PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S BASKETBALL
GAME 10	Niagara Purple Eagles (2-7, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Buffalo Bulls (7-4, 0-0 MAC)
DATE | TIME	Saturday, December 21 | 2 PM
LOCATION	Alumni Arena – Amherst, NY
GAME NOTES	Niagara | Buffalo
SERIES	Niagara Leads 56-33
STREAK	Buffalo – W3
BROADCAST	ESPN3
RADIO	107.3 FM/AM 1400 – Todd Callen
LIVE STATS	UBBulls.com
TWITTER	@NiagaraMBB
INSTAGRAM	@NiagaraMBB

   The Niagara Purple Eagles will play their second straight Big 4 foe when they visit the two-time defending MAC champions Buffalo Bulls on Saturday, December 21 at 2 p.m.
  •  After winning straight games - at Norfolk State and Colgate - the Purple Eagles have lost their last two games.
•  NU had a narrow defeat to the Albany Great Danes, 84-80, on December 14.
•  The Purple Eagles, then, were beat by St. Bonaventure to snap their two-game win streak in the series. 
•  Niagara is in a stretch of games where the Purple Eagles will play six out of seven games away from the Gallagher Center. Niagara's lone home game was against Colgate.
•  The Purple Eagles and Bulls will meet after a year hiatus. Niagara leads the all-time series, 56-33, but have won only three of the last 15 meetings.
  •  In the last two games, the Purple Eagles shot 94.2 percent (33-for-35) at the free-throw line. The Purple Eagles went 20-for-21 (95.2 %) at the charity stripe at St. Bonaventure which is the highest percent (minimum 20 attempts) since going 26-for-27 (96.3 %) at Marist on December 2, 2016.
•  Three Purple Eagles are averaging double figures scoring - James Towns (14.8 ppg), Raheem Solomon (11.9 ppg), and Marcus Hammond (11.7 ppg).
•  Marcus Hammond poured in a career-high 21 points to lead all scorers against the Bonnies on December 18.
•  James Towns notched his third 20-point game of the season with a team-high 25 points at Albany, one game after scoring a game-high 26 points in the win over Colgate.
•  Greg Kuakumensah became the first Purple Eagle this season to record a double-double. He collected his second career double-double with 10 points and team-high 10 rebounds against Bryant to become the first Purple Eagle this season with double digit boards.
•  James Towns is 99 points away from reaching the 1,000-point threshold.
•  Marcus Hammond, who leads the team in assists at 3.6 per game, is averaging 5.2 assists in the last four games including a season-high seven assists against Norfolk State.
•  Marcus Hammond is third in the MAAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).
•  In Niagara's two wins, the Purple Eagles shot over 54 percent from the field. NU shot 54 percent against Colgate and 55.6 percent versus Stephen F. Austin which is the highest since February 23, 2018.
•  The Purple Eagles lead all MAAC teams in turnover margin (1.7) and turnover per game (12.4), and are second among conference members in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0).
•  Shandon Brown notched career-highs with nine rebounds and nine assists - both team-highs - at St. Bonaventure.
•  NU has made at least eight 3-pointers in the last four games.           
 
On The Court
Buffalo Bulls (7-4, 0-0 MAC)
•  The Bulls, who are the two-time defending MAC champions, was picked second in the MAC East Division Preseason Poll.
•  Junior Jayvon Graves was selected to the MAC East Division Preseason All-MAC Team.
•  Four Bulls are averaging in double figures scoring - Jayvon Graves (15.5 ppg), Davonta Jordan (14.5 ppg), Antwain Johnson (11.0 ppg), and Josh Mballa (10.5 ppg).
•  UB's 15.3 offensive rebounds per game is second in the nation, led by Josh Mballa's 4.1 per game.
•  Davonta Jordan leads the MAC and is 13th in the nation in steals per game (2.5).
 
Against The Bulls (Niagara Leads 56-33)
•  Niagara and Buffalo have met 89 times with the Purple Eagles winning nearly 63 percent of the meetings.
•  NU is 3-7 in the last 10 overall meetings with two of the wins coming at home (November 2007 and November 2013).
•  The Purple Eagles are 1-6 in their last seven visits to Alumni Arena with the lone win during that stretch coming during the record-setting 2008-09 season.
 
Last Meeting - November 29, 2017
Buffalo 106, Niagara 87
 
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The duo of Matt Scott and Kahlil Dukes combined for 57 points as the Purple Eagles fell to Big 4 rival Buffalo, 106-87, on Wednesday night.
 

The Series	Niagara Leads, 56-33
Last Game	November 29, 2017
	Buffalo 106, Niagara 87
Last Niagara win	November 13, 2013
	Niagara 92, Buffalo 81
Last Buffalo win	November 29, 2017
	Buffalo 106, Niagara 87
Last Niagara win at Buffalo	November 25, 2008
	Niagara 65, Buffalo 61
Last Buffalo win at Home	December 19, 2014
	Buffalo 88, Niagara 62
Current Streak	Buffalo, W3

 
Against The Mid-American Conference
•  Niagara has played 10 of the 12 teams in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) with an overall record of 86-57.