# 2018–19 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team represented Niagara University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Gallagher Center in Lewiston, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and were led by 6th-year head coach Chris Casey. They finished the 2018–19 season 13–19 overall, 6–12 in MAAC play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. As the 11th seed in the 2019 MAAC tournament, they were defeated by No. 6 seed Monmouth in the first round 72–76.
On March 11, 2019, head coach Chris Casey was fired. He finished at Niagara with a six-year record of 64–129. On March 28, 2019, Niagara hired Patrick Beilein as their new head coach.

## Previous season

The Purple Eagles finished the 2017–18 season 19–14, 12–6 in MAAC play to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAAC tournament to Fairfield. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, where they lost in the first round to Eastern Michigan.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 5, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Mercyhurst | W 85–73 | | Gallagher Center (902) Lewiston, New York |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| November 12, 2018* 7:00 pm | | St. Bonaventure | W 80–72 | 1–0 | Gallagher Center (2,221) Lewiston, New York |
| November 14, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Loyola–Chicago Fort Myers Tip-Off | L 62–75 | 1–1 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,648) Chicago, Illinois |
| November 16, 2018* 9:00 pm | | at Wyoming Fort Myers Tip-Off | W 72–67 | 2–1 | Arena-Auditorium (3,793) Laramie, Wyoming |
| November 23, 2018* 4:00 pm | | Grambling State Fort Myers Tip-Off Regional semifinals | L 68–74 | 2–2 | Gallagher Center (910) Lewiston, New York |
| November 24, 2018* 7:00 pm | | St. Francis Brooklyn Fort Myers Tip-Off | L 63–75 | 2–3 | Gallagher Center (837) Lewiston, New York |
| November 30, 2018* 7:00 pm | | at Saint Francis (PA) | L 75–79 | 2–4 | DeGol Arena (992) Loretto, Pennsylvania |
| December 3, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Pittsburgh | W 71–70 | 3–4 | Petersen Events Center (3,468) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| December 9, 2018* 7:00 pm | | New Hampshire | W 71–67 | 4–4 | Gallagher Center (832) Lewiston, New York |
| December 16, 2018* 2:00 pm | | Cornell | W 77–74 | 5–4 | Gallagher Center (865) Lewiston, New York |
| December 19, 2018* 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cleveland State | L 60–82 | 5–5 | Wolstein Center (1,185) Cleveland, Ohio |
| December 22, 2018* 1:00 pm | | at Army | W 78–66 | 6–5 | Christl Arena (798) West Point, New York |
| December 29, 2018* 3:00 pm | | Norfolk State | W 83–75 | 7–5 | Gallagher Center (898) Lewiston, New York |
| December 31, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Albany | L 74–79 | 7–6 | Gallagher Center (829) Lewiston, New York |
| MAAC regular season ||||||
| January 5, 2019 7:00 pm | | at Manhattan | L 80–90 | 7–7 (0–1) | Draddy Gymnasium (801) Riverdale, New York |
| January 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Fairfield | L 59–77 | 7–8 (0–2) | Alumni Hall (1,037) Fairfield, Connecticut |
| January 11, 2019 7:00 pm | | Iona | W 95–90 | 8–8 (1–2) | Gallagher Center (896) Lewiston, New York |
| January 13, 2019 2:00 pm | | Rider | L 84–104 | 8–9 (1–3) | Gallagher Center (936) Lewiston, New York |
| January 17, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Siena | L 57–66 | 8–10 (1–4) | Times Union Center (5,549) Albany, New York |
| January 19, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Quinnipiac | W 75–72 | 9–10 (2–4) | People's United Center (1,353) Hamden, Connecticut |
| January 22, 2019 7:00 pm | | Saint Peter's | L 72–74 | 9–11 (2–5) | Gallagher Center (1,039) Lewiston, New York |
| January 26, 2019 3:00 pm | | Monmouth | W 75–48 | 10–11 (3–5) | Gallagher Center (956) Lewiston, New York |
| January 30, 2019 7:00 pm | | Canisius Battle of the Bridge | W 78–70 | 11–11 (4–5) | Gallagher Center (1,660) Lewiston, New York |
| February 3, 2019 2:00 pm | | Quinnipiac | L 73–84 | 11–12 (4–6) | Gallagher Center (998) Lewiston, New York |
| February 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Marist | L 58–79 | 11–13 (4–7) | McCann Arena (1,131) Poughkeepsie, New York |
| February 10, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Iona | L 76–79 | 11–14 (4–8) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,807) New Rochelle, New York |
| February 15, 2019 7:00 pm | | Manhattan | L 60–64 | 11–15 (4–9) | Gallagher Center (930) Lewiston, New York |
| February 17, 2019 2:00 pm | | Fairfield | W 78–73 | 12–15 (5–9) | Gallagher Center (1,023) Lewiston, New York |
| February 22, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Rider | L 81–97 | 12–16 (5–10) | Alumni Gymnasium (1,589) Lawrenceville, New Jersey |
| February 24, 2019 2:00 pm | | at Saint Peter's | L 60–78 | 12–17 (5–11) | Yanitelli Center (535) Jersey City, New Jersey |
| February 27, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Canisius Battle of the Bridge | W 86–84 | 13–17 (6–11) | Koessler Athletic Center Buffalo, New York |
| March 3, 2019 2:00 pm | | Siena | L 65–72 $^{OT}$ | 13–18 (6–12) | Gallagher Center Lewiston, New York |
| MAAC tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2019 10:00 pm, ESPN3 | (11) | vs. (6) Monmouth First Round | L 72-76 | 13-19 | Times Union Center Albany, New York |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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