The Niagara Purple Eagles begin a six-game road trip starting Thursday when they play the USC Upstate Spartans at 5 p.m. as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Kent State subregional.

Niagara (1-1) is coming off of a 92-81 victory over Big 4 rival Buffalo in its home opener on Nov. 13. The victory was Niagara's first of the season, as well as new head coach Chris Casey's first Division I win. Niagara was led by junior Antoine Mason's 25 points, but NU also had solid contributions from freshman Ramone Snowden (15 points, eight rebounds), sophomore Tahjere McCall (career-best 15 points and eight rebounds) and redshirt senior Marcus Ware (11 points, four rebounds).

The Purple Eagles will face three tough opponents in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic subregional. NU, which fell to Seton Hall in the first game of the classic to start the season, will play USC Upstate (Nov. 21), Western Carolina (Nov. 22) and the host Kent State (Nov. 23). 
          
Tipoff Tidbits
•  Antoine Mason was named MAAC Player of the Week on Nov. 18 for the first time in his career after netting 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and 7-for-11 at the free-throw line in the win over Buffalo. Mason was also named College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week.
•  Antoine Mason is FOURTH in the nation in scoring with 29.5 points per contest and is SECOND in the nation in percentage of possible minutes played.
•  Marvin Jordan is eight points away from becoming the 44th member of Niagara's 1,000-point club. Jordan needs three 3-pointers to tie Lorenzo Miles for second place in career 3-pointers (220).
•  Freshman Ramone Snowden is averaging a double-double through two games (11.0 ppg, 11.5 ppg).
 
How To Tune-In
• Fans can listen live to all the action from "The Voice of the Purple Eagles" Todd Callen on ESPN1520 AM and free online through Purple Eagles All-Access.
 
Mason's Hot Start To The Season
•  Antoine Mason's start to the season ranks him among the top in the nation in a few categories
•  His 29.5 points per game has him on pace to finish in the top-3 in Niagara's single-season scoring average with Calvin Murphy.
•  Mason has scored at least 20 points in his last five games, dating back to last season.
•  He has played in 98.8 percent of minutes played which is second in the nation behind West Virginia's Juwan Staten.
 
Jordan On The Verge Of 1,000 Points
•  Senior Marvin Jordan needs 8 points to become the 44th member of the 1,000-Point Club at Niagara University.
•  Jordan will be joining backcourt teammate Antoine Mason as the only current players with 1,000 points.
 
Getting To The Line…And Making It Count
•  The Purple Eagles are THIRD in the nation in team free throw rate (79.6) according to KenPom.com.  The free throw rate captures a team's ability to get to the free-throw line:  free throw attempts divided by field goal attempts.
•  Ramone Snowden has scored 14 of his 22 points from the charity stripe, including sinking a career-high nine free throws on 10 attempts against Buffalo.
•  Snowden ranks SECOND in the nation with a 257.1 free throw rate, according to KenPom.com. The free throw rate measures a player's ability to get the line relative to how often he attempts to score.
•  37.2 percent of Niagara points are from the free-throw line, which LEADS the nation.
 
On The Court
USC Upstate Spartans (1-2, 0-0 A-Sun)
•  USC Upstate enters Thursday's game with a 1-2 record. The Spartans defeated Virginia Tech in their opener before dropping close contests to Winthrop and Tennessee.
•  The Spartans have two of the top three leading scorers in the A-Sun in forward Torrey Craig 21.3 ppg and guard Ty Greene 17.7. Craig is third in the conference in blocks per game, while Greene leads the conference in assists/turnover ratio (6.0), free throw percentage (.900) and minutes played per game (37.3).
•  Upstate is first in the A-Sun in free throw percentage (.723), 3-point field goal percentage (.347) and blocks per game (6.7).
 
Against The Spartans (First Meeting)
  
Against the Atlantic Sun Conference
•  Niagara has only played three members from the 10-team A-Sun.
•  The Purple Eagles are 3-4 all-time against the A-Sun
•  The last meeting between an A-Sun opponent was against Mercer in the CBE Classic on Nov. 22, 2011.

In-Season Classics
•  Niagara is 14-15 participating in classics since the 2006-07 season.
•  NU won the 2008 Philly Hoop Classic and the 2007 Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Calif.
•  The Purple Eagles have faced teams like Auburn, Oregon State, Villanova and Missouri during this stretch.
•  NU hosted its first-ever in-season classic at the Gallagher Center last season.
 
About The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
•  The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic (cvcclassic.com) is one of the most prestigious early-season college basketball tournaments. Twelve schools will compete in the event, with four of those teams serving as regional hosts. Regional round action takes place November 9-18, 2013 with the four hosts advancing to the championship rounds on November 22-23, 2013 at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The remainder of the field will participate in a round-robin series at one of two sub host sites.
•  The Coaches vs. Cancer program (www.coachesvscancer.org) is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society (cancer.org) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC.org) that empowers basketball coaches, their teams, and local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer.
 
Mason Earns First MAAC Player Of The Week Honors
•  Antoine Mason was named MAAC Player of the Week on Nov. 18 after scoring 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and 7-for-11 at the free-throw line in Niagara's 92-81 win over Buffalo on Nov. 13.
•  Mason, who scored 13 of his 25 points in the first half, helped Niagara improved to 6-1 in its last seven home openers as well as snapping a four-game losing streak to UB.