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Game 2
Niagara Purple Eagles (1-0, 0-0 MAAC) vs. No. 15/15 Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0, 0-0 B1G)
Wednesday, November 15 – 8:00 PM ET/ 7:00 PM CT
Broadcast: BTN Plus – Ryan Russell, Will Thompson, Zachary Maron (Sideline)  
Radio: WGR 550 AM – Todd Callen
Audio Stream: www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch
 
Coming off of a season-opening win at Little 3 rival St. Bonaventure, the Niagara Purple Eagles continue their four-game road journey at nationally-ranked Minnesota on Wednesday.
 
Scene Setter
•  The Purple Eagles and Golden Gophers will meet for the third time and first since the 1973-74 season with Niagara coming away with a 79-65 victory.
•  Niagara will play its first ranked opponent since playing at No. 22 Notre Dame on Dec. 21, 2012 (L, 89-67).
•  No. 14/15 Minnesota will be Niagara's highest ranked team since playing No. 2 Kansas in the 2007 NCAA Tournament (L, 107-67) and its highest ranked team during the regular season since playing at No. 15 Syracuse on Dec. 30, 2000 (L, 92-59).
•  Niagara is 12-78 all-time against ranked opponents with the last victory coming with an upset of fourth-ranked St. John's, 62-59, on Dec. 15, 1984 at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.
•  This will be the second straight season the Purple Eagles will play against an B1G opponent (Rutgers).
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  The Purple Eagles halted a six-game losing streak to the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, who were picked second in the A-10 Preseason Poll, in their season opener on Nov. 10.
•  The win was Niagara's first season-opening win since defeating Central Connecticut State to start the 2011-12 season.
•  The tri-captains – Kahlil Dukes, Matt Scott, Marvin Prochet - helped push Niagara to the season-opening win at St. Bonaventure. Dukes scored a team-high 23 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field. He connected on a game-high six 3-pointers, which are one shy of tying a career-high and are the most in the MAAC. Scott scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had a game-high four assists. Prochet scored 10 points and had eight rebounds.
•  Niagara welcomes back 87 percent of its scoring and 82 percent of minutes played.
•  The Purple Eagles return seven letterwinners from last season, including the entire starting five – Matt Scott, Kahlil Dukes, Chris Barton, Marvin Prochet and Dominic Robb.
 
Preseason Praise For Purple Eagles
•  "No team in the MAAC is more poised to leap from average to great than the Purple Eagles, who return their entire starting lineup." – Brian Lester, Lindy's Sports
•  "Seniors Kahlil Dukes and Matt Scott are going to take the Purple Eagles to the top three of the MAAC." – Matt Norlander, CBS Sports
•  "…the Purple Eagles' possible return to contention has been a key offseason storyline." – Athlon Sports
•  "…things are looking much better for the Purple Eagles with the return of their top six scorers, an incoming transfer and a strong recruiting class." – Steve Amedio, Troy (N.Y.) Record, Street and Smith
 
On The Court
No. 14/15 Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
•  Minnesota is 2-0 with wins over USC Upstate and Providence.
•  Minnesota started the season ranked 15th in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll. Minnesota moved to 14th in the AP Top 25 Poll released on November 13. 
•  The Golden Gophers return all five starters from last season's team that went 24-13 and earning an NCAA Tournament berth.  Four Gophers earned 2016-17 Big Ten accolades - Nate Mason (First Team), Reggie Lynch (Defensive Player of the Year), Jordan Murphy (Third Team), and Amir Coffey (Freshman Team). 
•  Guards Amir Coffey and Nate Mason were both named to the 2017-18 Preseason All-Big Ten Team.
•  Jordan Murphy was named B1G Player of the Week with career-highs in five categories against USC Upstate.
 
Against the Golden Gophers (Tied 1-1)
•  The Purple Eagles and the Golden Gophers have met twice in their history with both meetings occuring in the early 1970s with Frank Layden leading the program.
•  The home team has won both meetings. Niagara fell at Minnesota, 92-87, on Jan. 5, 1971, and won 79-65 on Dec. 19, 1973.            
 
Last Meeting – December 19, 1973
Niagara 79, Minnesota 65
 

The Series	Tied, 1-1
Last Game	December 19, 1973
	Niagara 79, Minnesota 65
Last Niagara win	December 19, 1973
	Niagara 79, Minnesota 65
Last Minnesota win	January 5, 1971
	Minnesota 92, Niagara 87
Last Niagara win at Minnesota	Never
Last Minnesota win at Home	January 5, 1971
	Minnesota 92, Niagara 87
Current streak	Niagara, W1
Coach Casey vs. Minnesota	First Meeting

 
Against the Big Ten
•  Niagara is 3-12 all-time against current members of the Big Ten.
•  The Purple Eagles' three wins have come against Penn State (twice) and Minnesota.
 
Besting The Bonnies
•  The Purple Eagles opened their campaign with a 77-75 victory over longtime rival St. Bonaventure on Nov. 10.
•  Niagara halted a six-game losing streak to St. Bonaventure, with its last win in the series coming in December 2010.
•  The Purple Eagles have now won five of the last six meetings at the Reilly Center.
•  Seven of the last nine meetings with the Bonnies have been decided by less than 10 points.