Fairfield, Canisius seek first conference win

Fairfield (4-8, 0-1) vs. Canisius (5-8, 0-2)

Koessler Athletic Center, Buffalo, New York; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Fairfield squares off against Canisius as both teams look for its first MAAC win of the season. Fairfield fell 75-66 at Niagara in its last outing. Canisius lost 71-67 loss at home to Manhattan in its most recent game.

VETERAN LEADERSHIP: Fairfield’s Jesus Cruz, Landon Taliaferro and Vincent Eze have combined to account for 58 percent of all Stags points this season, though the trio’s production has decreased to 36 percent over the last five games.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS: Malik Johnson has directly created 44 percent of all Canisius field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has 19 field goals and 40 assists in those games.

SLIPPING AT 67: Fairfield is 0-5 when it allows at least 67 points and 4-3 when it holds opponents to less than 67.

ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Golden Griffins have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Stags. Canisius has 50 assists on 82 field goals (61 percent) over its previous three outings while Fairfield has assists on 30 of 73 field goals (41.1 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Canisius defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 24.8 percent of all possessions, which is the 22nd-highest rate in the country. The Fairfield offense has turned the ball over on 21.3 percent of its possessions (ranked 284th among Division I teams).