses came at the hands of the two teams currently ranked atop the regional rankings, No. 1 Lincoln Memorial University and No. 2 Belmont Abbey College.

-On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the Royals held at No. 20 in the NABC / Division II Rankings, and the placement in the fifth official poll of the 2019-2020 season marked the 65th consecutive week in which Queens has been featured in the national coaches' poll. The streak dates back to the first poll of the 2015-2016 season on Nov. 24, 2015.

-The Royals also slipped to No. 21 in the D2SIDA Media poll. Queens has cracked the top-10 nationally in both polls during each of the last five seasons.

-The two-time reigning regional champions slipped one spot to No. 3 in the Southeast Region Poll, D2SIDA announced on Monday, Dec. 16. The Royals earned 50 points, placing only behind conference rival Lincoln Memorial (11-1) who received all six first-place votes and earned 60 points, and Belmont Abbey (9-3) who earned 52 points. The Royals were ranked No. 1 in the region in the preseason.

-A loss to Lincoln Memorial on Dec. 7, 73-64, snapped a 15-game road winning streak for Queens which was the longest active road winning streak in all levels of NCAA basketball. Queens previously last lost a road game on Feb. 24, 2018, at then-No. 1-ranked Lincoln Memorial, 80-65. The Royals finished last season 12-0 in road games and opened 2019-2020 with a 2-0 road record before losing. The streak lasted 651 days.

 -Over the previous three seasons, the Royals have won 93 games, the fourth most of any program at all NCAA levels during that span (Gonzaga 103, Northwest Missouri State 100, Villanova 94).

-The Royals have won 30 games or more in each of the last three seasons and are one of just two programs in all levels of NCAA basketball who have accomplished the feat (Gonzaga).
 

Tusculum Pioneers (8-4, 3-1 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Tusculum is 8-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play, having won five of its last seven games. The Pioneers most recently defeated the University of Virginia College at Wise, 86-84, on Wednesday night and are currently tied with the Royals for fourth place in the League standings.

-Tusculum's only losses this season have come at the hands of teams currently ranked in the regional poll (Lees-McRae twice, UNC-Pembroke, Catawba).

-The Pioneers are ranked eighth in the most recent edition of the D2SIDA Regional Rankings.

-Tusculum is led in scoring by Tyriq Jenkins, who averages 15.6 points per game (No. 17 SAC) and scored a career-high 25 points in the win over UVa-Wise on Wednesday. Trenton Gibson, a preseason second-team all-conference selection, is the team's second leading scorer (13 PPG).

-Head Coach J.T. Burton is in his second season at Tusculum and his 10th year as a collegiate head coach. Formerly the head coach at St. Catharine College (NAIA) and Motlow State Community College (NJCAA), Burton holds an NCAA coaching record of 24-17 (.585 win pct.). Last season, Burton led Tusculum to a 16-13 mark (12-8 SAC), a fourth-place finish in the SAC's final standings, and a 10-game improvement from the previous season.