FGCU/QUEENS PREVIEW

Charlotte, NC- FGCU (14-7, 4-4 ASUN) looks to get back to their winning ways, as they face ASUN Conference newcomer, Queens University of Charlotte (13-8, 3-5 ASUN), Thursday night at 7 PM from Curry Arena.

Stats (FGCU):

FGCU averages 70.2 ppg, shoots 42.7% (514/1203) from the field, and 34.1% (187/548) from beyond the arc. The Eagles average 36.7 team rebounds per game. FGCU dishes out 12.8 assists, 6.9 steals, and 3.5 blocks per game. The Eagles average 12.4 team turnovers per game.

Stats (QUOC):

Queens averages 81.2 ppg, shoots 46.2% (594/1286) from the field, and 36.3% (210/578) from beyond the arc. The Royals average 39.2 team rebounds per game. Queens dishes out 15.0 assists, 6.4 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game. The Royals average 12.9 team turnovers per game.

3 Players To Watch For (FGCU):

6’1 SR G Isaiah Thompson 13.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg

6’7 JR G Zach Anderson 12.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg

6’3 JR G Chase Johnston 11.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg

3 Players To Watch For (QUOC):

6’0 SR G Kenny Dye 17.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg

Last season as a Junior:

-Named NABC Second Team All-Region and D2CCA Second Team All-Region

-Landed First Team All-Conference honors

-SAC All-Tournament Team, and All-Tournament MVP honors during the South Atlantic Conference Tournament

-Named to the 2022 Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List for Small College Basketball

– InterCon Student-Athlete of the Month for December

6’2 SO G AJ McKee 15.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg

Last season as a Freshman:

-Started in 33 games for the Royals, averaging 28.2 minutes per game

-Averaged 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game

6’8 JR F BJ McLaurin 9.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg

Last season as a Sophomore:

-Played in 34 games for the Royals, including four starts and averaged 13.4 minutes per game

-Averaged 6.9 points, and 4.1 rpg last season

Overview:

Queens University of Charlotte has been a major surprise this season and took the conference by storm, as they began their season defeating Marshall University at home, in their first ever NCAA D-1 game. The Royals began conference play defeating Austin Peay, but have suffered losses in their past two games on the road vs UNF, and Jacksonville. Overall, the Royals have wins against Marshall, Clinton College, Green Bay, Morgan State, University of Lynchburg, Bowling Green, Paine College, High Point, ETSU, Farleigh Dickinson, Austin Peay, Bellarmine, and UNA. Their setbacks have come against LaSalle, George Mason, Nebraska, EKU, Kennesaw State, UCA, UNF, and Jacksonville. Kenny Dye has been one of the best players in the ASUN Conference this season, and leads the Royals offensively, averaging 17.1 ppg. Head Coach Grant Leonard is in his first seasons leading the team, and has been on the coaching staff since 2013.

The Eagles almost took down the Owls Saturday night, and it would have been been a massive victory for a team that has underachieved during conference play, after a strong non-conference start to the season. The Eagles did get back their second leading scorer Zach Anderson (12.5 ppg), after he missed two games with a concussion, and he scored double digits in the loss to KSU. Chase Johnston (11.6 ppg) also was active for the Eagles, so the core players are all back for FGCU, and they need to find the offensive identity to keep up with the higher scoring teams in the conference. FGCU is led offensively by Isaiah Thompson, who is averaging 13.0 ppg. It’s another big opportunity to the Eagles to climb back above .500 in ASUN Conference play, and the time is now for FGCU to make that push, especially with a road game vs Liberty University on deck.