NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will look to extend their winning streak on Thursday night when they travel west to play Lipscomb inside Allen Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE
Date: February 8th, 2024
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Allen Arena (Nashville, Tenn.)
Watch
Live Stats
Queens Game Notes
Tickets
 
THE MATCHUP
Thursday's battle will be the second all-time meeting between the Royals and Bisons. Last year, Lipscomb took the inaugural matchup in a close, 66-60 victory. The Royals struggled to get their offense going as they shot 35 percent from the field in the road loss. Lipscomb used their depth to their advantage as the Bisons bench outscored the Royals 30-13.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (10-14 overall, 4-5 ASUN)

• The Royals are coming off a commanding 85-75 victory over the Bellarmine Knights last Saturday. The Royals remained in control for the majority of the game behind their 51 percent shooting mark from the field as they held a lead for 35 minutes of action. Queens cashed in from the stripe shooting 27-of-33 from the line, a mark that was second-best on the season.
• Queens enters Thursday night on a two-game winning streak which matches their longest of the season.
• The Royals will look to end their road struggles as Queens is 0-12 in true road games this year. Despite the struggle, the Royals have had second-half leads at Kennesaw State, Jacksonville, and North Alabama which were erased. Queens lost those three games by an average of 3.7 points.
• A significant contributor to the Royals struggles on the road has come at the free throw line as Queens is shooting 65 percent from the stripe on the road. Inside Curry Arena, the Royals are cashing in at 76 percent and hold a 9-2 mark at home.
• Queens swept the ASUN weekly honors for their performances last week. AJ McKee was named ASUN Player of the Week while Deyton Albury garnered his second straight Newcomer of the Week praise. Against EKU and Bellarmine, McKee averaged 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Nassau native Deyton Albury joined McKee after averaging 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last week.
• The Royals offense can score in a hurry as they are fourth in the conference in scoring with 80.5 points per game. Queens pushes the pace and ranks seventh in the nation in tempo according to KenPom.
• Queens is knocking down 9.0 three-pointers per game which is fifth best in the league and ranks top 40 in the NCAA in makes per game. The Royals are 8-4 when they bury at least their season average in three-pointers in a game. 
• Sharing the ball is a huge key for the Royals as they are 7-2 on the year when dishing out 15+ assists as a team. Queens ranks sixth in the ASUN in assists as point guard Deyton Albury leads the way with 3.9 per game which is eighth best in the ASUN.
• Junior guard AJ McKee is averaging 17.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in his second Division 1 season. The Charlotte native is sixth in the league in scoring and third in steals as he is the catalyst for the Royals defense. McKee has been the Royals most consistent scorer as he has reached the double-digit threshold in 23-of-24 contests this year. 
• Junior guard Deyton Albury has stepped into a leadership role in his first year in the Queen City. The Royals' leading scorer is third in the league in points per game. The Nassau, Bahamas native is also top 10 in the ASUN in field goal percentage, assists, and steals. Albury has reached double figures and has eclipsed double-digit points in 20 games this season, including 15 straight.  
• Senior forward BJ McLaurin has started all 24 games down low for the Royals. The forward has reached double figures in 13 games this year and ranks 11th in the league in rebounds per game.
• Rookie Bryce Cash has become one of the league's best freshmen as he is averaging 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in the last five games. Against Bellarmine, Cash totaled an efficient 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field
• Sharpshooter Chris Ashby leads the Royals perimeter scoring as the junior ranks fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage shooting 38 percent from behind the arc. The junior guard has made at least four three-pointers in seven contests this year as he is looking to break the top 10 in three-point field goals made in a single season.

 
SCOUTING THE BISONS (14-10 overall, 5-4 ASUN)

• The Bisons enter Saturday afternoon with a 14-10 overall record, and a 5-4 mark in the ASUN. The Bisons are coming off an 84-82 victory at home against Jacksonville on Saturday.
• Lipscomb will look to continue their dominance at home as the Bisons are 8-1 inside Allen Arena this year. 
• The Bisons graduate student Derrin Boyd is the catalyst for the Lipscomb offense as he leads the way with 17.3 points per game. Boyd is fifth in the conference in points. The guard is shooting 51 percent from the field and 83 percent from the charity stripe which are both fourth-best in the league. 
• Will Pruitt is the tablesetter for the Bison offense. The junior guard averages 13.2 points, six rebounds, and a team-leading 3.3 assists per game. Pruitt is exceptional at taking care of the ball as he sits fifth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio. 
• AJ McGinnis is the Bisons best perimeter shooter as the Cincinnati transfer is shooting 38 percent from behind the three-point line. The junior guard can get hot from deep quickly as he has made three or more three-pointers in eight contests this year. 
• The Bisons have a high-powered offense that averages 81.0 points per game which is third best in the conference and top 40 nationally. The Bisons offense is incredibly efficient as they lead the conference in field goal percentage and three-point percentage.
• The smaller Bisons unit has struggled on the glass sitting 11th in the conference in rebounds per game.
• The Bisons were picked to finish fifth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll and third in the ASUN Preseason Media Poll. Lipscomb posted a 20-13 overall record and 11-7 record in league play last season.
• Lennie Acuff is in his sixth season as the head coach at Lipscomb. Prior to his time in Nashville, Acuff served as the Head Coach of the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Barry University. At Huntsville,  he would guide the school to 11 NCAA tournament appearances and eight conference regular season titles. Last year, Acuff led the Bisons to his most successful season yet, as Lipscomb advanced to the ASUN Conference Tournament Seminfinals. Acuff has over 600 career wins as a head coach. 

 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Royals will continue their road trip as they stay in Tennessee to take on Austin Peay on Saturday, February 10th. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 pm 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.