PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S BASKETBALL
GAME 11	Niagara Purple Eagles (2-8, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Syracuse Orange (7-5, 1-1 ACC)
DATE | TIME	Saturday, December 28 | 7 PM
LOCATION	Carrier Dome – Syracuse, NY
GAME NOTES	Niagara | Syracuse
SERIES	Syracuse Leads 53-28
STREAK	Syracuse, W8
BROADCAST	ACC Network Extra – Matt Park and Demetris Nichols
RADIO	107.3 FM/AM 1400 - Todd Callen
LIVE STATS	Cuse.com
TWITTER	@NiagaraMBB
INSTAGRAM	@NiagaraMBB

The Niagara Purple Eagles travel east on the I-90 to face the Syracuse Orange on December 28 at 7 p.m. in their final non-conference regular season game.
 
Scene Setter
•  After winning two straight games - at Norfolk State and Colgate - the Purple Eagles have lost their last three games.
•  Niagara concludes 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.
•  Niagara and Syracuse will meet for the first time since December 2000.
•  This will be Niagara's second straight season playing against an ACC opponent. The Purple Eagles defeated the Pitt Panthers, 71-70, on December 3, 2018.
•  Head coach Greg Paulus, a native of Syracuse, was named Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year (2004) and the Gatorade High School Male Athlete of the Year (2005) at Christian Brothers Academy. After a successful playing career at Duke (2005-09), Paulus played on the Syracuse football team in 2009 where he was the starting quarterback and captain.
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  In the last three games, the Purple Eagles shot 93.0 percent (40-for-43) 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.
•  Niagara leads the MAAC and is 21st in the nation in free throw percentage (.779).
•  Three Purple Eagles are averaging double figures scoring - James Towns (15.2 ppg), Raheem Solomon (12.0 ppg), and Marcus Hammond (11.2 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 80 points away from reaching the 1,000-point threshold.
•  Marcus Hammond is second 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 (2.6) and turnover per game (12.0), 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.
 
On The Court
Syracuse Orange (7-5, 0-0 ACC)
•  Syracuse have won three of its last four games, including two straight.
•  Four Orange are averaging double figures scoring - Elijah Hughes (19.8 ppg), Buddy Boeheim (15.2 ppg), Joseph Girard III (11.4 ppg), and Marek Dolezaj (10.1 ppg).
•  The Orange rank in the top-10 in the nation in assists per game (17.7) and in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4).
 
Against The Orange (Syracuse Leads 53-28)
•  Niagara and Syracuse have met 81 times with the Orange holding a 53-28 advantage in the all-time series.
•  The Purple Eagles, who have dropped the last eight encounters, won the first meeting between the programs during the 1909-10 season.
•  Niagara's last win in the series was on February 25, 1976 under a Frank Layden-coached team that went on to play in the NIT.
•  The last time the Purple Eagles and Orange met was 19 years ago, when No. 15 Syracuse defeated Niagara, 95-69, in the Carrier Dome on December 30, 2000.
•  Niagara is 0-2 (1980 and 2000) all-time at the Carrier Dome.
 
Last Meeting - December 30, 2000
No. 15 Syracuse 95, Niagara 69
 

The Series	Syracuse Leads, 53-28
Last Game	December 30, 2000
	Syracuse 95, Niagara 69
Last Niagara win	February 25, 1976
	Niagara 59, Syracuse 57
Last Syracuse win	December 30, 2000
	Syracuse 95, Niagara 69
Last Niagara win at Syracuse	February 26, 1969
	Niagara 103, Syracuse 92
Last Syracuse win at Home	December 30, 2000
	Syracuse 95, Niagara 69
Current Streak	Syracuse, W8

 
Against The ACC
•  Niagara is 32-67 against the current members of the ACC.
•  The Purple Eagles upended Pitt, 71-70, on December 5, 2018 for their first win against a current Power 5 opponent in 37 years.
•  It was Niagara's first win against an ACC opponent since topping Syracuse during the 1975-76 season prior to the Orange joining the ACC.
 
Memorable Moments Versus Syracuse
•  Calvin Murphy scored the most points (68) in a single game in program history in a 118-110 win against Syracuse on Dec. 7, 1968, which are the most points by any player against Syracuse. Murphy's 68 points are still ranked third most in NCAA Division I history.
•  Calvin Murphy also scored 50 points against Syracuse on January 31, 1968 which is the second most versus the Orange.
•  John J. 'Taps' Gallagher won his 400th career game against the Orange on Jan. 6, 1959. In his career, Gallagher won 21 games against Syracuse, most by any NU coach.
•  Niagara upset Syracuse, 71-70, on Feb. 3, 1951 in front of the largest crowd of the year at the State Fair Coliseum.
•  Niagara's 118 points (Dec. 7, 1968) and 116 points (Jan. 31, 1968) are the third and fifth most points allowed by Syracuse in program history.
•  Manny Leaks (30 rebounds on Feb. 10, 1966) and Alex Ellis (27 rebounds on March 5, 1958) collected the third and sixth most rebounds, respectively, in a single game in program history in matchups against Syracuse.
•  From 1967-1970, Niagara won 5 of 6 matchups with the Orange including a 91-83 victory on February 25, 1970 en route to the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
•  NU won the first contest between the programs on January 22, 1910 by a score of 30-20.
 
New York State Of Mind
•  Niagara's final five non-conference games of the season will be against teams from the Empire State.
•  The Purple Eagles began their New York State quintet hosting Colgate on December 8, followed by road dates against Albany (December 14), St. Bonaventure (December 18), Buffalo (December 21), and Syracuse (December 28).
•  Niagara has combined to play the five opponents over 380 times in program history.