: ''For information on all Niagara University sports, see Niagara Purple Eagles'' The Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team is the

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

team that represents Niagara University in Lewiston, New York, United States. The school's team currently competes in the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and ...

. The team formerly played at the now-defunct

Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center was a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena and convention center in Niagara Falls, New York from 1973 to 2002. Planning and construction The venue was built in 1973 as part of an urban renewal project in the ...

from 1973 to 1982 and from 1988 to 1996.

History

Niagara has played in the NCAA Tournament three times. They last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2007. They played in the National Invitation Tournament on 14 occasions, advancing to the championship game in 1972 before losing to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Niagara has been ranked in the AP Final Polls twice, 16th in 1954 and 17th in 1970.

Roster

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Purple Eagles have appeared in three NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–4.

NIT results

The Purple Eagles have appeared in 14 National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 9–14.

CIT results

The Purple Eagles made their first appearance in the

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was an American men's college basketball postseason tournament founded by Collegeinsider.com. The tournament was oriented toward schools that did not get selected for the NCAA Division I men's ...

(CIT) in 2018. Their record is 0–1.

All time MAAC Awards

*Up to 2021-22 season

Seasons

Niagara wins vs. the AP Top 25

Retired jerseys

Niagara has retired nine jerseys.

Head coaches

*-Beilein was hired in March 2019 but resigned in October 2019 without having coached a game; Paulus was named interim head coach in his place.

Purple Eagles in the NBA or National leagues

Joe Arlauckas Joseph John "Joe" Arlauckas (born July 20, 1965) is an American retired professional basketball player of Lithuanian descent. He played at the power forward position. Arlauckas is well-known for holding the record for the most points scored in a ...

Al Butler Elbert J. "Al" Butler (July 9, 1938 – July 12, 2000) was an American basketball player who played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he played basketball for East High School (Rochester, New ...

* T. J. Cline (born 1994), American-Israeli basketball player *

Larry Costello Lawrence Ronald Costello (July 2, 1931 – December 13, 2001) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Philadelphia Warriors, the Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA and the Wilkes-Barre Barons. ...

* Boo Ellis * Bo Erias *

Ed Fleming Edward Rufus Fleming (July 25, 1933 – April 10, 2002) was an American professional basketball player.E ...

* Manny Leaks * Juan Mendez *

Calvin Murphy Calvin Jerome Murphy (born May 9, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who after a prolific collegiate career at Niagara, where he averaged 33.1 points per game over his three years, played in the National Basketball Assoc ...

* Zeke Sinicola * Joe Smyth * Chris Watson (born 1975), American-Israeli basketball player in the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. In the Niagara University Hall of Fame. * Andy Walker

References

External links

* {{Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball navbox