PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S BASKETBALL
GAMES 2-3	Niagara Purple Eagles (0-1, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Saint Peter's Peacocks (2-2, 0-0 MAAC)
DATE | TIME	Friday, December 11 | 8 PM Saturday, December 12 | 8 PM
LOCATION	John Moore Athletics Center – Jersey City, NJ
GAME NOTES	Niagara | Saint Peter's
SERIES	Niagara Leads 52-36
STREAK	Niagara, W1
BROADCAST	ESPN3 (Friday) | (Saturday)
RADIO	WGR 550AM (Friday) | (Saturday) – Todd Callen
LIVE STATS	SaintPetersPeacocks.com
TWITTER	@NiagaraMBB
INSTAGRAM	@NiagaraMBB

 
   The Niagara Purple Eagles begin their 32nd second as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with a two-game series at Saint Peter's.
  •  Niagara will be led by second-year head coach Greg Paulus, who was the recipient of the 2019-20 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in NCAA Division I college basketball.
• The Purple Eagles are 15-16 all-time in MAAC openers, including beating Fairfield last season for their first conference opening win in four seasons. 
•  Niagara is 6-6 in conference openers on the road and will be looking for its first win in a conference road opener since beating Saint Peter's on November 20, 2014.
•  Niagara snapped a four-game losing streak to Saint Peter's with a 63-54 win at the Gallagher Center on February 27, 2020. The Purple Eagles closed the final minute of the game on a 7-0 run while the then-first place Peacocks were held scoreless in the final three minutes.
•  The Purple Eagles opened their season with a 75-45 defeat at Syracuse on December 3. Marcus Hammond led NU with 10 rebounds for his second career double-digit rebound game and shared team-high honors in scoring with eight points along with Nicholas Kratholm and Nick MacDonald. 
•  The MAAC will introduce a new schedule format for the 2020-21 season featuring a Friday/Saturday playing format at the same venue for both games, with 24 hours of spacing between the two contests. The men's and women's schedules mirror each other so that one institution's program is home while the other is away, both facing the same opponent.
  •  The Purple Eagles are one of 17 NCAA Division I teams to return at least 70 percent of their production from the last season in each of the following categories: points (80%), rebounds (74%), assists (91%), steals (96%), and blocks (83%). 
•  Last season, the Purple Eagles ranked statistically in the top-25 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.6), fewest total turnovers (338), turnover margin (3.3), and 3-point field goal percentage (.372), while leading the MAAC in all four categories. Niagara had the best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.13) in the MAAC.
•  NU returns eight letterwinners, including four of the top five leading scorers and the entire starting five, from last season's team that exceeded preseason predictions.
•  Leading the way is the tandem of Marcus Hammond and Raheem Solomon, who were both named to Preseason All-MAAC teams. Hammond, who earned All-MAAC First Team honors last season, was a unanimous selection to the first team, while Solomon made the third team.
•  The Purple Eagles were tabbed to finish sixth in the Preseason MAAC poll.
 
On The Court
Saint Peter's Peacocks (2-2, 0-0 MAAC)
•  The Peacocks were tabbed to finish in a tie for third-place in the preseason poll.
•  Reigning MAAC Defensive and Sixth Player of the Year KC Ndefo was named to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team, and teammates Daryl Banks and Doug Edert were selected to the third team.
•  Saint Peter's will be led by third-year head coach Shaheen Holloway, who was named MAAC Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 after leading the Peacocks to an 18-12 overall record and 14-6 mark in league play.
•  The Peacocks are 2-2 on the season with consecutive double-digit wins over La Salle and Stony Brook.
•  Three Peacocks are averaging double figures scoring - Fousseyni Drame (13.3 ppg), KC Ndefo (12.0 ppg), and Banks III (11.8 ppg).
 
Against The Peacocks (Niagara Leads 52-36)
•  Nine of the last 14 matchups between the two programs have been decided by six points or less.
•  The Purple Eagles halted a four-game losing streak in the series in the most recent meeting. The Purple Eagles won 63-54 on February 27. Niagara has lost three straight trips to Saint Peter's.
 
Last Meeting - February 27, 2020
Niagara 63, Saint Peter's 54
 
NIAGARA UNIV, N.Y. – Marcus Hammond scored a game-high 21 points to help steer the Purple Eagles past the first-place Saint Peter's Peacocks, 63-54, on Thursday night.
 

The Series	Niagara Leads 52-36
Last Game	February 27, 2020
	Niagara 63, Saint Peter's 54
Last Niagara win	February 27, 2020
	Niagara 63, Saint Peter's 54
Last Saint Peter's win	January 26, 2020
	Saint Peter's 58, Niagara 53
Last Niagara win at Saint Peter's	January 7, 2016
	Niagara 63, Saint Peter's 61
Last Saint Peter's win at Home	January 26, 2020
	Saint Peter's 58, Niagara 53
Current Streak	Niagara W1