Niagara 2007 NCAA Tournament Capsule

Niagara Purple Eagles - Metro Atlantic (22-11, 13-5)

Seed: #16 - West Region

Big Wins: 12/29 vs Holy Cross (67-61), 1/26 at Marist (83-75), 3/5 vs Siena (83-79)

Bad Losses: 11/16 Binghamton (66-74), 12/2 at Buffalo (62-74), 12/28 vs Delaware (53-71)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2005, First Round loss to Oklahoma

Coach: Joe Mihalich (0-1 in 1 NCAA appearance)

Probable Niagara Starters:

• Lorenzo Miles, Senior, Guard, 12.9 ppg, 3.6 apg

• Rydell Brooks, Freshman, Guard, 5.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg

• Charron Fisher, Junior, Guard, 21. ppg, 8.1 rpg

• Clif Brown, Senior, Forward, 16.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg

• J.R. Duffey, Senior, Forward, 10.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg

Key Roleplayers for Niagara:

• Tyrone Lewis, Freshman, Guard, 12.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg

• Stanley Hodge, Junior, Guard, 5.0 ppg, 4.1 apg, 3.7 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:
Niagara and Coach Joe Mihalich will run and look to score early and often. Five players average in double figures in the scoring column and all five are dangerous from beyond the arc. The Purple Eagles will draw the opposing post players away from the basket and that can be very dangerous.

Charron Fisher, and his 21.0 points per game, will lead the way. Fisher is a great rebounder and will get plenty of help on the glass from the second leading scorer on the team, Clif Brown. Brown leads the team with 9.8 rebounds per contest and can have some big scoring outputs. Forward J.R. Duffey will not dominate the glass like Fisher and Brown, but the 6-8 Senior will do the dirty work in the paint.

Why Niagara Can Disappoint:
Niagara will score nearly 76 points per game, but they will also give up 74. The opposition shoots over 46% from the floor and that is not good. It is understandable to give up so many points a game, since that is how the Purple Eagles want to play, but if they keep allowing teams to get easy buckets, even the explosive Niagara offense will have trouble keeping pace. There is not a major presence in the paint on the defense end and quality big men can go on scoring sprees.

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Who To Watch:
Lorenzo Miles and Stanley Hodge are great distributors and will find their teammates. Miles is a good scorer as well and will use his senior standing to be the team leader. Tyrone Lewis has developed into a great spark off the bench. The freshman is building off of a career-high 24 points in the conference tournament final and hopes to continue the madness. At 6-0, Lewis will hustle to the glass and is one of the best offensive rebounding guards around.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 76.1 (46th in nation, 2nd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 73.7 (278, 10)

Field-Goal Percentage: 42.3 (239, 5)

Field-Goal Defense: 46.5 (279, 10)

Free-Throw Percentage: 73.2 (43, 1)

Rebound Margin: 4.2 (51, 1)

Assists Per Game: 13.6 (155, 5)

Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 (80, 2)

Joel’s Bracket Says: First Round loss to Kansas

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