AUBURN, Ala. \u2013 Returning to competition after a nine-day holiday hiatus, the Auburn men\u2019s basketball team concludes non-conference play on Monday against Queens University at Neville Arena.<\/p>\n
Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Royals \u2013 like Auburn \u2013 have played a challenging schedule, with road losses at Villanova, Virginia, Wake Forest and Arkansas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re definitely capable of putting up a lot of points,\u201d Auburn coach Steven Pearl<\/a> said. \u201cThey\u2019re connected. They have guys who have returned so they understand each other, and they make shots at a high level. They\u2019re a very dangerous team on the offensive end.\u201d<\/p>\n One of four Royals averaging double figures, 6-5 guard Nasir Mann leads Queens in scoring at 15.3 points per game while shooting 38.5-percent from 3-point range.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have great positional size at the guard spots,\u201d Pearl said. \u201cThey have a lot of weapons. The second you stand up out of your stance, that\u2019s when they take advantage of you and they\u2019re able to knock down shots.\u201d<\/p>\n The layoff between games helped Auburn recover from injuries, especially Tahaad Pettiford<\/a> and KeShawn Murphy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe (Murphy) was bouncing around the gym yesterday and dunking all over the place,\u201d said Pearl, who gave Murphy a pep-talk after showing him video of Auburn\u2019s game against Houston in which the 6-10 forward flourished. \u201c\u2019That\u2019s the guy that we need. You were the Murph we know you\u2019re capable of in the Houston game. Let\u2019s get more of that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n After 26 days away from Neville Arena, the Tigers return to their home court, seeking to extend the nation\u2019s longest home nonconference winning streak to 64.<\/p>\n Auburn (8-4) and Queens (5-7) tip off at 9 p.m. CT Monday on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network, where Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will bring the action to listeners.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a group that\u2019s shown some resilience,\u201d Pearl said. \u201cWe\u2019ve responded pretty well after adverse situations. We\u2019ve got to stop having so many adverse situations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a team that has pieces to win games. Good teams win, great teams get better. For us to be a great team, we\u2019ve got to continue to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer<\/a><\/p>\n