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First Place Purps
Riding a nine-game conference win streak, the Niagara Purple Eagles welcome the Iona Gaels to the Gallagher Center for an encounter between the top two teams in the MAAC on Thursday in the National MAAC Game of the Week airing live on ESPN3 at 7 p.m.

Niagara sits in first place with a 9-1 MAAC record, which ties a program-best start set during Joe Mihalich’s first season in 1998-99. The lone team to defeat Niagara in MAAC play this season is Iona, which won 83-72 in the conference opener on Nov. 28. Antoine Mason led NU with 24 points (20 in the second half) and Ameen Tanksley earned his first double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds) of the season in the setback.

Thursday’s rematch features two teams ranked in the top two in the MAAC in scoring, assist/turnover ratio, turnover margin and RPI, as well as four of the top six scorers in the league, including the top three (Lamont Jones, Sean Armand, Antoine Mason).
 
Tipoff Tidbits
~ NU is 10-2 in its last 12 games for its best run since the 2009 season (11-1).
~ The Purple Eagles’ 9-1 MAAC start ties a program-best which was set during the 1998-99 season. A victory over Iona would give NU its best-ever start in the MAAC.
~ The nine-game regular season conference win streak is the longest as a member of the MAAC. The 2006-07 team won 10 straight games against MAAC teams which includes three in the tournament.
~ NU’s conference win streak is the tied for 7th longest conference win streak in the nation.
~ Juan'ya Green collected his second career MAAC Player of the Week award on Jan. 28.
~ Antoine Mason is third in the conference in scoring with 18.1 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 28 straight games.
~ NU is ranked 25th in this week’s CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.

Get Your Tickets
Tickets for the game are still available. Fans can guarantee their seats by purchasing tickets in advance with no additional service fees by calling the Ticket Office at (716) 286-8499. Some tickets are still available in the chairback seats section. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.PurpleEagles.com. The Gallagher Center Ticket Office opens one hour prior to tip-off.

How To Tune In
Thursday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN3. NU fans can listen live to all the action from “The Voice of the Purple Eagles” Todd Callen. The matchup can be heard live on WWKB 1520 AM. Internet listeners can listen free online through Purple Eagles All-Access.

MAAC Start Ties Program’s Best
Niagara is off to one of its best starts in conference play in its 24-year history as a MAAC member. The Purple Eagles’ 9-1 record is tied for their best start ever, which was set during the 1998-99 season.

Home Cooking
NU is off to its best starts at home since the 2004-05 season. NU is 8-1 through its first nine games which is tied for its second best start under Joe Mihalich.

Double Figures Scoring
Antoine Mason has scored in double figures through the first 20 games this season and in 28 straight games dating back to last season. Mason’s streak to open the season surpassed backcourt teammate Juan’ya Green start to last season,  when he scored in double figures in the first 18 games. Mason’s 28 straight games streak is the longest since Charron Fisher completed the feat 53 straight times from 2006-08 (all 29 games in 2007-08). 

Conference Win Streaks Around The Nation
NU’s nine-game conference win streak is tied for seventh longest in the nation with Louisiana Tech and Memphis. Montana leads the nation in regular season conference wins with 21 dating back to last season.

Green Nabs Second MAAC POW Award
Juan’ya Green collected his second MAAC Player of the Week award of the season when he was named co-player of the week on Jan. 28. Green averaged 14 points per game, 9.5 assists per game and 7 rebounds per game while setting a career-high in rebounds and tying career-highs in assists, steals and blocks as the Niagara Purple Eagles extended their conference win streak to nine games with wins at Siena and Canisius.

Green was also named ECAC Co-Player of the Week and Buffalo News Big Four Player of the Week.

On The Court
Iona Gaels (14-7/8-2 MAAC)
Iona is 8-1 in its last nine games. The Gaels feature one of the most prolific scoring attack for the second straight season. Iona is fourth in the nation in scoring (81.8) led by Lamont Jones who is third in the nation with 22.3 ppg. Sean Armand is fourth in the nation in 3-pointer per game (3.8).

Against the Gaels (Iona, 38-33)
Niagara is 6-8 against Iona in the last 14 meetings. However, NU has lost the last five meetings which is the longest losing streak in the series since dropping 11 straight from Feb. 11, 1993-Feb. 6, 1998.

Last Meeting - November 28, 2012
Niagara 83, Iona 72
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Niagara men’s basketball team began its MAAC slate with an 83-72 setback against the defending regular season champion Iona Gaels on Wednesday.

1 vs. 2
The Gallagher Center will play host to the top two teams in the MAAC standings. This is the latest Gallagher has hosted a 1 vs. 2 game since Feb. 27, 2009, when the second place Purple Eagles defeated Siena, 100-85, on ESPNU.

NU Ranked 25th In Mid-Major Poll
The Niagara Purple Eagles cracked into the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for the first time this season on Jan. 28. NU, which has received votes three times this season, is ranked 25th in the weekly poll. Niagara is ranked in the poll for the first time since the 2008-09 season when the Purple and White were ranked 10th heading into the2009 MAAC Tournament.

Home Away From Home
Junior Marvin Jordan feels comfortable amidst the hostile environment at the Koessler Athletic Center, the home court of archrival Canisius. In his first Battle of the Bridge contest as a freshman, he scored a then-career-best 23 points and had a team-high four assists.
The following season, he scored 16 points including a game-high five 3-pointers. Though his biggest impact came in the comeback win on Jan. 27 when he led all scorers with a season-high 23 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds left.

Going Streakin’
Niagara is on a conference-best six-game win streak and on a nine-game conference win streak. NU’s conference win streak is the longest in the MAAC since Siena won 13 straight during the 2009-10 season. The Saints’ streaked was snapped by Niagara on Feb. 12, 2010 at the Gallagher Center.

Road Tough
Five of Niagara’s nine conference wins have come on the road. This is the first time Niagara has won five of its first six MAAC road games.

The last NU has won five of six MAAC games on the road was during the 2006-07 season.