Niagara, St. Pete’s meet in conference play

Niagara (6-12, 4-3) vs. St. Peter’s (6-10, 3-4)

Yanitelli Center, Jersey City, New Jersey; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: MAAC foes meet as Niagara takes on St. Peter’s. Each team is coming off a road loss this past Friday. St. Peter’s lost 70-66 to Rider, while Niagara fell 82-71 at Monmouth.

LEADING THE CHARGE: Marcus Hammond is averaging 13.6 points to lead the charge for the Purple Eagles. James Towns is also a key contributor, producing 12.2 points per game. The Peacocks have been led by KC Ndefo, who is averaging 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

CLAMPING DOWN: The Peacocks have allowed only 61.3 points per game across seven conference games, an improvement from the 68.9 per game they gave up to non-conference foes.

KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Hammond has been directly responsible for 45 percent of all Niagara field goals over the last five games. The sophomore guard has 38 field goals and 17 assists in those games.

WINLESS WHEN: Niagara is 0-7 when scoring fewer than 64 points and 6-5 when scoring at least 64.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Peacocks have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Purple Eagles. St. Peter’s has 36 assists on 60 field goals (60 percent) across its previous three contests while Niagara has assists on 40 of 76 field goals (52.6 percent) during its past three games.

BALL SECURITY: The diligent Niagara offense has turned the ball over on 15.8 percent of its possessions, the 12th-best mark in Division I. 25.5 percent of all St. Peter’s possessions have resulted in a turnover (the Peacocks are ranked 351st, nationally).