Merrimack Warriors vs Niagara Purple Eagles Prediction, 3/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Merrimack Warriors vs Niagara Purple Eagles

Date: Sunday, March 1, 2026

Location: Gallagher Center in Niagara Falls, NY

TV: ESPN+

Gallagher Center is the location where the Niagara Purple Eagles (8-21) will meet the Merrimack Warriors (20-10) on Sunday.

The Merrimack Warriors took the court against Canisius and went home with a loss by a final score of 67-62 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Warriors left the arena with 13 while Canisius had 17 fouls. They knocked down 7 of their 13 tries from downtown. Canisius finished the contest at 94.1% from the charity stripe by converting 16 of their 17 shots. Moreover, Canisius snagged 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Canisius distributed 15 assists and had 3 steals in this matchup. When discussing the defense, Merrimack allowed 44.9% from the floor on 22 out of 49 shooting. They also recorded 10 dimes for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Regarding hauling in boards, they collected 23 with 5 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Warriors made 18 of their 24 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. Merrimack finished with a 39.6% FG percentage (19 out of 48) and made 6 of their 27 3-pointers.

Kevair Kennedy is someone who played a role in the game. He finished the game at 80.0% from the floor and also earned 2 assists. He played 37 minutes and also totaled 6 boards. He accumulated 25 points on 8 of 10 shooting.

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Merrimack will take the court with a mark of 20-10 this season. They turn it over 9.7 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.7 fouls every game. As a team, Merrimack is snagging 28.7 boards per game and has earned 368 dimes so far this season, which is 264th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Warriors are hitting 32.3% on shots from 3-point land (237 of 733) and 78.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 69.2 pts per game (323rd in D-1) while hitting 41.9% from the field.

Defensively, the Warriors are able to force 12.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.1 personal fouls. They are 193rd in college in allowing assists with 387 conceded for the season. The Warriors are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.9% (700 of 1,672) and they concede 38.5 boards per contest as a unit. They concede 30.2% on 3-point attempts while they are 34th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (67.5).

In their last game, the Niagara Purple Eagles walked away with a victory by a final of 78-76 when they faced Quinnipiac. Concerning how they attacked the glass, Niagara allowed Quinnipiac to snag 33 overall (10 on the offensive glass). They finished 26.9% from downtown by shooting 7 out of 26 and finished the game at 17 out of 24 from the charity stripe (70.8%). The Purple Eagles allowed Quinnipiac to bury 26 of 62 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 41.9% for the matchup. When the game finished, the Purple Eagles ended up going 31 for 64 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.4%. Regarding shooting from downtown, Niagara converted 8 of their 24 attempts (33.3%). They were able to make 8 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. Quinnipiac committed 13 personal fouls in the game which took the Purple Eagles to the charity stripe for a total of 12 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while recording 3 steals in this contest. The Purple Eagles were able to collect 24 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 for the game.

Will Shortt ended up having an impact for the Purple Eagles for the matchup. He had 22 points in his 31 minutes on the court and accumulated 1 assist in the game. He buried 11 out of 15 for this contest giving him a rate of 73.3%, and had 2 rebounds.

Niagara has a win-loss mark of 8-21 so far this season. The Purple Eagles have committed 15.1 fouls every game and they connect on 71.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 14.0 times per contest (176th in college) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.8 times per game. Niagara has totaled 1,850 points for the campaign (63.8 per contest) and they snag 29.2 boards per contest. As an offense, the Purple Eagles are shooting 44.0% from the field, which ranks 261st in the country.

The Purple Eagles on the defensive side of the court are 103rd in D-1 in points given up per game with 71.2. They are forcing 10.6 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.7% from the floor (269th in Division 1). The Niagara defense concedes 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (218 of 631) and their opposition makes 77.4% of their foul shots. They have allowed 12.9 assists and 33.9 boards every game, which ranks them 142nd and 147th in college.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Merrimack

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