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Tournament Central

 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The top-seeded Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (30-4, 19-1 SAC) seeks a second consecutive regional title on Tuesday Night as Queens hosts second-seeded Augusta University (28-5, 19-3 PBC) at the Levine Center in the Southeast Regional Championship Game of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children (17 and under), senior citizens (62 and older), and college students with a school ID. All Queens students, faculty, and staff will receive free admission courtesy of Queens Athletics.

Tuesday marks the fifth meeting between Queens and Augusta. The Jaguars lead the all-time series 3-1, but the Royals won the most recent encounter on March 12, 2017, 88-82, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Levine Center.

The winner of Tuesday's matchup will advance to the Elite Eight which begins on March 27, in Evansville, Indiana.
 

Quick Facts
No. 10/5 Queens Royals (30-4, 19-1 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last time out, Daniel Carr poured in a career-high 33 points, as top-seeded Queens defeated fourth-seeded Catawba College, 96-93, on Sunday night at the Levine Center. The win advanced the Royals to the Southeast Regional Championship Game for the third consecutive season and secured a third-straight 30-win season.

-The Royals earned the No. 1 seed in the region, and the right to host the Southeast Regional, after finishing with an in-region record of 26-3. The eight-team regional bracket featured three schools from the South Atlantic Conference, four from the Peach Belt Conference and one from Conference Carolinas.

-The 2018-2019 season marks the fourth consecutive year in which Queens has qualified for the NCAA Tournament, and the 12th total. The Royals have won the regional title and advanced to the Elite Eight three times, all of which have come under Bart Lundy's leadership. Queens last hosted the regional in 2017 and lost to Lincoln Memorial University in the championship game, 82-68. Last season, the Royals avenged the loss and beat LMU, 69-57, on the road to claim the Southeast Regional crown.

-On Saturday, Feb. 23, at Carson-Newman University, Queens won its 17th conference game of the season, and in doing so, secured the outright SAC Regular Season Championship for the first time in program history. The championship is the second total regular-season crown claimed by the Royals in their six-year tenure in the League, as Queens split the title in 2016-2017 with Lincoln Memorial University. The conference championship is also the seventh overall regular-season conference crown in program history and the third-straight year in which Queens has claimed either a conference or regional title.

-On Tuesday, Queens remained in the official coaches' poll landing at No. 10 in the most recent edition of the NABC/Division II Rankings. The placement in the 15th and final official poll of the season marks the 60th consecutive week in which Queens has been featured in the national rankings dating back to the first poll of the 2015-2016 season on Nov. 24, 2015. The Royals also finished No. 5 in the D2SIDA Media poll, and have cracked the top-10 nationally in both polls during each of the last four seasons. The 2018-2019 season marks the third consecutive top-10 finish for Queens.

-On Friday, Shaun Willett was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 25 Watch List, Small College Basketball announced. The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest season across NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA Divisions I and II, USCAA Divisions I and II and NCCAA Divisions I and II. The watch list, which began with 100 players on Jan. 15 and also featured Daniel Carr, will be trimmed down to 25 players on March 15. Finalists will be announced on April 6 and the award winner will be announced on April 8.

-Also on Friday, Willett was named the Southeast Region Player of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). Carr was named a Second-Team All-Region selection.

-Willett was named South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, and Lundy was named SAC Coach of the Year, the League announced on Mar. 7. In addition, five Royals received all-conference accolades. Along with Willett, Carr was named a first-team all-conference selection, Lewis Diankulu was named to the League's second team, Van Turner Jr. was named an honorable mention all-conference honoree, and Kenny Dye was named to the League's all-freshman team.

-On Feb. 27 at Wingate, Willett passed Soce Faye (335, 1997-1998, 30 games) to take hold of the program's single-season rebounding record. Through 34 games this season, Willet has totaled 393 rebounds, which also stands as a South Atlantic Conference single-season record. In his two-year career, Willett has 569 rebounds, ranking his just outside the top 10 all-time in Queens history.

-With 25 double-doubles, Willett leads the NCAA (more than 1,200 institutions) in double-doubles this season. At the Division II level, Will Vorhees of Notre Dame College is second with 23 double-doubles. In DI, Davontae Cacok of the University of North Carolina Wilmington has 24, and in DIII, Kevin Dennis of Morrisville State College also has 24.

-In last Saturday's conference semifinal game, Willett passed J.R. Gamble (627, 2000-2001, 32 games) for second place on the Queens single-season scoring list. Willett has currently scored 657 points this season, but is still 131 points shy of tying Spencer Ross (788, 2002-2003, 33 games) for first place.

-Willett finished the regular season as the SAC's second-leading scorer, with an average of 19.6 points per game, and the League's leading rebounder, averaging 12.0 rebounds per game. He currently ranks fourth nationally in rebounds per game and leads Division II in total rebounds (393).

-Carr finished 10th in the SAC in scoring (15.6 PPG), fourth in assists (4.9 APG), and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (43.1%).

-Diankulu finished as the League's fourth-leading rebounder with 7.6 boards per game and second in field goal percentage (58.6%).

-Turner ranked fourth in 3-point shooting (46.2%). His current total of 107 made 3-pointers ranks him fifth nationally in 3-point field goals made this season.

-Morrow was the SAC's sixth-best 3-point shooter (44.2%).

-Josh Brodowicz led the League in assist to turnover ratio (3.1).

-Lundy is in his sixth season since returning to Queens and his 11^th overall at the helm in Charlotte. In 17 years as a head coach in Division I and II, Lundy has posted an overall record of 358-171 (.676 win pct.) and a record at Queens of 262-84 (.757 win pct.). Lundy has led Queens to all three of its Elite Eight appearances.

 
No. 16/16 Augusta Jaguars (28-5, 19-3 PBC)
(Game Notes)

­-Augusta is making its 12^th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its fifth in the regional title game. The Jaguars last reached the regional final in 2011, but lost to Anderson University. From 2008-2010, AU won three-straight regional titles and made three consecutive Elite Eight appearances. The Jaguars hosted the regional as the Southeast's top seed for five-straight years, from 2007-2011.

-Augusta has won 15 consecutive games, after defeating conference rival and third-seeded the University of South Carolina Aiken, 93-89, in overtime on Sunday night in the regional semifinals. Tyvez Monroe led the Jaguars with 21 points on seven of 14 3-point shooting to help his team recover from a 21-point second-half deficit.

-Augusta earned an automatic berth in the NCAA field after winning the Peach Belt Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The Jaguars held off USC-Aiken by 1 game in the standings to claim the regular-season crown, and topped the Pacers again the conference tournament final, 93-86.

-The Jaguars are led by senior forward Deane Williams, who was named the PBC Co-Player of the Year, and averages 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Williams has recorded 13 double-doubles this season.

-Freshman point guard Miguel Arnold was named the PBC's Co-Freshmen of the Year after averaging 12 points per game and leading the League in 3-point field goal percentage (46.3%).

-Head Coach Dip Metress was named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year after leading his team to his sixth PBC Regular Season Championship in 15 seasons. Formerly the head coach at Belmont Abbey College for eight seasons (1996-2004), Metress is in his 23^rd year overall as a collegiate head coach. He holds an overall record of 472-220 (.682 win pct.) and a record at Augusta of 338-127 (.727 win pct.).