SCOUTING THEPURPLE EAGLES
Niagara is led by Marvin Prochet's 15.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while Dominic Robb also scores in double figures. The Purple Eagles lost three of their last four entering the tournament. 

NIAGARA HEAD COACH CHRIS CASEY
Chris Casey is in his sixth year at the helm at Niagara, and has 64 wins to his credit. 

HAWKS AT NEUTRAL SITES
Monmouth is 0-3 at neutral sites this season, dropping all three games at the Myrtle Beach Invitational to #13 West Virginia, Valparaiso and Cal State Fullerton back in November.

NIAGARA AT NEUTRAL SITES
Niagara has not played a neutral site game yet this season. 

SERIES NOTES
-MU and Niagara have played 13 times overall, 12 of them coming since Monmouth joined the MAAC.
-Niagara has won three straight after MU won the first nine meetings that the teams were in the league together.
-MU leads the all-time series 9-4.
-The teams just met once this season, a Niagara win.

FIRST MAAC TEAM TO FINISH OVER .500 AND NOT RECEIVE A BYE
MU finished with a 10-8 record in MAAC play, and became the first team in MAAC Basketball history to finish over .500 in conference play and not receive a bye. The league has given byes to the top five teams since 2013 when Monmouth and Quinnipiac extended the membership to 11 insitutions, and prior to that, gave a bye to the top six teams. MU has finished over .500 in MAAC play four times in six seasons in the conference.

TOTALING THE TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE
Monmouth's non-conference opponents, with almost all having completed the regular season already, have compiled a record of 225-153 this season, a winning percentage of .595. Three of those teams (Colgate, Bucknell, Hofstra) have already secured at least a share of their league's regular season title, while two others (Kentucky, Yale) are still playing with a chance to win their leagues. Three teams have already secured 20-win seasons (Colgate, Kentucky, Hofstra) while two others (Lehigh, Yale) sit at 19 wins.

QUINN NAMED TO ALL-MAAC THIRD TEAM
Diago Quinn was named to the All-MAAC Third Team earlier this week. The senior posted 10.9 points and 6.9 boards in MAAC competition this season, posting 10 of his 12 double-figure games this season in conference play. Quinn notched consecutive double-doubles in league games vs. Rider and Marist in February, and ranks 21st in the MAAC in scoring and tied for fourth in rebounding during conference play while shooting 49.6% from the floor in the 18 contests. Quinn averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds overall this season, shooting 46.5% from the field and 71% from the free throw line with a team-best 24 blocks.

KING RICE IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
King Rice has posted an overall record of 4-6 in conference tournaments and 4-5 in MAAC Tourneys in his eight seasons at the helm at MU.

2011-12 (6 seed, NEC) - Lost in quarterfinals at #3 Robert Morris, 87-68
2013-14 (9 seed, MAAC) - Lost in opening round to #8 Rider, 71-60
2014-15 (4 seed, MAAC) - Beat #5 Canisius in quarterfinals, 60-54; lost in semifinals to #1 Iona, 95-77
2015-16 (1 seed, MAAC) - Beat #8 Rider in QF, 59-48; beat #5 Fairfield in SF, 76-63; lost to #1 Iona in finals, 79-76
2016-17 (1 seed, MAAC) - Beat #9 Niagara in quarterfinals, 84-59; lost to #4 Siena in semifinals, 89-85
2017-18 (8 seed, MAAC) - Lost to #9 Saint Peter's in opening round, 60-58

HAWKS EXPERIENCE IN MAAC TOURNAMENT
Monmouth combines to return 17 games of total MAAC Tournament experience, with just three players who have played in more than one game. Louie Pillari has scored 23 points in three MAAC Tournament games, shooting 6-11 from the field, while Diago Quinn has 20 points and 11 rebounds on 9-14 shooting in 6 total MAAC Tourney games. Mustapha Traore has appeared in two contests, totaling 12 minutes without scoring. Six Hawks have one game each in MAAC postseason play.