OXFORD, Miss. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will close out 2024 and their non-conference schedule on Saturday, December 21^st when the Royals take on No. 17 Ole Miss inside the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. The Royals enter Saturday on a four-game winning streak matching their longest streak in Division 1 set in 2022.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE VS. OLE MISS
Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024
Time: 5:00 PM ET
Location: The Sandy and John Black Pavilion (Oxford, Miss.)
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THE MATCHUP
Queens and Ole Miss are set to meet for the first time on Saturday evening. The meeting will also mark the Royals first outing against an SEC opponent after previously taking on squads from the Big 12, ACC, and Big Ten. The Royals are 0-5 in those games with four of those opponents ranking in the AP Top 25 at the time of competition.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (7-5 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Queens is coming off their fourth straight win on Wednesday night as they took down Mercer, 73-66. The first half was a series of runs filled with turnovers as both defenses were strapped. Queens broke it open early in the second half with a 12-2 run capped off by a Malcolm Wilson dunk to force a Mercer timeout. Queens saw their lead grow to as large as 21, but a seven-minute scoreless drought from the field allowed the visiting Bears to cut the deficit back to six. Leo Colimerio turned in his second career double-double, and first in the Queen City with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• In the win against Mercer, the Royals saw five different players reach double figures for the first time since March 1, 2024, against Kennesaw State. Nasir Mann led the charge with 15 points and Leo Colimerio, Kalib Mathews, Chris Ashby, and Yoav Berman added 10+ points.
• After going 1-16 in true road games last season, the Royals have already surpassed that mark with back-to-back road victories at VMI and Gardner-Webb. Both games were decided by one possession and the Royals are 10-6 in Division 1 in one possession games.
• Closing out games has been a key to success for the Royals as they are 37-6 in Division 1 when leading with five minutes to play. This season, the Royals are 7-0 with the lead at the five-minute mark.
• After ranking last in the country in free throw percentage through the first five weeks of the season, the Royals seem to be turning the corner shooting 75 percent over their last three games. This season, Queens is 5-1 on the year when generating more free throw opportunities than their opponent.
• Queens can score the ball in a hurry and hold a 5-0 record this season, and a 25-10 mark in Division 1 when dropping 80 points.
• Defense wins championships and the Royals sit third in opponent field goal percentage (43.6%) and first in opponent three-point field goal percentage (31%). Against Mercer, the Royals held the Bears to a 16-percent clip from downtown, including an 0-for-10 mark in the second half.
• Graduate student Leo Colimerio was named the ASUN Newcomer of the Week on Monday following his week six performances. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in the Royals 2-0 week. Against Gardner-Webb, the 6-7 forward poured in a season-high 27 points. Colimerio was the first Royals player this season to earn weekly honors, and the fifth Queens player to do so since joining the league in 2022.
• Nasir Mann turned in a career-high 15 points, including an 8-of-9 mark from the free throw in the last outing against Mercer.
• Defensive specialist Kalib Mathews is coming off a season-high 10 points, four assists, and five steals against Mercer.
• As a team, Queens ranks tied for 20^th in the nation averaging 5.4 blocks per game. The mark leads the ASUN in part to 7-0 Malcolm Wilson's presence in the paint. The center leads the nation in blocked shots and became the fourth player in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball since 2014 to block 34+ shots before December 1^st.
• The Royals bench has shown its depth this season ranking top 25 in the country, and first in the ASUN in scoring with an average of 33.6 points per game. Newcomers Yoav Berman, Nasir Mann, Maban Jabriel, and DJ Shine have paced the bench scoring with an average of 22.1 points per game.
• Earlier this season, Chris Ashby became the sixth player in program history to drain 200 career three-pointers. The Houston, Texas native is sixth all-time in three-pointers made and sits second on the team in scoring. Against Gardner-Webb, Ashby was held scoreless from behind the arc for just the 11^th time in his career.
• The Royals have distributed the ball effectively this season ranking fourth in the ASUN in assists. Sophomore Bryce Cash has been a key contributor dishing out 4.1 assists per game, a mark that is top five in the ASUN.

 
SCOUTING THE REBELS (10-1 overall, 0-0 SEC)

• Ole Miss enters Saturday evening 10-1 overall and riding a four-game winning streak.
• The Rebels sit 17th overall in the recent AP Top 25 Poll, the highest ranking in 12 seasons.
• Head Coach Chris Beard is in his second season at the helm of the Rebels program. Beard holds one of the highest career winning percentages in college basketball, ranking 13th among active head coaches with 10 or more years of experience.
• Ole Miss runs an efficient offense ranking second in the nation in turnovers per game only committing 8.1 miscues.
• On defense, the Rebels force 16.3 per game which is top 20 in the nation.
• The Ole Miss defense is one of the best in the nation holding opponents to 63.7 points per game, a mark that is 26th in the country. The Rebels have held opponents under that margin in six games, including the last four games.
• Featuring 10 seniors on the roster, Ole Miss returned the fourth-highest minutes-per-game figure among all Power Four programs, and the most in the SEC. The Rebels are one of 18 programs in the nation featuring five or more players in at least their fifth year of eligibility.
• Ole Miss has five players averaging double figures as Virginia Tech transfer Sean Pedulla leads the way with 13.9 points per game.
• Forward Malik Dia was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Preseason Top 20. The junior has started all 11 games and is averaging 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
• Ole Miss ranks 19th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency according to KenPom.

 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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