FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will look to secure an ASUN conference tournament bid as they stay down in the Sunshine State to take on FGCU on Saturday, February 24th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE
Date: February 24th, 2024
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Alico Arena (Fort Myers, Fla.)
Watch
Live Stats
Queens Game Notes
Tickets
 
THE MATCHUP
Saturday's pivotal clash will be the fourth all-time meeting between Queens and FGCU. Earlier this season, the Royals soared past the Eagles in a back-and-forth 78-75 win inside Curry Arena behind 27 points from Deyton Albury. Last season, the Royals took both games over the Eagles, including a 61-55 win in the first round of the ASUN Tournament.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (12-17 overall, 6-8 ASUN)

• The Royals are coming off a massive 83-77 road win over conference contender Stetson on Thursday night. The Royals shot a season-high 64-percent from the field in the first half to catapult them to a lead they would never rescind in the final frame. Five different Royals reached double figures as Queens shot a season-best in league play 53-percent from the field.
• With the win, the Royals are tied for seventh in the conference with Kennesaw State. The top 10 teams qualify for the conference tournament, so with a win over FGCU the Royals are likely to clinch their spot.
• Queens finally got over the hump on the road with their win over Stetson. The Royals snapped a 14-game losing skid on the road as they look to build momentum before postseason play. Despite their road struggles, the Royals have battled losing four league games by one possession.
• A victory on Saturday night would mark the 700th all-time win for Queens in school history.
• The highflying Royals play a fast style of play that catapults their explosive offense. The Royals average 80.4 points per game which is fourth best in the ASUN and top-50 nationally. The Royals are 7-3 on the season when they score over 80 points and they rank first in scoring amongst teams in the Division 1 transition period.
• Thursday will feature a clash of styles as the dynamic Royals rank eight in the country in pace-of-play according to KenPom while the Eagles like to slow the pace down in the halfcourt ranking 337th in tempo.
• The Royals offense is centered around the three-point shot as they are third in the conference in total attempts. Their 25.9 attempts per game also ranks them inside the top-35 nationally. Queens is knocking down 8.8 three-pointers per game which is fifth best in the league.
• Sharing the ball efficiently is a key for the Royals as they are 7-2 on the year when dishing out 15+ assists as a team. Queens ranks seventh in the ASUN in assists as guard Deyton Albury leads the way with 3.8 per game which is eighth best in the ASUN.
• Junior guard AJ McKee is the catalyst for the Royals as the Charlotte native averages a team-leading 18.2 points per game which is third in the ASUN. McKee also pulls down 4.0 rebounds and dishes out 2.4 assists per game while swiping 1.7 steals per game which is third-best in the league. McKee is a steadying presence on offense for the Royals as he has eclipsed double-figures in 28-of-29 contests this season, and 59-of-62 contests over the last two seasons. Over his last seven games, the veteran is averaging 23.1 points per game on 55 percent shooting from the field. McKee is five points shy of becoming the seventh player in program history to hit 1,500 career points.
• Junior guard Deyton Albury has quickly stepped up as a leader in his first year in the Queen City. The junior point guard is fifth in in the league in points per game, with 17.5 and also ranks top-10 in the ASUN in field goal percentage, assists, and steals. Albury poured in 16 points off the bench in the Royals win Thursday while also grabbing a team-leading eight rebounds, and dishing out four assists against Stetson.
• Senior forward BJ McLaurin has started all 29 games down low for the Royals. The forward has reached double figures in 16 games this year as he averages 11.8 points on the season. Against Stetson, the senior totaled 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including 2-for-4 from behind-the-arc.
• Rookie Bryce Cash has become one of the ASUN's most prolific freshman as he has stepped into a prominent role in his first year as a Royal. Cash has started in 28-of-29 contests this year for the Royals and is averaging 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Against Stetson, Cash stuffed the statsheet scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, distributing out four assists, and swiping two steals.
• Houston, Texas native Chris Ashby leads the Royals in perimeter shooting. The junior is a shooting threat everytime he touches the ball and ranks top-five in the ASUN in three-point field goal percentage. Ashby was on fire from behind-the-arc against the Hatters going 4-for-8 from deep. The junior guard is rounding into form down the stretch as he is shooting nearly 50-percent from three-point range over the last three games.

 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES (11-17 overall, 5-8 ASUN)

• The Eagles enter Thursday night with an 11-17 overall record, and a 5-8 record in the ASUN as they are competing to secure a spot in the ASUN Tournament. FGCU is coming off a 74-67 home loss to Kennesaw State on Thursday night.  
• FGCU is looking to get back on track as postseason play approaches as the Eagles have lost four of their last five contests.
• Florida Gulf Coast distributes the ball around effectively as four different Eagles average double-figures on the season. 
• Isaiah Thompson is the tablesetter for the Eagle offense. The senior guard has exceeded double-figures in 13 contests this year as he is tied for the team-lead in points with 12.9. The Zionsville, Indiana native totaled a season-high 25 points against Hampton on November 18th, 2023.
• Junior forward Zach Anderson has been a steadying prescence for the FGCU offense. Anderson averages 12.9 points while shooting an effecient 48-percent from the field, and is 45-for-97 from behind-the-arc on the year. The Apopka, Florida native is also physical downlow averaging 5.2 rebounds per game.
• Keeshawn Kellman has rounded into form down the stretch for the Eagles. The team's leading rebounder has eclipsed double-figures in points in four straight games and has two double-doubles over that stretch. Kellman ranks eighth in the conference in rebounds.
• The Eagles offense looks to slow the pace-of-play down ranking 11^th in the conference in points per game, but fourth in the conference in field-goal percentage.
• FGCU's identity is on the defensive end as they rank third in the conference in points allowed with 71.8 per game.
• The Eagles were picked to finish second in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll and fourth in the ASUN Preseason Media Poll. FGCU posted a 17-15 and 7-11 record in conference play last season.
• Pat Chambers is in his second season as the head coach of the Eagles, and his 13^th year as a head coach at the college level. Most recently serving as an assistant at La Salle, he has been the associate head coach at Villanova under legendary coach Jay Wright. Chambers first served as a head coach at Boston University from 2009-2011. There, he would lead the school to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. He would then spend nine years as head coach at Penn State. His 56 Big 10 wins are the most conference wins for any coach in Happy Valley.

 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Royals will return home for their season finale against Kennesaw State next Friday, March 1^st. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
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.