Niagara Purple Eagles
You probably thought Nonconfriends was done for the year. It couldn’t possibly come back for the NIT … could it?
Well think again, Terps and Terpettes, because we must break down the Terrapins men’s basketball team’s first postseason opponent since a heartbreaking loss to Michigan State in the 2010 NCAA tournament. And we will keep it going as long as coach Mark Turgeon and his band of basketballers stay alive in the bracket we know you are really paying attention to. Because really, are there any winners between Oklahoma and San Diego State?
While you dwell on how to make that other bracket perfect, here’s the lowdown on the Terps’ first-round NIT opponent: the Niagara University Purple Eagles
A LOOK BACK: At the end of the Nonconfriends season, we were feeling pretty good about the Terps; they had a 12-1 start with the lone loss to the defending national champs, a probable NBA lottery pick leading the team and a group of motivated, driven young players ready to make a splash in the ACC.
Well, it turns out that 12-1 record (or two losses against Florida State … or road losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College) may have been the downfall in the Terps’ NCAA tournament hopes. Turgeon scheduled a soft nonconference slate for the team he thought he had, a team that did not include ACC tournament star Dez Wells or the Alex Len who emerged as a budding star.
The Terps simply lacked consistency, despite achieving a commendable 22-12 record and an 8-10 ACC mark. Big wins such as those against N.C. State and Duke would be followed by sloppy losses at North Carolina and Boston College (ugh), respectively. While Turgeon will ready his team for NIT play, it will be tough to ignore what one more win at any point in the season would have done in terms of being on the right side of the bubble Sunday.
COMING INTO COMCAST: The Niagara Purple Eagles, led by 15-year head coach Joe Mihalich, ended their campaign as regular-season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champs, earning them an automatic bid in the NIT.
However, things did not go as planned for the Purple Eagles (19-13) once they reached the MAAC tournament. The Iona Gaels will represent the MAAC in the NCAA tournament after beating the Purple Eagles in the semifinals. For a team that had won five of six before tipoff in the semis, this had to be a disappointing halt to what looked to be a straight roll into the field of 68.
But Niagara did play well on the way to the MAAC regular-season title, earning their second-most conference wins in school history in addition to beating NCAA tournament teams New Mexico State and Northwestern State outside of the MAAC.
STRENGTHS: The Purple Eagles do score at a good clip, averaging 73.9 points a game and ranking in the top 40 nationally. Leading this charge are sophomore guards Antoine Mason and Juan’ya Green, who are scoring 18.5 and 16.8 points a game, respectively.
Green will be a particular point of emphasis for the Terps as a player who has received numerous mid-major player honors and was named the 2012 National Mid-Major Freshman of the Year by collegeinsider.com.
WEAKNESSES: Niagara played at Oregon State on Nov. 9 and at then-No. 22 Notre Dame on Dec. 21. They lost both games by large margins.
That is the description of the tough games the Purple Eagles have played this year. Yes, their middling shooting percentage as a team will hurt them. And yes, Maryland’s superb rebounding will pose a huge problem. But this team simply has not played in a place like Comcast Center against a team like Maryland.
Notre Dame and Oregon State are fine schools, but Niagara just may not be up to the new challenge of coming to College Park. Even if it is for the NIT.
CAMPUS CONNECTION: Niagara’s junior guard Malcolm Lemmons played high school basketball down the road at Gonzaga College High School, where he was a second-team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference player on some skilled Gonzaga teams.
Also, as a fun bit of history, the Terps’ only other matchup with Niagara came in Madison Square Garden for the NIT — in 1972, when the Terps whooped the Purple Eagles, 100-69.
FUN FACT: Were it not for a Jewish merchant braving a blizzard, the Terps’ opponent would not even exist today.
According to the school’s website, in 1882, the university was in bad shape and facing foreclosure. Walking from the Village of Suspension Bridge — now a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, N.Y. — to the university in knee-deep snow, Marcus Brown delivered the school the amount it needed to avoid foreclosure. Even after the school repaid him in full, Brown refused to accept interest on the loan. And because of Brown’s heroism, the school he saved gets to play in the second-tier postseason tournament on ESPN2 more than 130 years later.
TCL (TERP CONFIDENCE LEVEL): Nine out of 10. Yes, this number might be high and no, I will never put a 10 out of 10 here because no game is a lock. But Turgeon will have this Terps team ready. Look for the Terps to take advantage of their rebounding prowess and seal the win up in the first half. The key will be harnessing their style of play from the early Nonconfriends season.
NEXT NONCONFRIEND: Well, that all depends on today’s result. With a win, the Terps play the winner of tonight’s Denver-Ohio game being played in the Mile High City sometime between Thursday and Monday. With a loss, it would be time for teeth-gnashing for College Park pundits and relaxation and rest for players.
Either way, Nonconfriends will be ready to provide the information you need (even as you recover from Spring Break festivities). Until next time, keep your friends close and your Nonconfriends closer.
sportsdbk@gmail.com
