ST. LOUIS – After Purdue saw its first-round opponent for Friday’s NCAA tournament, Oscar Cluff was asked in the locker room inside the United Center if he knew where Queens University was located.
Cluff, a native of Australia, blurted out the first thing that came to his mind — New York. Natural reaction. The school is based in Charlotte.
Cluff’s comment quickly reached the 15th-seeded Royals.
“At first it was a little disrespectful, then we realized probably a year or two ago, before we came to Queens, we didn’t know where it was either,” said senior Nasir Mann, the team’s leading scorer. “That’s the best thing about this moment: we can put Charlotte on the map.”
That’s the plan from Queens’ perspective. The second-seeded and eighth-ranked Boilermakers have different ideas, especially coming off their Big Ten tournament title run.
It’s a familiar position for Matt Painter’s team.
Purdue is a higher seed, playing a double-digit upstart from a mid-major conference, which just won its league tournament. And the Royals check most of the boxes that FDU, St. Peter’s, and other recent teams that surprised the Boilermakers in the NCAA tournament did.
“It kind of puts pressure on them a little bit, but it doesn’t matter,” said Yoav Berman, a native of Israel who’s competed against Purdue’s Omer Mayer. “It is a different team. We are just going to go out there and compete.”
When coach Grant Leonard brought 13 newcomers into the program, the opportunity to make a run to the NCAA tournament was possible in the program’s first year of Division I eligibility. They reached this point by winning the Atlantic Sun tournament championship.
“We were making sure every visit when we brought someone in that we were on our best behavior,” Mann said. “We made them love the area. We knew we only needed a few more pieces to put this all together and we knew we would be in March Madness.
“I felt we had a great team. As the summer went on, the goal became clear that we were going to be one of the best in our league, and we ended up winning our league. We have had the vision for a while.”
The Royals’ style is to shoot 3-pointers and lean on their offense.
They’ve attempted 962 shots from 3-point range and have made one in 412 straight games, led by Chris Ashby, who’s shooting 37.4% from beyond the arc.
Queens is one of three teams in the nation with at least six players averaging in double figures. Miami (Ohio) and Texas A&M are the others. The Royals lost to Villanova, Virginia, Wake Forest, Arkansas, and Auburn by an average of 30.4 points. They lost their other eight games by an average of 7.3 points.
For whatever it’s worth, former Boilermaker Myles Colvin, now at Wake Forest, scored 33 points in the Dec. 14 matchup.
Leonard and his players have a spirit animal, “Buddy the Street Dog,” a ceramic mascot that accompanied the Royals to Thursday’s press conferences. During games, Buddy sits on top of the water cooler to keep him “hydrated,” Leonard said, smiling.
This is Buddy II after Buddy I was “injured” in a celebration in Fort Myers after the Royals beat Florida Gulf Coast in January. Buddy II came from Amazon.
The idea was hatched during the summer when his players called themselves a bunch of dogs.
“One of the assistant coaches, (Adam) Short – and we call him “Bulldog” – he asked them, ‘Are you a street dog or a Petco dog?’ Leonard said. “His comment, ‘Are you guys spoiled or do you have to fight for what you want?’ We want them to embody the street dog mentality of fighting for everything you can get.”
The coaching staff awards a “Street Dog of the Game” to one of the players.
Overall, Queens is giving up an average of 82.9 points, with that number inflated by games against Power 4 opponents, but that’s the opponent on Friday. The Boilermakers clearly have the weapons to take advantage inside with Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn.
Queens ranked in the bottom half of the conference in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, and 3-point field goal defense. The Royals are content with trying to outscore opponents.
“Our ability to shoot and space the floor, everybody on our team can shoot the ball at a pretty good clip,” Mann said. “I think that’s a very dangerous thing. You can get hot at any given moment, especially in March Madness. That’s when the miracles truly happen.
“I do believe that’s what makes us very versatile. We are able to switch a lot of things, and we have a lot of length, which allows us to shoot passing lanes and cause turnovers.”
Painter called the Royals a “skilled team” with a handful of players who can shoot and break defenses down off the dribble. They don’t feature the size the Boilermakers usually see in the Big Ten.
“Their big guys can rip and go. They have size that can shoot 3s. They have athleticism. They have proven throughout the year that they can score the basketball,” Painter said.
“For us, trying to stick to our rules, keep the ball in front of us more than anything. They do a good job of advancing the basketball and just looking to attack right away.
Leonard wasn’t bothered by Cluff’s comments after the Boilermakers won the Big Ten tournament, understanding the moment. The fourth-year head coach approaches it as an opportunity to showcase his program and the university on a bigger stage, regardless of Friday’s outcome.
“Someone asked if I was mad that the Purdue center didn’t know we were in North Carolina? No. This is an awesome way to bring more light to the school,” Leonard said.
“Queens is an amazing place. It is life-changing. Queen’s mission is to provide a transformational educational experience to our students. It is a very student-centered culture. I have been there 13 years, and it has provided a life-changing experience to me. More people need to know about how unique and special Queens is. I have been at six schools, and this is by far the most special place I have ever been.”