Auburn University’s men’s basketball team will close its non-conference schedule by hosting Queens University at Neville Arena on Monday. The game follows a nine-day break for the Tigers, who last played nearly two weeks ago.
Queens University, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has faced a tough schedule this season with away losses to Villanova, Virginia, Wake Forest and Arkansas. Auburn head coach Steven Pearl commented on the Royals’ offensive capabilities: “They’re definitely capable of putting up a lot of points. They’re connected. They have guys who have returned so they understand each other, and they make shots at a high level. They’re a very dangerous team on the offensive end.”
Nasir Mann leads Queens in scoring with an average of 15.3 points per game and shoots 38.5 percent from beyond the arc. Pearl also noted their size advantage: “They have great positional size at the guard spots,” he said. “They have a lot of weapons. The second you stand up out of your stance, that’s when they take advantage of you and they’re able to knock down shots.”
The recent break gave Auburn time to recover from injuries, particularly for Tahaad Pettiford and KeShawn Murphy. Pearl praised Murphy’s recent performance in practice: “He (Murphy) was bouncing around the gym yesterday and dunking all over the place,” said Pearl, recalling encouragement given after reviewing past game footage with Murphy. “‘That’s the guy that we need. You were the Murph we know you’re capable of in the Houston game. Let’s get more of that.’”
Auburn returns home after almost four weeks away from Neville Arena and will attempt to extend its home nonconference winning streak to 64 games.
The Tigers hold an 8-4 record entering Monday night’s matchup against Queens (5-7). The contest is scheduled for 9 p.m. Central Time on SEC Network and Auburn Sports Network radio coverage.
Reflecting on his team’s resilience this season, Pearl stated: “It’s been a group that’s shown some resilience,” he said. “We’ve responded pretty well after adverse situations. We’ve got to stop having so many adverse situations.
“It’s a team that has pieces to win games. Good teams win, great teams get better. For us to be a great team, we’ve got to continue to get better.”
