Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Auburn on February 24, 2026 , Win , 91, to, 79
Final
Men's Basketball
91
vs Auburn
79
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Niagara Prepares to Face OU in NCAA Tournament
March 14, 2005 | Men's Basketball
LEWISTON, N.Y. -- Niagara had already waited 35 years for this. What was another 45 minutes?
While secure in knowing they had already clinched an NCAA tournament berth, the Purple Eagles had to wait until the 63rd of 65 teams were announced Sunday to determine who and where they would play.
When Niagara came up as a 14th seed in the Austin regional, senior forward Juan Mendez jumped from his chair and punched the air, while coach Joe Mihalich hugged his wife, Mary, sparking a raucous celebration amid about 1,000 fans gathered at the school's Gallagher Center.
"A long, long time coming. It was 35 years of emotion up there, waiting to see that name go up on the screen," Mihalich said. "It just puts the punctuation mark on what is a great accomplishment."
Niagara (20-9) will play Oklahoma (24-7) at Tucson, Ariz., in the first round on Thursday.
The Purple Eagles clinched their program's second berth -- and first since Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy led the school to the second round in 1970 -- by beating Rider 81-59 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference final last week.
The Sooners, who lost 69-63 to Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament semifinal Saturday, opened last week ranked No. 17, and are no strangers to the NCAA tournament.
This is Oklahoma's 10th berth in the last 11 years, and 23rd overall. It's also their eighth straight 20-win season.
"We knew we were going to play a great team and we are," Mihalich said. "It'll be a great, great challenge. ... It's a David and Goliath-type situation, but our players, they don't think of themselves as David."
It's the first time Niagara will play Oklahoma.
The Purple Eagles are enjoying their second straight 20-win season -- their best stretch since four consecutive 20-win campaigns in the 1950s.
They're led by Mendez, the MAAC player of the year, and the only player in the NCAA this season to rank in the top-10 in both scoring (23.6 points) and rebounding (10.5).
Rounding out Niagara's core of seniors are point guard Alvin Cruz and swingman David Brooks.
The tournament berth ended a string of close calls for Niagara, which had lost two of the previous three MAAC championship games prior to this season.
"I think this'll put Niagara on the map in general," Mendez said. "To finally do it our senior year, it's great. We're going to enjoy every moment of it and try to get a victory."
For Mendez, it's an opportunity to earn some respect on a national stage.
"I'm going to have to prove myself," Mendez said. "We're going to go out there and earn respect from the other teams."
Mihalich hopes Niagara's relative anonymity will be an advantage.
"They really don't know us. We're not a household name," Mihalich said. "There are kids on their team that are going to say, `Coach, what conference are they in?' So hopefully, that'll work a bit in our favor."
Oklahoma had won seven straight prior to the loss to Texas Tech. The Sooners are led by a trio of juniors, forwards Kevin Bookout and Taj Gray and guard Terrell Everett.
As fun as the past week was for Cruz to savor the MAAC championship, he's happy to finally prepare for an opponent.
"At first we were happy to just be in the tournament," Cruz said. "But now it's like, `C'mon, we can get a win, too.' We're not scared. We're going to go there, play hard and see what happens."
While secure in knowing they had already clinched an NCAA tournament berth, the Purple Eagles had to wait until the 63rd of 65 teams were announced Sunday to determine who and where they would play.
When Niagara came up as a 14th seed in the Austin regional, senior forward Juan Mendez jumped from his chair and punched the air, while coach Joe Mihalich hugged his wife, Mary, sparking a raucous celebration amid about 1,000 fans gathered at the school's Gallagher Center.
"A long, long time coming. It was 35 years of emotion up there, waiting to see that name go up on the screen," Mihalich said. "It just puts the punctuation mark on what is a great accomplishment."
Niagara (20-9) will play Oklahoma (24-7) at Tucson, Ariz., in the first round on Thursday.
The Purple Eagles clinched their program's second berth -- and first since Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy led the school to the second round in 1970 -- by beating Rider 81-59 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference final last week.
The Sooners, who lost 69-63 to Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament semifinal Saturday, opened last week ranked No. 17, and are no strangers to the NCAA tournament.
This is Oklahoma's 10th berth in the last 11 years, and 23rd overall. It's also their eighth straight 20-win season.
"We knew we were going to play a great team and we are," Mihalich said. "It'll be a great, great challenge. ... It's a David and Goliath-type situation, but our players, they don't think of themselves as David."
It's the first time Niagara will play Oklahoma.
The Purple Eagles are enjoying their second straight 20-win season -- their best stretch since four consecutive 20-win campaigns in the 1950s.
They're led by Mendez, the MAAC player of the year, and the only player in the NCAA this season to rank in the top-10 in both scoring (23.6 points) and rebounding (10.5).
Rounding out Niagara's core of seniors are point guard Alvin Cruz and swingman David Brooks.
The tournament berth ended a string of close calls for Niagara, which had lost two of the previous three MAAC championship games prior to this season.
"I think this'll put Niagara on the map in general," Mendez said. "To finally do it our senior year, it's great. We're going to enjoy every moment of it and try to get a victory."
For Mendez, it's an opportunity to earn some respect on a national stage.
"I'm going to have to prove myself," Mendez said. "We're going to go out there and earn respect from the other teams."
Mihalich hopes Niagara's relative anonymity will be an advantage.
"They really don't know us. We're not a household name," Mihalich said. "There are kids on their team that are going to say, `Coach, what conference are they in?' So hopefully, that'll work a bit in our favor."
Oklahoma had won seven straight prior to the loss to Texas Tech. The Sooners are led by a trio of juniors, forwards Kevin Bookout and Taj Gray and guard Terrell Everett.
As fun as the past week was for Cruz to savor the MAAC championship, he's happy to finally prepare for an opponent.
"At first we were happy to just be in the tournament," Cruz said. "But now it's like, `C'mon, we can get a win, too.' We're not scared. We're going to go there, play hard and see what happens."
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