The set-up: The 9-22 Niagara Purple Eagles and the 10-20 Quinnipiac Bobcats meet Thursday in the MAAC tournament at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY..

Niagara: The Purple Eagles are led by guards Scott (17.3 & 7.0) and Dukes (15.5 & 4.2 APG), the team's lone double digit scorers. That's not good news when the team allows 78.3 PPG (305th in the nation). Niagara was just 6-14 in league play and will enter on a five-game losing streak.

Quinnipiac: The Bobcats were slightly better in MAAC games at 7-13 but also enter on a losing streak, one of six consecutive losses. Quinnipiac can match Niagara's backcourt duo with Dixon (16.8) and Kiss (13.3 & 5.6) plus in the 6-9 Daniels (13.1 & 6.3), will own the best big man in the game.

The pick: Both teams come in on losing streaks and the winner earns the right to get waxed in its next game by Monmouth, the league's regular season champion at 18-2 (26-5 overall). Quinnipiac won both meetings during the regular season, 81-78 at Niagara and 89-81 at home. No reason for it to be different here on a neutral floor, considering the Purple Eagles are 5-11-1 ATS in their last 17 neutral site games. Make Quinnipiac an 8* play.