SIU starts the D1 part of their schedule with a visit from Queens on Friday.
Meet the Royals:
Queens made the jump up to Division 1 last year and started off with a 83-82 win over Marshall for their first D1 victory. The Royals went 10-3 in non-conference play last year but struggled a bit in Atlantic Sun play going 7-11. They eventually lost by 1 in the Atlantic Sun Tournament to eventual winner Kennesaw State.
Queens saw some turnover from last year losing leading scoring Kenny Dye to graduation (16.9 PPG). The Royals were picked 10th of 12 in the A-Sun coaches poll and 9th of 12 in the A-Sun media poll. They started the season #205 in KenPom but dropped to their current status at #216 after their 89-73 loss to Marshall on Monday
The head coach of the Royals is Grant Leonard, in his 2nd year. Leonard was promoted to head coach before last season after serving as associate head coach since 2016.
The Royals like to push the tempo. Last season, they were 61st in the country in average possession length on the offensive end (16.6 seconds) and 44th in the country in adjusted tempo (69.9). Queens was 5th in the A-SUN in adjusted offensive efficiency and top 150 nationally.
Due to their lack of depth and size in their transition from D2 to D1, Queens really struggled on the defensive end last year. They were 268th in the country in adjusted efficiency on the defensive end (109.5), 263rd in the country in 3 point % against (35.3%), and 306th in the country in 2 point % against (53.0%).
The Royals' leading returning scorer is 6-2 Junior AJ McKee. McKee averaged 14 PPG last year and was named to the A-Sun 3rd Team at the end of the season. McKee was 249th in the country in 3 point % (54-137, 39.4%), 182nd in free throw rate (46.9), and 223rd in the country in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (4.9). In their opening loss to Marshall, McKee scored 14 points on 6-14 shooting with 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
In their first game, the majority of the Royals' possessions and shots went through 6-2 Junior Deyton Albury. Albury is a transfer from JUCO Chipola College and was ranked #56 this offseason in the top 100 JUCO transfers. Small sample size obviously but Albury is currently 3rd in the country in assist rate (73.4%) thanks to his 8 assists in their opener against Marshall in 28 minutes. He's also 7th in the country in % of possessions gone through him (42.9%) and 54th in the country in % of shots taken while on the floor (36.7%). With his 8 assists though, he also had 7 turnovers on Monday.
Another key player for the Royals is 6-2 Junior Chris Ashby. Ashby hit a team-high 71 three pointers last year for Queens and was 240th in the country in 3 point % (39.6%). In their loss against Marshall, he scored a team-high 15 points on 5-15 shooting, 5-14 from 3.
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Anyone have an idea on how long Hornecker will be out?
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Anyone have an idea on how long Hornecker will be out?
They have him out indefinitely. I wouldn’t be shocked if he just took a redshirt year
If Hornecker and Hensley both do not play this season, that's a significant depth blow inside in a year when size/length was supposed to be a major strength. They'll still be fine if Rupert and Ebube stay healthy and can hold down the 5, but otherwise those absences could be problematic.
Also really need D'Amico to stay healthy at the 4 (they'll probably play smaller when he sits) and PG depth is dicey with Sharp injured.
I really don't expect to see Hensley this year. With the new rules that the NCAA has in place on second-time transfers, the chances on Hensley playing are between slim and none. And slim is halfway out of the door.
Now, I do believe that he will still have 2 years of eligibility left, he just has to sit out a year to do it. Just like it was in the old days.
I will be in the house. My first home game in years. Excited!
Anyone have an idea on how long Hornecker will be out?
They have him out indefinitely. I wouldn’t be shocked if he just took a redshirt year
At the ksu game, Cade was in a boot and using a scooter, so it appears he's got a serious injury - possibly a break. I don't expect him anytime soon, if at all.
SIU comes in at 6.5 point favorites
Over/Under is 141.5
I’m looking at ticket options for tonight. Has anyone subscribed to the PawPass option offered by SIU? It seems like a pretty incredible deal.
Edit: It looks like this is only available for purchase throughout the summer, which makes sense.
https://siusalukis.com/sports/2023/5/5/pawpass-subscription-plan-on-sale-for-14-99-month.aspx
The main thing I'm hoping to see tonight is more productivity and aggressiveness offensively from Trey Miller and AJ Ferguson, both of whom I think will be needed in a pretty big way offensively a lot of nights if this team is going to exceed expectations. I'd also like to see Kennard attempt a shot or two but he gets more of a grace period as a true freshman ...
And this will be much more of a test defensively, so also eager to see how the team defense looks against a more legit opponent.
4-4 start at the under 4 media timeout. Salukis are lucky Queens is 1-7 from the field.
Furman Furrburgers handling Belmont 69 - 60.
