Fairfield Stags vs Niagara Purple Eagles Prediction, 1/4/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Fairfield Stags vs Niagara Purple Eagles

Date: Sunday, January 4, 2026

Location: Gallagher Center in Niagara Falls, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Fairfield Stags (8-6) are on their way to Gallagher Center on Sunday where they will go up against the Niagara Purple Eagles (3-9).

The Fairfield Stags faced off with St. Peter's and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 70-66 in their last contest. In regard to fouls, the Stags ended up walking away with 14 while St. Peter's accounted for 17 fouls. They made 5 out of their 21 tries from downtown. St. Peter's finished the game at 81.8% at the charity stripe by making 9 of 11 tries. In addition, St. Peter's pulled down 43 rebounds (17 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. St. Peter's doled out 13 assists and had 9 steals in the game. Pertaining to the defense, Fairfield let their opponent shoot 40.0% from the field on 28 out of 70 shooting. They also distributed 7 assists for this game while forcing 10 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected 33 with 11 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Stags made 14 of 19 attempts for a percentage of 73.7%. Fairfield finished the contest having earned a 40.4% FG percentage (23 of 57) and made 6 of 21 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Braden Sparks is one player who came through for this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 46.7% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes. He was on the court for 40 mins and collected 4 boards. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 7 out of 15 shooting.

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Fairfield enters this game with a record of 8-6 on the season. They have an average of 77.0 pts per contest (193rd in the country) while connecting on 42.5% from the field. The Stags are connecting on 34.2% on shots from beyond the arc (118 of 345) and 72.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Fairfield is pulling down 40.5 boards per game and has accounted for 162 dimes so far this season, which ranks 324th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 10.3 times per game and as a squad they commit 15.6 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Stags are forcing their opponents into 11.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 15.4 fouls. They are relinquishing 32.9% on 3-pointers and they are 185th in the country in opponents points per game (73.4). The Stags defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 44.0% (373 of 847) and they concede 35.9 boards per contest as a team. They rank 249th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 193 surrendered on the season.

The last time they took the court, the Niagara Purple Eagles got the win with a final of 81-58 when they faced Houghton. In regard to how they rebounded, Niagara permitted Houghton to grab 17 in total (4 offensive). They finished 19.0% from 3-point land via 4 out of 21 and finished the game at 6 out of 8 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Purple Eagles permitted Houghton to make 24 of their 52 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.2% in the matchup. Overall, the Purple Eagles finished shooting 34 out of 62 from the field which gave them a rate of 54.8%. In regard to shots from distance, Niagara converted 5 of their 20 attempts (25.0%). They were able to knock down 8 of them for a clip of 88.9%. Houghton earned 7 fouls in the matchup which took the Purple Eagles to the free throw line for a total of 9 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while recording 7 steals for the contest. The Purple Eagles recorded 22 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 35 for the contest.

Brian Griffith was important for the Purple Eagles in this contest. He converted 6 out of 9 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. He racked up 14 points in his 24 minutes on the court and accumulated 5 assists for the contest.

Niagara has a mark of 3-9 so far this year. The Purple Eagles commit 16.3 fouls per contest and they hit 72.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.1 times per game (282nd in the country) and they are turning it over 12.1 times per game. Niagara has scored 753 pts for the year (62.8 per game) and they pull down 28.2 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Purple Eagles are connecting on 41.8% from the floor, which ranks them 326th in the nation.

The Purple Eagles are ranked 226th in college in points given up per game with 75.0. They are able to force 12.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.8% from the field (333rd in D-1). The Niagara defense allows 38.5% on 3-pointers (105 of 273) and their opponents are making 75.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 14.3 assists and 34.7 boards every game, which has them ranked 250th and 190th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Niagara

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