Marist @ Niagara : Noon ESPN+

[le]

Patrick Gardner a 6'11 transfer from Saint Mike's put up 24 points against Canisius on Friday. The Red Foxes also starts two young guards in Harris and Brickner that can score the ball. Marist is a young team, the Purps should prevail...Tough sledding for the MAAC home teams today going against the NFL playoffs.

CBS SPORTS Preview:

Marist @ Niagara

Current Records: Marist 6-9; Niagara 9-7

What to Know
The Marist Red Foxes and the Niagara Purple Eagles are set to square off in an MAAC matchup at noon ET Jan. 15 at Gallagher Center. The teams split their matchups last year, with the Red Foxes winning the first 77-70 at home and Niagara taking the second 83-52.

Marist strolled past the Canisius Golden Griffins with points to spare this past Friday, taking the game 76-58.

Meanwhile, the Purple Eagles entered their matchup against the Siena Saints this past Friday without any home losses -- but there's a first time for everything. Niagara was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 70-64 to Siena.

Marist is expected to lose this next one by 5. They are currently two-for-two against the spread in their most recent games, however, a trend bettors might want to take into account.

The Red Foxes are now 6-9 while Niagara sits at 9-7. A pair of offensive stats to keep an eye on: Marist is third worst in college basketball in points per game, with only 63.3 on average. The Purple Eagles have experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the contest with the 15th fewest points per game in college basketball, having accrued only 65 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.

How To Watch
When: Sunday at 12 p.m. ET
Where: Gallagher Center -- Niagara, New York
Follow: ESPN+ --- CBS Sports App

Odds
The Purple Eagles are a 5-point favorite against the Red Foxes, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Purple Eagles as a 5.5-point favorite.

Over/Under: -111

[phillyeagle]

At 12:39 in the first half, Obioha goes down with an ankle injury after scoring and falling on another NU player who fell under the basket. He had to be helped off the court. This all happened after the best 2 minutes I had seen of Obioha play this year.

[phillyeagle]

Obioha back on the court after 5 minutes. Good stuff.

[le]

Yup, NU needs a big man (true 5) to contribute in both ends. I thought he looked decent against Siena .

[jhart]

NU 29-28 at half after being down ten.
Threes reign as NU has five and Marist four.

[phillyeagle]

NU takes 1 pt.lead at half after bombing 3-4 three point shots in the last 3 minutes of the half. NU certainly needs Obioha to continue a path of improvement. NU’s starting five was really small with Iorio the tallest , Gray, and Erving at forwards.

[le]

Off site today , Mitchell has good size get him more minutes in the paint. Smart kid.

[le]

Just checking live stats , Gray is really developing into a consistent scoring threat - has hit three treys thus far. Closer game than anticipated. Big man Gardner is the real deal for Marist.

[phillyeagle]

That a tough ending. Thomasson drives and has a layup but misses. Then Gardner , who was Mr. inside and Ouside, sinks a 15 footer with 6 seconds left. IIorio played less than 10 minutes.
Thought Niagara had this one but Marist had great shooting in the second half.

[le]

Oh man. What a miserable weekend for NU Hoops and Hockey going 0-4 at home. I really can’t believe NU lost to Marist and BU swept Hockey at Dwyer. Today’s game at GC was in essence a neutral site event going up against the NFL playoff contests. Both programs under performed terribly …

I saw Gardner play a few games and I was very impressed .