Rivalry Week Awaits NU

Niagara continues its eight-game road trip with two Big 4 rivalry contests this week. First up for the Purple Eagles is a 7 p.m. match-up with cross-town rival, the Buffalo Bulls, on Wednesday.

The Purple Eagles have won two of the last three meetings with the Bulls, including a 65-61 victory in the last meeting at Alumni Arena.  Niagara has won five of the last six meetings against UB and St. Bonaventure.

Wednesday’s game will feature two of the best ball handling guards in the nation. NU’s Marvin Jordan leads the MAAC with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, while his counterpart, UB’s Byron Mulkey, leads the Mid-American Conference with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio; both rank in the top 50 in the nation.

Ready for Action

sThe Purple Eagles are 9-3 versus Big 4 rivals Buffalo, Canisius and St. Bonaventure in the last three seasons.

s Niagara continues its eight-game road trip this week. The trip began with three games in the Legends Classic in Detroit on Nov. 26 and will conclude in Connecticut on Dec. 19. The road trip is the longest since the 1940-41 season (eight games).

s Senior floor general Anthony Nelson has scored in double-figures in four-straight games, including a career-high 31 points at Detroit.  He is second on the team in points per game and rebounds per game, and leads the team in assists per game.

s Junior forward Kashief Edwards has scored in double-figures in six out of eight games this season. Edwards ranks sixth in the conference in scoring (14.0), sixth in rebounds per game (7.4) and second in minutes per game (36.8). 

s Freshman guard Marvin Jordan leads the conference with a 2.5 assists/turnover ratio and ranks 50th in the nation.

s Niagara heads into the UB game with a losing record for the first time since the 2006-07 season (1-3). The Purple Eagles won the MAAC Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament that season.

How To Tune In

Wednesday’s game will be televised live on Time Warner SportsNet. Fans can listen live to all of the action, called by “The Voice of the Purple Eagles” Todd Callen, free through Yahoo! Sports live web-streaming and on WGR 550 AM.

Glad You’re Back

Niagara finally had its leader back on the court. Anthony Nelson, NU’s lone senior, made his season debut on Nov. 26 in the 65-61 win over Bowling Green in the Legends Classic. Nelson missed the first three games of the season due to an injury.

Nelson immediately made an impact to the Purple Eagles offense. On Nov. 28, he set career-highs with 31 points and 11 field goals, while tying a career-high with three 3-pointers. His 31 points were the most by a Purple Eagle since Tyrone Lewis scored 31 points at Manhattan on Jan. 31, 2009. 

Seizing the Rock

Niagara is taking care of the rock, while taking it away from the opposition. The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC with a +2.00 turnover margin and fourth in the conference with 7.0 spg.

Season’s Greetings

Over the past three seasons, Niagara has enjoyed the holiday season during the month of December. NU compiled a 15-6 record in December from 2007-09. The Purple and White will look to get in the win column in December 2010 after dropping their first two games in the month.

Unfamiliar Territory

Niagara fell at Marist on Dec. 3 to drop its first conference opener in four seasons and had its four-game win streak against Marist evaporate. The Purple Eagles suffered an 82-58 defeat at Iona on Dec. 5 to begin conference play 0-2 for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

MAAC Honors For Jordan

Freshman guard Marvin Jordan was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 27. Jordan paced Niagara to a 2-2 week while leading  the team in scoring twice with consecutive career-high scoring outputs in wins over Mount St. Mary’s and Bowling Green. 

Jordan scored 14 points in the comeback win over MSM and set a new career-high with 17 points in the win over Bowling Green. Jordan had seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and zero turnovers in the two wins.

Jordan also scored 14 points against Detroit in the final game of the Legends Classic on Sunday. Jordan averaged 12.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.8 spg in four games.

On The Court

Buffalo Bulls (4-3, 0-0 MAC)

UB will start a four-game homestand when it host Niagara on Wednesday night. The Bulls lost their previous game at St. Bonaventure on Saturday, 76-74.

The Bulls have three players averaging in double-figures in scoring: Zach Filzen (15.3), Bryon Mulkey (14.3) and Dave Barnett (10.1). Mulkey leads the nation with 4.1 steals per game. UB sports the MAC number one scoring defense, holding teams to 62.6 ppg and shooting 39.1 percent from the field.

Against the Bulls (NU leads 58-29)

The Purple Eagles lead the all-time series which began during the 1906-07 season. Niagara and UB has split their last six meetings at Alumni Arena, with the Purple Eagles clipping the Bulls in the last meeting there in Nov. 2008.

Last Meeting - December 9, 2009

Buffalo 86, Niagara 80

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - Senior Tyrone Lewis  broke Niagara’s career three-point record with 1:00 remaining in the contest, but the Niagara men’s basketball team (6-4, 2-0 MAAC) dropped a home rivalry game against Buffalo, 86-80, in front of 2,298 fans at the ‘Taps’ Gallagher Center on Wednesday evening.

The Series................. Niagara leads 58-29

Last Game.................. December 9, 2009

............................... Buffalo 86, Niagara 80

Last Niagara win... November 25, 2008

............................... Niagara 65, Buffalo 61

Last Buffalo win....... December 9, 2009

............................... Buffalo 86, Niagara 80

Last Niagara win at UB.. Nov. 25, 2008

............................... Niagara 65, Buffalo 61

Last UB win at home ........ Dec. 2, 2006

............................... Niagara 62, Buffalo 74

Current streak......... Buffalo, one straight

Coach Mihalich vs. UB........................ 6-6