PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S BASKETBALL
GAME 2	Niagara Purple Eagles (0-1, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0 B1G)
DATE | TIME	Sunday, November 10 | 1 PM
LOCATION	The RAC | Piscataway, NJ
GAME NOTES	Niagara | Rutgers
SERIES	Tied 1-1
TOURNAMENT	Garden State Showcase
BROADCAST	BTN Plus - Lou Brogno and Ralph Bednarczyk
RADIO	107.3 FM/ AM 1400 – Todd Callen
LIVE STATS	ScarletKnights.com
TWITTER	@NiagaraMBB
INSTAGRAM	@NiagaraMBB

The Niagara Purple Eagles continue their road swing to start the season against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Sunday, November 10 at 1 p.m.
 
Scene Setter
•  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.
•  Niagara and Rutgers will meet for the third time, including the second time in four seasons. The teams last met on November 20, 2016 as part of the Scarlet Knight Classic with Rutgers coming out with a 78-65 win.
•  The Purple Eagles will open the season with four straight games as part of the Garden State Showcase. After opening the season at Drexel, Niagara will play at Rutgers and Stephen F. Austin before hosting Bryant on November 18
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  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.
 
On The Court
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0 B1G)
•  Rutgers is led by Steve Pikiell who is in his fourth season as head coach.
•  The Scarlet Knights topped Bryant, 73-71, in their season opener on November 7. Rutgers led by as much as 16 points in the second half before holding off a rally by the Bulldogs.
•  Three Scarlet Knights - Montez Mathis (11), Ron Harper Jr. (11), and Akwasi Yeboah (10) - scored in double figures.
 
Against The Scarlet Knights (Tied 1-1)
•  The Purple Eagles defeated the Scarlet Knights in the first-ever meeting, 73-61, during the 1969-70 season. The Purple Eagles went on to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
•  The Scarlet Knights defeated the Purple Eagles, 78-65, in the second all-time meeting four seasons ago.
 
Last Meeting - November 20, 2016
Rutgers 78, Niagara 65
 
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Matt Scott led all scorers with a season-high 30 points as the Purple Eagles fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 78-65. 
 

The Series	Tied 1-1
Last Game	November 20, 2016
	Rider 78, Niagara 65
Last Niagara win	December 18, 1969
	Niagara 73, Rutgers 61
Last Rutgers win	November 20, 2016
	Rider 78, Niagara 65
Last Niagara win at Rutgers	Never
Last Rutgers win at Home	November 20, 2016
	Rider 78, Niagara 65
Current streak	Rutgers, W1

 
Against The Big Ten
•  Niagara is 3-13 all-time against current members of the Big Ten.
•  The Purple Eagles' three wins have come against Penn State (twice) and Minnesota.