2025–26 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team

2025–26 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball
2025–26 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball
Conference	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record	8–22 (5–15 MAAC)
Head coach	Greg Paulus (7th season);
Assistant coaches	Chris Buchanan; Will Holland; Jake Presutti; Charles Chigeru;
Home arena	Gallagher Center

2025–26 MAAC men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Merrimack	17	–	3	.850	23	–	11	.676
Saint Peter's	14	–	6	.700	17	–	12	.586
Siena †	13	–	7	.650	23	–	12	.657
Quinnipiac	12	–	8	.600	19	–	13	.594
Marist	12	–	8	.600	19	–	12	.613
Mount St. Mary's	11	–	9	.550	15	–	17	.469
Fairfield	11	–	9	.550	21	–	13	.618
Iona	10	–	10	.500	18	–	14	.563
Sacred Heart	9	–	11	.450	14	–	19	.424
Manhattan	8	–	12	.400	12	–	20	.375
Niagara	5	–	15	.250	8	–	22	.267
Canisius	5	–	15	.250	10	–	21	.323
Rider	3	–	17	.150	4	–	25	.138

† 2026 MAAC tournament winner

The 2025–26 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team represented Niagara University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Eagles, led by seventh-year head coach Greg Paulus, played their home games at the Gallagher Center in Lewiston, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Previous season

The Purple Eagles finished the 2024–25 season 11–20, 6–14 in MAAC play, to finish in 12th place.^[1] They failed to qualify for the MAAC tournament, as only the top ten teams qualify.^[2]

Preseason

On September 30, 2025, the MAAC released their preseason coaches poll. Niagara was picked to finish 12th in the conference.^[3]

Preseason rankings

MAAC Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Points
1	Quinnipiac	158 (8)
2	Siena	152 (3)
3	Sacred Heart	140 (2)
4	Manhattan	133
5	Marist	115
6	Iona	104
7	Merrimack	85
8	Fairfield	74
9	Mount St. Mary's	69
10	Rider	59
11	Saint Peter's	48
12	Niagara	26
13	Canisius	20
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[3]

Preseason All-MAAC Teams

No players were named to the First, Second or Third Preseason All-MAAC Teams.^[3]

Roster

2025–26 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Justin Hawkins	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Sr	Jefferson	Willingboro, New Jersey
G	1	Reggie Prudhomme	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	—	GS	Cameron	Missouri City, Texas
G	2	Trenton Walters	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	Jr	Indian Hills Community College	Frisco, Texas
G	5	Justin Page	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Cal Poly	Peoria, Illinois
C	8	Kabeya Tshibangu	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	RS Sr	Northwestern Oklahoma State	Justin, Texas
G	9	Gael Dalmau	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Fr	Prestige Worldwide Sports Academy	Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
G	10	Landon Williams	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	So	North Farmington High School	Farmington Hills, Michigan
F	11	Vice Zanki	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Eastern Washington	Zagreb, Croatia
G	12	Josiah Sabino	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Garden City Community College	Jacksonville, Florida
G	15	Brian Griffith	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	—	Jr	Coffeyville	Owensboro, Kentucky
F	22	Drew Larson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Jr	Northwest College	Fort Collins, Colorado
F	32	Will Shortt	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	IMG Academy	Sydney, Australia
G	35	AJ McBride	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	So	Moeller High School	Cincinnati, Ohio

Head coach

Greg Paulus (Duke)

Assistant coach(es)

Chris Buchanan (Peninsula)
Will Holland (Mount St. Mary's)
Jake Presutti (Syracuse)
Charles Chigeru (Barry)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 11, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Duquesne	L 63–83	0–1	UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (2,133) Pittsburgh, PA
November 8, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Binghamton	W 67–59	1–1	Dr. Bai Lee Court (1,519) Vestal, NY
November 10, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Delaware State	W 68–57	2–1	Gallagher Center (1,676) Lewiston, NY
November 17, 2025* 7:00 pm, NECFR	at Le Moyne	L 68–74	2–2	Ted Grant Court (1,048) DeWitt, NY
November 21, 2025* 7:00 pm, ACCN	at No. 5 Duke Brotherhood Run	L 42–100	2–3	Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC
November 22, 2025* 4:00 pm, ACCNX	vs. Howard Brotherhood Run	L 70–80	2–4	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
November 29, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	Detroit Mercy	L 66–70	2–5	Gallagher Center (747) Lewiston, NY
December 5, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Siena	L 54–83	2–6 (0–1)	MVP Arena (4,259) Albany, NY
December 7, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Saint Peter's	L 43–71	2–7 (0–2)	Run Baby Run Arena (482) Jersey City, NJ
December 13, 2025* 4:00 pm	at Morgan State	L 73–81	2–8	Hill Field House (368) Baltimore, MD
December 15, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at VCU	L 58–84	2–9	Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA
December 20, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	Houghton	W 81−58	3−9	Gallagher Center (659) Lewiston, NY
January 2, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+	Sacred Heart	W 64–61	4–9 (1–2)	Gallagher Center (708) Lewiston, NY
January 4, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Fairfield	L 75–83	4–10 (1–3)	Gallagher Center (746) Lewiston, NY
January 9, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Iona	L 53–71	4–11 (1–4)	Hynes Athletics Center (1,741) New Rochelle, NY
January 11, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Manhattan	L 70–79	4–12 (1–5)	Draddy Gymnasium (721) Riverdale, NY
January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Canisius Battle of the Bridge	W 59–54	5–12 (2–5)	Koessler Athletic Center (1,315) Buffalo, NY
January 19, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Mount St. Mary's	L 58–68	5–13 (2–6)	Gallagher Center (552) Lewiston, NY
January 22, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Fairfield	L 61–62	5–14 (2–7)	Leo D. Mahoney Arena (1,541) Fairfield, CT
January 24, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN+	at Sacred Heart	L 70–71	5–15 (2–8)	William H. Pitt Center (930) Fairfield, CT
January 30, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Siena	L 79–82	5–16 (2–9)	Gallagher Center (1,048) Lewiston, NY
February 1, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Marist	L 46–58	5–17 (2–10)	Gallagher Center (745) Lewiston, NY
February 3, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Canisius Battle of the Bridge	W 65–56	6–17 (3–10)	Gallagher Center (1,246) Lewiston, NY
February 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Quinnipiac	L 55–56	6–18 (3–11)	M&T Bank Arena (1,073) Hamden, CT
February 13, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Manhattan	L 69–77	6–19 (3–12)	Gallagher Center (706) Lewiston, NY
February 15, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Iona	W 70–68	7–19 (4–12)	Gallagher Center (836) Lewiston, NY
February 20, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Mount St. Mary's	L 63–76	7–20 (4–13)	Knott Arena (2,520) Emmitsburg, MD
February 22, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Rider	L 62–67	7–21 (4–14)	Alumni Gymnasium (989) Lawrenceville, NJ
February 27, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+	Quinnipiac	W 78–76 ^OT	8–21 (5–14)	Gallagher Center (744) Lewiston, NY
March 1, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Merrimack	L 66–73	8–22 (5–15)	Gallagher Center (890) Lewiston, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[4]^[5]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
^ "MAAC to limit participation in basketball championships". Times Union. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Quinnipiac Voted as MAAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll Favorites". Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Niagara University Athletics. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
^ "Niagara Purple Eagles 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 11, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Retrieved November 11, 2025.

[2] "MAAC to limit participation in basketball championships". Times Union. Retrieved November 11, 2025.

[poll-3] "Quinnipiac Voted as MAAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll Favorites". Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Retrieved November 11, 2025.

[4] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Niagara University Athletics. Retrieved November 11, 2025.

[5] "Niagara Purple Eagles 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 11, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball
Venues	Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center (1973–1982 full-time, part-time 1988–1996) Gallagher Center (1949–1973, 1982–present)
Rivalries	Canisius
Culture & lore	Gambling scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26