JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will look to avenge a tough Thursday night loss as they face North Florida on Saturday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE
Date: January 20th, 2024
Time: 5:00 PM
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
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THE MATCHUP
Saturday night will mark the fourth all-time meeting between the Royals and the Ospreys. The two squads have faced off twice as Division 1 opponents, and twice as Division 2 opponents dating all the way back to 1993. Last season, the Ospreys bested the Royals in Jacksonville in a 95-90 shootout. The back-and-forth affair featured 11 lead changes as the Ospreys controlled the pace with 19 points in transition, and held the Royals to four transition points. AJ McKee was dominant in the meeting scoring 28 points, including a 10-for-13 mark from the charity stipe.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (7-11 overall, 1-2 ASUN)

• The Royals are coming off a tough loss to Jacksonville on Thursday night. The difference in the game proved to be the free-throw line as the Royals went 21-for-43 from the line and the Dolphins held a 29-for-40 mark. A tap-in dunk at the buzzer from Kalib Mathews to send the game to overtime rimmed out for the Royals as they fell 79-77.
• Against the Dolphins, Queens swiped a Division 1 high 16 steals. The mark was the most since swiping a program record 19 against Young Harris on November 12, 2021.
• The Royals are coming off a tough shooting performance from the charity stripe going 21-for-43, a season-low.
• The Royals enter the game looking to snap their 10 game road losing streak.
• Queens is knocking down 9.3 three-pointers per game which is fifth best in the league. The Royals offense is centered around the three-point shot as they have attempted the second most in the league.
• The Royals offense can run up the score quickly as they are fourth in the conference in scoring with 78.8 points per game. Queens has reached the 80-point threshold six times this season and holds a 4-2 record in those games. The Royals are the highest-scoring team amongst schools making the transition to Division 1.
• Distributing the ball is key for the Royals as they are 6-2 on the year when dishing out 15+ assists as a team. Queens ranks fifth in the ASUN in assists as Deyton Albury leads the way with 3.9 per game, which is good for seventh-best in the league.
• Junior guard Deyton Albury has had an immense impact in his first campaign in the Queen City. The Royals' leading scorer is fourth in the league in points per game. The Nassau, Bahamas native is also top-ten in the ASUN in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals, and assists. Albury has reached double figures in 15 games this season, including ten straight. Against Jacksonville, Albury poured in 23 points on a career-high 21 free-throw attempts.
• The Royals' senior leader AJ McKee is the anchor for the Royals offense. On the season, the senior guard is averaging 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. The Charlotte native is fifth in the league in scoring and second in steals.
• Senior forward BJ McLaurin has started all 18 games down low for the Royals. The forward has reached double figures in 11 games this year. McLaurin ranks 10th in the conference in rebounds per game at 5.9.
• Sharpshooter Chris Ashby leads the Royals perimeter scoring as the junior ranks fifth in the league in three-point field goal percentage as he is shooting 39 percent from behind the arc. The Houston, Texas native has made at least three three-pointers in a game in ten games this year with a season-high seven from behind-the-arc against Carolina University.
• Freshman forward Bryce Cash has started eighteen of the Royals nineteen contents in his opening season as a Royal. The Charlotte native is averaging 6.8 points per game, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest and coming off a season-high seven rebounds.

 
SCOUTING THE OSPREYS (10-9 overall, 3-1 ASUN)

• The Ospreys enter Friday night 10-9 overall, and 3-1 in conference play as they are coming off an 84-75 win against Kennesaw State. North Florida comes into Saturday's matchup looking to stay hot, as they are on a three-game winning streak.
• North Florida has defended their home court this year sitting 8-2 inside UNF Arena this season. The Ospreys have one five straight home conference games dating back to last season.
• Junior guard Chaz Lanier leads the Ospreys in points, with 16.7 per game. The Nashville native is the one of the nation's best shooters as he shoots a scorching 44 percent from behind-the-arc which leads the ASUN.
• Ametri Ross averages 10.8 points per game for the Ospreys. The junior guard is the table setter for the Ospreys offense as he averages 3.0 assists per game. Ross does an exceptional job taking care of the basketball ranking seventh in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• The Ospreys offense is centered on the perimeter shot. The hosts come into Saturday with the most made three-pointers attempted in the nation, and are third in the conference in three-point field-goal percentage.
• North Florida also does a great job defending the three-point line holding their opponents to a 33 percent shooting clip from behind-the-arc which good enough for fifth in the conference.
• North Florida was picked to finish eleventh in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll and eighth in the ASUN Preseason Media Poll. The Ospreys posted a 14-17 overall record and 9-9 mark in league play last season.
• Matthew Driscoll has been the head coach at North Florida since 2009. During his tenure, he has won the ASUN regular season title three times, and secured a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2015. In his time at UNF, Driscoll has guided the Ospreys to three 20-win seasons, a mark the Ospreys had never reached at the D1 level. Driscoll holds a 217-231 overall record and a 127-101 record in ASUN play.

 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Royals will be back inside Curry Arena next Wednesday Night as they play hosts to Central Arkansas. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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