MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL · GAME DAY
Queens University Royals2-1AWAY
#23 BYU Cougars2-0HOMEMarriott Center · ESPN+
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MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL · ARCHIVED PREGAME PRIMER
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No. 23 BYU is 2–0 and hosts Queens University of Charlotte, a 2–1 ASUN team with a recent Division I NCAA Tournament debut. Nasir Mann gives the Royals a scorer to follow; Robert Wright III and Tyler Betsey drive a BYU offense coming off 108 points against Omaha. Queens must protect the ball after a rough trip to Oklahoma State. Watch whether BYU gets its threes from quick, connected passes. Tipoff: 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT on ESPN+.
Queens is the university in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its men’s team enters 2–1 and was picked to win the ASUN in the conference’s preseason coaches poll. That gives this visit a little more context than the usual ranked-team-versus-unfamiliar-name billing. FanFluent’s question is whether the Royals can keep their own offensive choices intact against BYU’s pressure. They have already demonstrated late-game composure on the road, and they have also experienced how quickly a power-conference opponent can take a game away.
Robert Wright III scored 19 as BYU beat Omaha 108–67. Tyler Betsey supplied 18 on six made threes, and the Cougars finished with 22 assists and 16 threes. Our viewing cue is the pass before the assist. When the ball changes sides before a shooter catches it, the defense has farther to travel. Queens needs to make BYU work through a set defense instead of repeatedly offering open-floor chances and late closeouts. A difficult contested three is a very different concession from a catch in rhythm.
Nasir Mann scored a career-high 28 on 11-of-13 shooting in Queens’s 96–95 win at Loyola Marymount. Jordan Watford made the deciding free throw with two seconds left. That night showed the Royals could finish a tight road game. Against BYU, our watch is how Mann gets the ball after the first action is defended. A clean catch with room to attack gives Queens a chance to make a second defender help; a catch near the sideline with the clock running down asks much more of him.
Queens lost 118–68 in Stillwater. Coach Grant Leonard pointed to ball pressure disrupting the Royals’ movement; they committed 18 turnovers that became 24 Oklahoma State points. Queens also made only seven of 34 threes. FanFluent analysis: better shooting would help, but the first improvement must be getting a useful shot at all. Watch for a teammate moving toward a trapped ball-handler to offer a passing option. Leaving the passer without an outlet risks feeding the exact transition game that makes BYU dangerous.
BYU has won 27 consecutive nonconference home games. Jaxon Kohler enters averaging 11 points and seven rebounds, giving the Cougars another way to sustain possessions when an outside attempt misses. Our read is that Queens needs several things to happen together: organized ball-handling, a real contest on the first shot and a secured rebound afterward. A few made threes can keep the score interesting, but those ordinary possessions will show whether the Royals are controlling enough of the game to make a run matter.
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Queens University of Charlotte made its Division I NCAA Tournament debut in March 2026 as a No. 15 seed against Purdue. If BYU is your first look at the Royals, their national introduction already has a chapter.
Queens’s first four games of 2026–27 span Eastern, Pacific, Central and Mountain time, ending at BYU. Which is tougher in an opening week: learning new opponents or keeping your rhythm while the clock keeps changing?
The November 9 school previews do not provide comprehensive game-day injury lists. Player references reflect those previews and the teams’ latest completed games.