Nobody's Walking Out On This Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Christmas.
For the second season in-a-row, the Niagara Purple Eagles will head into the Christmas break with a matchup against the Buffalo Bulls.
    
This year's game, a 1:00 p.m. tip-off at the Gallagher Center, includes a UB team looking to get back in the win column and a NU squad looking to continue its momentum at home and snap an eight-game losing streak to UB.  Buffalo (5-4) has dropped its last two road games, including a 76-71 loss to fellow Big Four rival St. Bonaventure.   In Buffalo's loss to St. Bonaventure, the Bulls were held to just 32.9 percent from the floor while allowing the Bonnies to hit a 45.5 percent clip that includes a 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) showing from beyond the arc.  The Bulls outshot Siena, 36.8 percent to 33.8 percent, but still fell 64-60 after hitting just 2-of-20 opportunities from three-point range. 

With the two recent losses, the Bulls are 3-3 in road games so far this season.
    
Niagara (2-6), on the other hand, is 2-1 this season in the Gallagher Center.  The Purple Eagles dropped their first home game, in which they still put up 73 points, but followed with a pair of victories, both of which saw the team shoot over 40.0 percent from the floor.  NU shot at a 43.8 percent clip against Binghamton and a 50.0 percent success rate against Robert Morris. 
    
At home the Purple Eagles are scoring 74.3 points per game, an 11.3 ppg improvement over its season average, and boast a +4.0 turnover margin.  The team has three players averaging above 10 ppg at 'Taps' with Meghan McGuinness averaging a whopping 17.0 ppg, up from 10.8 for the season; Chanel Johnson is at 16.5 ppg, up from 10.5; and Val McQuade has scored 11.7 ppg, up from 9.5.  McGuinness is shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and 52.0 percent from three-point range in the three home games this season. 
    
The last time NU topped UB was a 69-65 overtime win on Dec. 11, 2004.  The Bulls have hit the 65-point mark in the last two meetings, while the Purple Eagles have been held under 55 points. 
 
"Visiting Ours"
• Niagara Athletics is unveiling a new ticket policy for all Niagara women's basketball home games.  Fans can present a purchased ticket from a previous NU sporting event (men's/women's basketball or men's hockey) from the 2013-14 season at the Gallagher Center ticket office and receive a complimentary ticket to that night's women's basketball game.  
 
How To Tune In
• In addition to watching the broadcast on TWC SportsChannel, Purple Eagle fans can follow all of Saturday's action via PurpleEagles.com.  Fans can tune in to a live video broadcast on Purple Eagles All-Access with announcer Dave Universal and follow along with Live Stats.
 
Against the Bulls (Niagara leads 18-14)
  Niagara greatest run of success came when it won 14-straight games from 1976 to 1993.  Buffalo has had the upper-hand recently, winning the last eight meetings.
 
Against the MAC
•  Niagara has played seven of the 13 teams that make up the modern day MAC with cross town rival Buffalo accounting for 32 of those matchups. Five teams (BGSU, Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Kent State, and Buffalo) have played NU since 2010.
 
"Surprised to see me, Clark?"
•  The last time these teams faced each other was last season in a game that was also played on Dec. 21.
•  The teams play this season on Dec. 21 in accordance with tradition.
 
"Burn some dust here. Eat my rubber."
•  After losing the first two meetings against UB, the Niagara Purple Eagles went on to win 14-consecutive games between1976-98.  For those keeping track at home, that's more than two decades of nothing but winning.
•  To be fair, that means 14 of NU's 18 victories against UB came before 1998.  Since then they are 4-11 against the Bulls.  I'm really hoping no one reads this second bullet point.

"Dad, I think you mean burn rubber and eat my dust."
•  Saturday's game is the final game of the 2013 calendar year for the Purple Eagles.
•  NU is 19-18 all-time in final games of the calendar year.
•  The team is 1-5 in those games under Kendra Faustin.
 
"Is your house on fire, Clark?"
•   The Purple Eagles have won their last two home games to bring their record to 2-1 on the season.
•  The team finished last season winning five of its last seven games in the Gallagher Center, a stretch that included a four-game win streak. 
 
National Success
•  The Purple Eagles have two players in the top-50 of several national statistical rankings.
•  Kelly Van Leeuwen is 18th in the nation with a 3.22 turnover/assist ratio.
•  Meghan McGuinness is 21st in the NCAA with a 46.5 percent three-point field-goal percentage and 37th with 2.86 three-point field goals per game.