The Siena Saints and Niagara Purple Eagles meet Friday in college basketball action at the Gallagher Center. The Siena Saints look for their 12th win. The Niagara Purple Eagles look for their 10th win.
The Siena Saints are averaging 71.4 points on 46.1 percent shooting and allowing 68.6 points on 46.4 percent shooting. Javian McCollum is averaging 16 points and 3.8 assists, while Jackson Stormo is averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. Andrew Platek is the third double-digit scorer and Jayce Johnson is grabbing 3.7 rebounds. The Siena Saints are shooting 36.3 percent from beyond the arc and 76 percent from the free throw line. The Siena Saints are allowing 32.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 31.1 rebounds per game.
The Niagara Purple Eagles are averaging 65.1 points on 43.9 percent shooting and allowing 64.7 points on 41.7 percent shooting. Noah Thomasson is averaging 18.2 points and 3.1 assists, while Aaron Gray is averaging 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds. Sam Iorio is dishing 1.6 assists and Braxton Bayless is grabbing 3.4 rebounds. The Niagara Purple Eagles are shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc and 72.9 percent from the free throw line. The Niagara Purple Eagles are allowing 31.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 29.9 rebounds per game.
The Saints are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Purple Eagles are 22-7-1 ATS in their last 30 home games. The over is 5-2 in Saints last 7 overall. The under is 6-2 in Purple Eagles last 8 overall. The home team is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
The Niagara Purple Eagles will have their chances at home, but Siena has been the better team and has the clear edge on the offensive side. Niagara doesn’t play up to its competition often and loses in the underdog role by an average of 6.5 points while shooting 40.5 percent from the field. I’ll lay the bucket.