2014-15 Schedule 

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara men's basketball program has announced its 2014-15 schedule.

"Our non-conference schedule by design will challenge our very young team," head coach Chris Casey stated.  "Games at St John's, Pittsburgh and Davidson will highlight the road games.  2014 NCAA Tournament participant Albany, America East favorite Hartford and St. Bonaventure in the First Niagara Center highlight our home schedule." 

Niagara opens the season on the road against the ACC's Pitt Panthers on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. NU will start its 26th season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) on Thursday, Nov. 20 at Saint Peter's. The Purple Eagles will then open their 66th season at the 'Tap's' Gallagher Center versus Hartford on Nov. 22.

Three historic rivals will be up next for the Purple Eagles in St. Bonaventure, St. John's and Canisius.

NU will face St. Bonaventure as part of the Big 4 Classic at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 29. Niagara will renew its historic rivalry with fellow Vincentian school St. John's on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at the Carnesseca Arena. The teams have met 98 times, including encounters in the NIT and at Madison Square Garden in New York, but haven't played since the 2007-08 season. Four days later, the Purple Eagles will host archrival Canisius in the first Battle of the Bridge contest of the season.

The Purple Eagles are back on the road to play Southern Conference regular season champion Davidson on Dec. 13 in a rematch of last season's contest which Niagara defeated the Wildcats, 83-72, at the First Niagara Center.

The final non-conference road game will be at local foe Buffalo on Dec. 19 as the Purple Eagles look to win consecutive games against UB since the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

NU returns home to play Arkansas State on December 23 and closes out the 2014 calendar at home against Albany on Dec. 30. Niagara's final non-conference game will be a home tilt versus Penn on Jan. 13.

Niagara resumes MAAC play at the Gallagher Center against Manhattan on Jan. 2 and Monmouth on Jan. 4. The following week, the Purple Eagles head to Siena (Jan. 8) before facing Manhattan (Jan. 10). NU is back home to host Iona on Jan. 16 and Siena on Jan. 18, before venturing back on the road at Monmouth (Jan. 23) and Iona (Jan. 25).

Over the next two weeks, Niagara will face Marist and Quinnipiac. The first meeting with the Red Foxes and Bobcats will be at home on Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, respectively. The away games will be on Feb. 6 at Marist and on Feb. 8 at Quinnipiac.

Niagara will entertain Saint Peter's on Feb. 13 and Rider on Feb. 15, followed by three consecutive away games versus Fairfield (Feb. 19), Rider (Feb. 21) and Canisius (Feb. 24). Niagara wraps up the regular season at the Gallagher Center against Fairfield on March. 1

"The MAAC schedule is always challenging.  We expect our young players to gain experience as they move through the schedule and improve each game," Casey said.

The 2015 MAAC Championships will be from March 5-9 at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. 

Tickets for the 2014-15 season are on sale now. For more information, please contact the Niagara Athletic Ticket Office at 716-286-8499 (TIXX), tickets@PurpleEagles.com, or www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets.   

Non-Conference Schedule Notes
The Purple Eagles lead the all-time series with Pitt, 2-1… NU has won four straight against Hartford to now lead the series, 6-5…NU trails Bona in the all-time series, 85-68, but have won eight of the last 11 meetings…Niagara won the last meeting against St. John's, 77-73, on Dec. 15, 2007…It was the first time Niagara won at the Carnesecca Arena (formerly Alumni Hall) in 44 years…The Purple Eagles defeated Davidson in the program's first-ever meeting last season…It was also the second SoCon team Niagara has ever defeated (Appalachian State)…NU and UB will meet for the 92nd time, with NU leading the series 59-32…Niagara lost its first-ever meeting with Arkansas State last season which dropped its all-time record against teams from the Sun Belt Conference to 5-6…Niagara leads the series with in-state foe Albany, 2-1…The teams last met in 2010 as part of the Legends Classic Detroit Sub-Regional…The Purple Eagles fell at the Penn Quakers last season for their first-ever loss in four all-time meetings.

MAAC Schedule Notes
Niagara has won five of the last six meetings with Saint Peter's…Niagara vs. Canisius is the longest current rivalry in the MAAC…NU is 13-6 in the last 19 games against Manhattan…NU dropped both games to Monmouth last season and now trails in the all-time series, 2-1…Niagara's 46 wins against Siena are the third most against conference opponents…Niagara has won just one of the last nine meetings with Iona…The Purple Eagles defeated Marist in the 2014 MAAC Tournament First Round to win four of the last five in the series…Niagara is winless in five all-time meetings with Quinnipiac…Seven of the last 12 games against Rider have been decided by less than four points…NU has won three of the last four against Fairfield.