HUNTINGTON, W. VA. – The 2023-24 college basketball season is set to get underway on Monday, November 6^th. The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will head to Marshall University for their season opener as they are ready to embark on their second Division 1 season in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE
Date: Monday, November 6, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Cam Henderson Center (Huntington, West Virginia)
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THE MATCHUP
Monday night marks the second all-time meeting between the Royals and the Herd after the two programs opened the 2022-23 season in the Queen City. In the first Division 1 game for Queens, the Royals all-time scoring leader Kenny Dye drained a mid-range jump shot from the elbow giving the Royals an 83-82 advantage with 9.0 seconds remaining. As a rocking 1,600 fans erupted, the Herd brought the ball up quickly and earned two looks under the basket for the game-winner, but neither would go in sending the Royals past the Herd to kick off their Division 1 journey. Round two will be played in West Virginia as the programs are completing their home-and-home series.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (0-0 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Following their inaugural ASUN season which featured a trip to the ASUN Tournament Quarterfinals, the Royals return six letter winners from that squad, including four consistent starters in AJ McKee, Gavin Rains, BJ McLaurin, and Kalib Mathews.
• Despite losing seven players, the Royals filled the void with key additions, including a pair of top 50 JUCO players in Deyton Albury and Jacobi Sebock. Queens added size and depth with Salt Lake Community College transfer Jaxon Pollard and Georgetown transfer Malcolm Wilson. Additionally, Queens paired the veteran talent with fresh youngsters in North Carolina high school standouts Bryce Cash and Kobe George.
• Queens will look to build upon a 7-10 road record, and 4-3 mark in non-conference road tests last season.
• Speed is the name of the game for the Royals style of play as they averaged the second most points in the league at 77.7. The mark was also the most amongst any school in the NCAA reclassification process.
• Queens is not afraid to shoot their shot from behind the arc as they averaged the fourth most three-pointers per game last season at 26.5.
• Preseason All-Conference recipient AJ McKee returns to the Royals offense after averaging 15.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game last season. The Charlotte native was top five in the scoring in the ASUN reaching double figures in 31-of-33 games.
• Crashing the glass continues to be an emphasis for the Royals after pulling down the second most rebounds per game in the league. Veteran forwards Gavin Rains, BJ McLaurin, Jaxon Pollard, and Malcolm Wilson will lock down the block as they were 16-5 last season when outrebounding their opponent.
• The Royals are one of the nation's most efficient teams at getting to the free-throw line. Last year, the Royals made the most free throws in the ASUN as AJ McKee and Kenny Dye were the top two in the league in opportunities.

 
SCOUTING THE HERD (0-0 overall, 0-0 SunBelt)

• Marshall opens up the 2023-24 season following an impressive 24-8 record last year, including a 13-5 mark in league play.
• The Herd play well inside the Cam Henderson Center going 15-2 last year and 58-23 over the last five seasons.
• Marshall will look to replace their two leading scorers from last season in Taevion Kinsey and Andrew Taylor. The duo combined to average 42.3 points per game with the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Taevion Kinsey leading the way with 22.1 points per game.
• Senior Kamdyn Curfman returns to the frontcourt after averaging 11.5 points and 3.0 assists per game.
• Last season, Marshall was the eighth-best scoring team in the country pouring in 81.8 points per game.
• Marshall head coach Dan D'Antoni enters his ninth season at Marshall and holds a 164-128 record during that span.

 
WHAT'S NEXT
Following the season opener, the Royals will remain on the road as they head northwest for their first-ever meeting with Southern Illinois on Friday, November 10^th. The game will tip off at 8:00 p.m. ET and be broadcast on ESPN Plus. Fans can secure their tickets in advance by visiting the Southern Illinois Athletics website.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the Royals on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media to stay up to date on all the Royals sports in action.