Niagara, Quinnipiac meet in conference play

Published Jan. 20, 2021 5:30 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Niagara (5-7, 4-6) vs. Quinnipiac (3-5, 1-3)

People's United Center, Hamden, Connecticut; Friday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Niagara pays visit to Quinnipiac in a MAAC matchup. Both teams are coming off of road losses this past Saturday. Quinnipiac lost 70-63 to Monmouth, while Niagara came up short in a 58-55 game at Manhattan.

LEADING THE CHARGE: Marcus Hammond is averaging 14.3 points and 6.1 rebounds to lead the way for the Purple Eagles. Kobi Nwandu is also a primary contributor, accounting for 12.3 points per game. The Bobcats have been led by Jacob Rigoni, who is averaging 10.9 points and 7.5 rebounds.

MAAC IMPROVEMENT: The Purple Eagles have scored 63.9 points per game and allowed 61.7 points per game against MAAC opponents. Those are both nice improvements over the 57.5 points scored and 70 points allowed per game to non-conference opponents.MIGHTY MARCUS: Hammond has connected on 35.1 percent of the 74 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 12 of 34 over the last five games. He's also converted 77.1 percent of his foul shots this season.

WINLESS WHEN: Niagara is 0-6 when scoring fewer than 61 points and 5-1 when scoring at least 61.

PASSING FOR POINTS: The Purple Eagles have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Bobcats. Quinnipiac has 22 assists on 61 field goals (36.1 percent) across its previous three games while Niagara has assists on 27 of 57 field goals (47.4 percent) during its past three games.

STIFLING DEFENSE: Quinnipiac has held opposing teams to 35.8 percent shooting from the field this year, the lowest percentage among all Division I teams. Over their last five games, the Bobcats have held opposing shooters to 33.3 percent.

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