Live Audio: Queens Sports Network
Phil Constantino (pxp)

Live Video: Pioneer Sports Network

Live Stats: TusculumPioneers.com

 
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On Saturday, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (15-6, 10-5 SAC) travels to Tusculum University (14-9, 9-6 SAC) for a South Atlantic Conference matchup seeking to avenge a loss in the season's first meeting. Opening tipoff from Pioneer Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Saturday marks the 18th all-time meeting between the two schools. The Royals lead the all-time series, 15-2, but the Pioneers won the season's first meeting, 67-61, on Dec. 21 at the Levine Center. Previously, Queens had won six-straight games in the series.
 

Quick Facts
Queens Royals (15-6, 10-5 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last time out, Queens knocked down a season-high 13 3-pointers as the Royals cruised to an 88-56 win over Coker University on Wednesday night at the Levine Center. Van Turner Jr. led all scorers with 21 points on seven of 11 3-point shooting, as Queens won by its largest margin of the season and ended a three-game losing streak. Peanut Cunningham followed with a career-high 16 points along with seven rebounds. Daniel Carr scored 12 with five rebounds, Jamari Smith and Kenny Dye scored 11 apiece, and Jachai Taylor added nine with eight boards.

-So far this season, Queens has collected notable wins over The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (No. 3), Catawba College (No. 6), Lees-McRae College (No. 7), Anderson University (No. 8), and Emmanuel College (No. 10) all regionally-ranked teams.

-Queens is currently tied with Catawba for second place in the SAC standings. The Royals are five games back of Lincoln Memorial (15-0) in first place and hold a one-game lead over Anderson University and Tusculum (9-6), who are tied for fourth place. The top four teams in the SAC standings at the end of the season will earn the right to host a quarterfinal game in the SAC Tournament.

-The two-time reigning regional champions fell three spots to No. 5 in the most recent edition of the Southeast Region Poll, D2SIDA announced on Monday, Feb. 3. Queens earned 37 points, to place behind conference rival Lincoln Memorial, UNC-Pembroke, King University, and Lander University. The week's placement is the Royals' lowest regional ranking of the season.

-With a 22-point performance on Jan. 22, at Wingate University, Carr moved into 10th-place all-time on the Queens career scoring list, passing DeWayne Ansley who scored 1,266 points in 111 games from 1991-1996. Carr has currently scored 1,342 points in his four-year career (125 games) and is three points shy of tying Yogi Leo (1,345 points) for ninth place.

-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). 

-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 (14-9, 9-6 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-The Pioneers have won three consecutive games, last beating the University of Virginia College at Wise, 78-68, on Wednesday night. The three-game winning streak comes on the heels of a stretch in which Tusculum lost five of six games.

-Tusculum is currently tied with Anderson for fourth place in the League standings, one-game back of Queens and Catawba who are tied for second.
-The Pioneers received votes in the most recent edition of the Southeast Region rankings produced by D2SIDA on Monday, Feb. 3.

-Tusculum is led by Tariq Jenkins and Trenton Gibson, who average 14.0 and 13.1 points per game, respectively. Brandon Mitchell is the team's leading rebounder with an average of 8.3 rebounds per game (No. 3 SAC).

-Tusculum is one of the best rebounding teams in the country with a League-leading +10.8 rebound margin (No. 3 NCAA). The Pioneers lead the nation in offensive rebounds per game, hauling in 17.04 per contest.

-Tusculum leads the SAC in two major defensive statistical categories, steals per game (9.0, No. 17 NCAA) and blocked shots per game (4.1, No. 36 NCAA).

-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 30-22 (.577 win pct.).