Niagara has been a consistent contender in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference since Joe Mihalich took the reins of the program in 1998. Now in his 13^th season there, Mihalich is the winningest coach in the history of the conference with 226 wins, and only one season has been a sub-.500 one. In recent years, they’ve always been right at or near the top of the conference. If you look at this season’s standings, you might do a double take upon seeing their 3-12 overall mark and 0-3 start in MAAC play. There’s clearly an explanation for it.

“For us it’s been a little bit of the perfect storm,” said a relatively subdued Mihalich after his team lost 70-48 at Fairfield. “12 of our first 15 were on the road. We have three freshman starters, one of them hurt, our leading scorer Antoine Mason.”

On Monday night, they had to travel again, this time to a team picked by many to win the MAAC in Fairfield. Not only that, but the Stags were riding an eight-game winning streak, so they have been playing well. Add it all up, and despite their best efforts and an apparent change of game plan, the Stags had the game in hand for pretty much the entire second half.

For three years, Anthony Nelson was one of the last offensive options. He thrived making others better, as he never averaged in double figures his first three seasons but had an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio. Now, they need the senior point guard to play a different role, and he’s not the same player. His scoring is up, but he has more turnovers than assists, as defenses are keying on him more. It didn’t help that he missed the first three games of the season with an injury as well.

“I feel so bad for that kid. He’s one of the best kids to come through this program,” Mihalich said. “He doesn’t have enough help with the injuries and the youth, and he’s just trying too hard.”

The Purple Eagles are the 29th-youngest team in college basketball according to weighted playing time. They start three freshmen and have four sophomores among their top reserves. Mason is perhaps the most talented freshman, averaging 16.7 points per game in the first three games before a foot injury has kept him out of action since then. At this point, one has to think a redshirt is very much a possibility. Marvin Jordan and Skylar Jones, the latter of who missed Monday’s game, also start along side Nelson and junior Kashief Edwards, their third-leading scorer.

Mihalich hoped the newcomers would acclimate a little more quickly to the college game, but that hasn’t happened. He’s seen this take a toll on the young players, but all they can do is get back to work. His track record suggests that will happen, and Fairfield head coach Ed Cooley think he’ll make that team dangerous when the conference tournament comes. Mihalich is 16-11 in the MAAC Tournament.

As much as they want to win, Mihalich and the staff just want this team to get better first and foremost. If they do, wins will surely come, especially as they will now have some home games.

“We’re trying to get better, trying not to get hung up on records, losing streaks,” Mihalich said. “We’re trying to stay focused on getting better individually and getting better as a team.”

If the season is to end differently, they will have to change drastically. Mihalich knows it will take quite a turnaround, one that’s not likely to happen in a couple of months. But one thing is for sure: this will pass, and it will go down as an aberration. The past 12 years, as well as the current talent level, suggest the Purple Eagles will not be down long.

A women’s game last Tuesday. Pitt just got into the rankings at 25th. Seton Hall was playing well and hosting the Panthers at Walsh Gym, a place Pitt has struggled in recent seasons. The game was never in doubt. The Panthers raced to a 42-17 halftime lead. They simply dominated from tap to buzzer. The defense was just as impressive as the offensive end. Pitt forced 21 turnovers while limiting the Pirates to 13 field goals and 24% shooting from the floor. Shavonte Zellous, one of the Big East’s best, led Pitt with a game high 29 points.

“We played great,” Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said. “We were on a mission we took this as a business trip. We were worried about this game because we watched Seton Hall on tape and saw they are a good team. They took Notre Dame to the wire here a few weeks ago. Our defense, though, was phenomenal.”

To a person Pitt is wonderful. Starting with Berenato, her staff, players and support personnel, the entire group is cooperative, friendly and personable. They just go out and make life miserable for their opposition from tip to buzzer.

“We really wanted to win this for Janey,” Berenato said. ‘Janey’  is Jania Sims the junior point guard for Pitt who is out for the year with a stress fracture. Sims is a Newark native who played at powerhouse Shabazz High School. “My team really wanted to win this for Janey,” Berenato said. They did and in convincing fashion.

Providence    98    Seton Hall 93 (OT)

On Thursday evening over the Prudential Center the Seton Hall men battled but came up short in search of their first Big East win of the season. Providence gradually wore down the Pirates, fouling out three players in the process, to earn a hard fought road win.

The opening half saw a shootout. Providence led 46-42 and both teams were attacking the basket, with bombs from beyond the arc. At the half the teams were shooting a combined over 60% from three. Providence was 9 for 12 while the Hall was 6 of 12. The final half saw Providence coach Keno Davis make a more concerted effort to attack the basket, the traditional way, in the paint. “We made it a point to attack the basket and wear them down,’ Keno said. “ I was pleased because earlier in the season if a team starting taking away our threes defensively we would have moved farther out and kept shooting them. Today we showed our maturity as a team.”

Jeremy Hazell led all scorers with 30 points (7 of 12 beyond the arc). In crunch time of regulation and overtime Providence made it a point not to allow Hazell any good uncontested looks. Jeff Xavier, ironically a Bobby Gonzalez recruit and player at Manhattan led four Friar double digit scorers with 20 points.

Gonzalez was not thrilled with Providence’s 42-22 edge in free throw attempts but did not criticize the officials. In all fairness, the Hall had a 6-5 advantage at halftime when it was a perimeter game, In the final half Providence went inside as noted and enjoyed a 41-30 final edge on the boards. Those factors get you to the line.

“We have to keep fighting, “ Gonzalez emphasized. “We have been playing some pretty good ball but nothing in this league is automatic.”

St.Peter’s    64        Niagara    46

On Friday at Yanitelli Center this MAAC women’s matchup saw two teams looking for better days. St.Peter’s is coming off a strong season that saw them advance to the conference semifinal. The Peahens entered the game 5-11 (2-5 in the MAAC). Simply, it’s a case of replacing several key losses from last year. Niagara, on the other hand, entered in the midst of a dreadful 1-17 campaign.

From the outset this would be St.Peter’s’ night. The hosts raced to a 39-16 halftime lead. Niagara shot 26% the first half with only six first half field goals. For the game the Purple Eagles had more turnovers (20) than field goals (17).

St.Peter’s was led by senior guard Tania Kennedy, a consistent performer this season, with 21 points. There were a number of contributors that pleased coach Stephanie DeWolfe. “We had a great first half,” DeWolfe said. “Execution could have been a little better second half but overall I’m pleased.” A few areas are positives to the St.Peter’s mentor.

The play of Charlene Riddick, a sophomore post player, is improving and giving the team an inside presence. “We are young,” DeWolfe said. “The freshman are working hard and coming along and we have been playing with a freshman point guard (Sakara House) out there.”  Among the first year players, Jamie Smith, a 5-6 guard is coming on and contributing. Smith had 17 points (10 of 11 from the line) in a recent win over Loyola.“We’re coming along as a team,” DeWoilfe added.

St.Peter’s is halfway through their MAAC schedule. As a staff and team, they eagerly look forward to the second half.

NIT Season Tip-Off

• Tyrese Rice didn’t score in the first half of Friday’s win over UAB for Boston College. But he came alive after intermission, scoring all of his 24 points after intermission. While being on the floor was the first part of that, he also got help from his teammates, and not the kind that shows up in the stat sheet. Simply put, the Eagles moved the ball better in the second frame, and that changed everything at the offensive end. “It really started on the defensive end because of the stops, and then the others because our wings consistently ran hard and got up the floor,” said head coach Al Skinner. “And then created some openings, some opportunities for him, and of course, you know, he made some shots.”
• The Eagles also got a nice effort from improving freshman Reggie Jackson. An exceptional athlete, Jackson looks like the classic athlete who doesn’t know the game yet, but his improvement is noticeable. At times in the first half, he kept the Eagles in the game, setting up their second half run.
• A questionable call late in the championship game didn’t end with the call itself. Oklahoma was given a timeout after a 50-50 ball was up in the air, at a point where it seemed no one had possession as it came down. From what Purdue head coach Matt Painter shared after the game, the explanation he heard from the official was even more questionable. “You know,” Painter began, “to me sometimes things don’t go your way, but the explanation to me is still baffling. He said to me it was an inadvertent whistle, and so the ball now went to the possession arrow, and then Oklahoma had the possession arrow, so that’s why they had it.”
• While an obvious bright spot for Purdue was the play of Nemanja Calason off the bench, a more noteworthy one was that of freshman point guard Lewis Jackson, who scored 10 points and handed out four assists in 22 minutes. He showed that he’s capable of really making this team go, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he starts before the season is over.

Philly Hoop Group Classic

• While NJIT’s losing streak gets plenty of attention, Monmouth also entered Saturday’s game without a win. They were 0-6, albeit against a very difficult schedule, so they were happy to get a win. The least difficult opponent they had played before Saturday is probably FIU, and that was a road game against a team not lacking in talent that has been hit by injuries.
• The biggest message Hartford head coach Dan Leibovitz gave his players after being thoroughly blown out by Niagara on Saturday is simple.   “They just took our aggressiveness completely away,” Leibovitz remarked after the game.   Not helping was the foul trouble of Michael Turner, their best defender and a real competitor. Turner fouled out early, then picked up a technical foul right after his fifth foul. While his presence alone wasn’t going to reverse a 40-point defeat, Leibovitz summed up his importance very succinctly: “Without Mike, our defense is out the window, plain and simple.”
• A couple of notes are in order about Niagara’s 103-63 win over Hartford. It is the largest margin of victory in the young Philly Hoop Group Classic’s history, and it also marked the first time they reached 100 points in a game in three years. The night before, they held a team below 50 points for the first time since 2002.
• While a lack of energy didn’t help, Towson clearly looked like a team trying to integrate four new starters into the lineup on offense on Saturday. The offense seemed to lack direction and the team as a whole looked lost on the court. Symbolic of the game was a play where Tony Durant moved after setting a pick, but didn’t look for a pass as the ball hit him in the back and led to an easy Penn State transition layup.  “With six new guys in the top seven or eight, at times our offense looks like it’s just chugging along, and we are,” head coach Pat Kennedy said. “It’s more of what we’ve got to correct offensively, and keep our defensive intensity up. Once we do, we’ll be in great shape.”
• Penn State’s backcourt of Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle is better than advertised. But the real key is going to be the play up front, and on Saturday the Nittany Lions got a nice effort from Andrew Jones and Jeff Brooks. Jones had eight points and 13 rebounds, while Brooks had six and five in 15 minutes off the bench.
• While it wasn’t quite the display he put on at Duke, Rhode Island guard Jimmy Baron certainly had fans buzzing with some of the shots he hit in the loss to Villanova. Whether it was a couple of deep threes, or off-balance mid-range shots as the shot clock ran down, fans who had heard about but never saw him were impressed by his 23-point effort on 8-15 shooting.
• Teams already committed for next year’s event include Delaware, St. John’s, Temple and Virginia Tech.