Live Audio: Queens Sports Network
Phil Constantino (pxp)

Live Video: Eagle Sports Network

Live Stats: cneagles.com
 

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The 24^th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (10-3, 5-2 SAC) travels to Carson-Newman University (5-8, 2-5 SAC) on Saturday afternoon for a South Atlantic Conference matchup. Opening tipoff from Holt Fieldhouse is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Saturday will mark the 16th all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Royals holding a 12-3 all-time edge. Queens has won each of the last 10 meetings, most recently defeating the Eagles, 84-75, at the Levine Center in the quarterfinals of last season's conference tournament. Carson-Newman's last victory over Queens came on Feb. 23, 2015, when the Eagles topped the Royals, 87-62.
 

Quick Facts
No. 24 Queens Royals (10-3, 5-2 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last time out, Van Turner Jr. and Kenny Dye netted season-highs with 26 and 23 points, respectively, as 24th-ranked Queens overcame a double-digit first-half deficit to defeat Newberry College, 96-91, on Wednesday night at the Levine Center. Turner and Dye paced five Royals in double figures as Daniel Carr followed with 15 points, Jamari Smith scored 11 and Gavin Rains recorded his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

-So far this season, Queens has collected notable wins over the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (No. 8) and Lees-McRae College (No. 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 teams currently ranked in the regional rankings (No. 1 Lincoln Memorial, No. 4 Belmont Abbey, No. T-6 Tusculum).

-Queens is ranked No. 24 nationally in the latest edition of the D2SIDA Media Poll, released on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The Royals remain ranked in at least one of the two major national polls every week since Nov. 2016, a streak that spans more than three full seasons.

-The two-time reigning regional champions held at No. 3 in the most recent edition of the Southeast Region Poll, D2SIDA announced on Monday, Jan. 6. Queens earned 35 points, placing just behind conference rivals Lincoln Memorial University, who received all five first-place votes and earned 50 points, and Catawba College, who earned 44 points. The Royals were ranked No. 1 in the region in the preseason.

-On Tuesday, Dec. 31, the Royals fell out of the NABC / Division II Rankings for the first time this season, ending the program's streak of 65 consecutive weeks in the national coaches' poll. The streak, which began on Nov. 24, 2015, the first poll of the 2015-2016 season, lasted 1,498 days (4 years, 1 month and 7 days).  

-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).
 

Carson-Newman Eagles (5-8, 2-5 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Carson Newman is in a three-game losing streak, having most recently lost at Lenoir-Rhyne University, 85-80, on Saturday.

-The Eagles currently sit in a three-way tie for eighth place in the SAC standings with Wingate University and Anderson University.

-CN was picked fifth in the League's preseason poll after posting an eighth-place finish (8-12 SAC) and a 15-14 overall record last season. Carson-Newman is just two years removed from its latest NCAA Tournament berth, when the Eagles finished 23-8, earning an at-large selection into the field.

-CN is led by Tripp Davis (15.3 PPG), EJ Bush (14.7 PPG) and Reece Anderson (13.5 PPG), all three of whom average double figures. Davis enters Saturday having scored 20 points or more in three consecutive games.

-Head Coach Chuck Benson, a 1991 graduate of Carson-Newman, is in his 10th season leading his alma mater. He holds an overall record of 111-81 (.578 win pct.).