Niagara Purple Eagles vs Canisius Griffins Prediction, 1/14/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Niagara Purple Eagles vs Canisius Golden Griffins

Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Location: Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Canisius Golden Griffins (8-9) will try to defeat the Niagara Purple Eagles (4-12) at Koessler Athletic Center on Wednesday.

The Niagara Purple Eagles faced Manhattan and took a loss by a final of 79-70 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Purple Eagles ended up finishing with 14 while Manhattan racked up 7 personal fouls. They also made 6 of their 15 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Manhattan finished 90.5% from the free throw line by knocking down 19 of 21 attempts. On top of that, Manhattan snagged 31 boards (11 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Manhattan earned 18 assists and had 7 steals for the game. In relation to defense, Niagara allowed 48.2% from the field on 27 out of 56 shooting. They also doled out 22 assists in this game in addition to forcing the opposition into 4 turnovers and earning 2 steals. In relation to pulling down boards, they earned 23 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Purple Eagles made 6 of their 7 tries for a rate of 85.7%. Niagara walked away from the game having earned a 49.1% FG percentage (27 out of 55) and knocked down 10 of their 25 shots from beyond the arc.

Trenton Walters is someone who played a role for the contest. He totaled 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting. He was on the court for 27 minutes and totaled 3 rebounds. He finished shooting 75.0% from the field and also totaled 6 assists.

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Niagara heads into this game with a mark of 4-12 for the year. They have an average of 63.4 points per contest (358th in college) while hitting 42.9% from the field. The Purple Eagles are shooting 30.8% on three-point attempts (108 of 351) and 73.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Niagara is pulling down 27.7 rebounds per game and has accounted for 217 assists this year, which is 270th in the nation in terms of passing. They are turning it over 11.3 times per game and as a squad they commit 15.5 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Purple Eagles have forced 11.1 turnovers every game and they draw 15.3 personal fouls. They are 170th in D-1 in giving up assists with 219 surrendered on the campaign. The Purple Eagles defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 47.2% (408 of 864) and they concede 34.9 rebounds per game as a group. They are giving up 37.0% from beyond the arc and they rank 216th in college in points per game from their opponents (74.6).

In their last game, the Canisius Golden Griffins went home defeated by a final of 74-48 when they faced Iona. The Griffins were able to collect 20 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 29 in this matchup. They coughed up the ball 6 times, while recording 9 steals for the game. Iona was called for 9 fouls for the contest which took the Griffins to the charity stripe for 8 shots. They were able to bury 6 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. In reference to three-point shots, Canisius knocked down 6 of their 18 attempts (33.3%). When all was said and done, the Griffins ended up going 18 out of 61 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 29.5%. The Griffins permitted Iona to make 29 of 54 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 53.7% in this matchup. They went 46.4% from 3-point land by connecting on 13 of 28 and finished the contest at 3 out of 6 from the free throw line (50.0%). Regarding rebounding, Canisius allowed Iona to pull down 40 in total (7 offensive).

Michael Evbagharu was important for the Griffins for this game. He buried 5 of 10 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 6 rebounds. He tallied 10 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and added 1 assist for the contest.

Canisius has a win-loss record of 8-9 on the season. The Griffins have committed 17.2 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 70.2% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 12.3 times per contest (310th in college hoops) and they cough up possession 13.0 times per contest. Canisius has 1,066 pts for the year (62.7 per contest) and they pull in 33.5 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Griffins are hitting on 40.4% from the floor, which ranks 343rd in college hoops.

The Canisius defense allows 31.4% on 3-point attempts (144 of 458) and opponents are making 72.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 14.8 dimes and 34.3 total boards per game, which ranks 271st and 171st in Division 1. The Griffins on defense are ranked 119th in D-1 in points given up per game with 71.2. They are able to force 10.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.1% from the floor (210th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Canisius

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