The Niagara Purple Eagles wrap up their three-game road swing to open the season against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on November 13 at 7:30 p.m.
  •  The Purple Eagles ushered in a new era with first-year head coach Greg Paulus taking over the program. The former Duke standout joined the staff in May 2019 as an assistant coach after coaching stops at George Washington, Louisville, Ohio State, and Navy.
•  In the season opener at Drexel on November 8, Niagara was edged by the Drexel Dragons, 72-64. There were eight ties and nine lead changes in a game the Purple Eagles led for 19 minutes.
•  NU dropped its second game of the season at Rutgers and had a season-high four blocks.
•  Wednesday's meeting with SFA will be the Purple Eagles' final leg of their three-game road trip to start the season.
•  The Purple Eagles open the season with four straight games as part of the Garden State Showcase.
  •  Niagara has a trio of guards who serves as the core to the team in senior James Towns, and sophomores Raheem Solomon and Marcus Hammond as they all played in every game last season. The trio combined for 41 points, led by James Towns team-high 17 points, in the season opener at Drexel.
•  NU has a few other veterans on the roster. Junior forward Greg Kuakumensah is in his third year on the program, guard Steve Levnaic is back after redshirting as a freshman, and guard Justin Roberts is eligible to play this season after sitting out last year as a transfer. Nine newcomers – Shandon Brown, Italo Cicotti, Will Engelhardt, Nicholas Kratholm, Nick MacDonald, Kobi Nwandu, Trey Syroka, Damani Thomas, and Noah Waterman – fill out the rest of the roster.
•  NU faces a challenging non-conference schedule with matchups at Syracuse, Rutgers, Buffalo and St. Bonaventure. Niagara begins the season with three straight road games before hosting Bryant on November 18. Following road matchups with Purdue Fort Wayne and Norfolk State, Niagara will battle Colgate at home on Dec. 8 before closing out its non-conference schedule with four straight road contests – Albany, St. Bonaventure, Buffalo and Syracuse. The Purple Eagles start their 20-game MAAC schedule in January and the pursuit for a MAAC Tournament title begins on March 10 at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
•  James Towns and Raheem Solomon were both selected to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Big 4 Second Team. It was the second straight season Towns has been named to the Preseason All-Big 4 Second Team.
• Niagara was picked tenth in the MAAC Preseason Poll.
•  Through two games, Shandon Brown ranks 15th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (7.0).
 
On The Court
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (2-0, 0-0 Southland)
•  SFA was tabbed fourth in the 2019-20 Southland Conference Preseason Poll, including receiving one first place vote.
•  Senior Kevon Harris was selected to the Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team and was one of 50 players named to the 2019 Lou Henson Award Watch List as one of the best mid-major players in the nation.
•  Harris was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week on November 12.
•  The Lumberjacks are 2-0 with wins over LeTourneau and NC Central with a averaged scoring margin of 24.5 points and plus 17 advantage on the boards.
•  Kevon Harris leads the team in scoring at 25 points per game and in rebounds with 7.5 per game. Gavin Kensmil (11.5 ppg), Sama'Zha Hart (11.0 ppg), and Roti Ware (10.0 ppg) join Harris in double figures scoring. 
 
Against The Lumberjacks (First Meeting)
 

The Series	First Meeting
Last Game	First Meeting
Last Niagara win	First Meeting
Last Stephen F. Austin win	First Meeting
Last Niagara win at Stephen F. Austin	First Meeting
Last Stephen F. Austin win at Home	First Meeting
Current Streak	First Meeting

 
Against The Southland Conference
•  Niagara is 2-1 all-time against the Southland Conference.
•  The Purple Eagles are 1-1 against Northwestern State, defeating the Demons, 92-76, on February 23, 2013 in the 11th annual BracketBusters and lost the following season at NSU, 107-100.
•  NU defeated Sam Houston State, 59-52, in Macon, Georgia on November 23, 2011.