The Fairfield Stags of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference take on their conference rivals, the Niagara Purple Eagles on Friday night. Fairfield is 6-8 overall and 2-2 in the conference while Niagara is 8-5 overall and 3-1 in the MAAC. Fairfield beat Niagara twice last season. Tipoff for this game is at 7:00 p.m. EST at Mahoney Arena in Fairfield, Conn.
The Niagara Purple Eagles have had some nice wins this season and have played some tough competition. They have losses at Maryland and against St. John's. And after losing to conference foes Iona, they have scored MAAC wins over Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, and Rider. All in all, they are 8-5 overall and 3-1 in the conference. KenPom has them ranked No. 241 in the nation in their power rankings.
??: Niagara defeats Rider 61-59 to win its ninth-straight game at home.
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— Niagara Basketball (@NiagaraMBB) January 2, 2023
The 61-59 win over Rider on Monday was considered an upset, as Rider was favored by 1.5 points. Noah Thomasson led the Purple Eagles with 20 points while Aaron Gray added 14 points. Sam Iorio added 13 points and 8 rebounds. Thomasson leads the team with 17.6 points per game while Gray averages 11.8 points per contest. They average 64.8 points per game and give up 64.4 points per game. They are ranked No. 282 in offensive efficiency and 195 in defensive efficiency.