5 Things to Know About Purdue's First March Madness Opponent — Queens Royals
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The NCAA Tournament has arrived, and after an 80-72 win over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game, Purdue is carrying a lot of confidence into March Madness. The Boilermakers earned a No. 2 seed and will play in the West Regional, with their first game set for Friday evening in St. Louis.
Purdue's first opponent will be No. 15 seed Queens (N.C.), which earned an automatic bid into the tournament by winning the ASUN Tournament title. It is an intriguing first-round matchup, featuring two extremely skilled offensive teams.
Here are a few things to know about Queens ahead of Friday's clash in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Six players are averaging double figures
Queens may be a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but this is a squad that can score at a high level. The Royals are averaging 84.9 points per game and shoot more than 28 threes per contest, hitting those at a 36% clip.
What makes Queens so good offensively is that essentially everyone on the roster can score. Six different players are averaging double figures, led by Nasir Mann with 13.4 points per contest. Here's the rundown of the Royals' top scorers this season:
- Nasir Mann — 13.4 ppg
- Yoav Berman — 12.6 ppg
- Jordan Watford — 11.9 ppg
- Chris Ashby — 11.7 ppg
- Avantae Parker — 11.3 ppg
- Carson Schwieger — 10.2 ppg
Ashby is the latest hero for the Royals, scoring 34 points and making 10 three-pointers in the ASUN Championship Game to lift Queens over Central Arkansas in the ASUN Tournament Championship.
There isn't one player Purdue can leave open at any given time. All are shooting 37% or better from the floor, and Ashby, Parker, Schwieger and Watford are all shooting at least 37.5% from three-point range. This is a tough team to defend.
One of the worst defensive teams in the country
It's not an overstatement to say that Queens is one of the worst teams defensively in college basketball this season. There is a reason the Royals averaged nearly 85 points per game and have a 21-13 record.
Queens ranks 353rd in points allowed per game this season, surrendering 82.9 points per contest. This team also ranks 322nd in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency rating. Opponents shoot 46.6% and 35.4% from three against the Royals.
Part of the problem for Queens' defense is its inability to win the rebounding battle. For the year, the Royals are minus-1.5 in rebound differential.
No true big man
Saying Queens doesn't have any size or length would be inaccurate. Mann, Berman and Watford have good size at the guard positions, and Schwieger and Parker are 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-9, respectively. So, it's not like this team is "tiny."
But it doesn't really have a true big man, someone who can dominate in the post alongside the seven-footers. There isn't a bruiser on the roster who can play a physical brand of basketball like Oscar Cluff or Trey Kaufman-Renn.
Parker might be the closest to providing Queens with that type of presence, a guy who can score in the post and can also battle for rebounds. But this is one area that Purdue should be able to exploit.
Leonard is a rising college basketball coach
Grant Leonard is in his fourth season as the head coach at Queens and has never had any experience at a high-major basketball program. After his playing career at William Penn, Leonard coached at the high school and NCAA Division II and III levels before the opportunity at Queens.
Leonard became an assistant for the Royals in 2013 and has remained with the program ever since. He was named associate head coach in 2016 and was named the head coach in 2022. He's enjoyed three winning seasons as the head of the team, posting a 73-62 record.
Many times, coaches have several stops along the Division I level before landing a head coaching job. All of Leonard's experience prior to becoming a head coach was at the lower levels, though.
This is Queens' first NCAA Tournament appearance
This season marked the first time Queens was eligible to make the NCAA Tournament since making the jump to the Division I level. The Royals obviously made the most of the opportunity, winning the ASUN Tournament to get the March Madness experience.
Queens was the No. 3 seed in the ASUN Tournament and needed overtime to defeat Central Arkansas 98-93. The Royals finished conference play with a 13-5 mark.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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