FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- It may be a little earlier than usual this year, but the anticipation and excitement that accompanies the Fairfield University men's basketball season opener seems undaunted as Stags fans are ready for Tuesday's match up with nationally-ranked Purdue University. The Boilermakers enter the game ranked 22nd in the USA Today Coaches' Poll and 24th in the Associated Press Poll after a 30-win season a year ago.  

The Stags are coming off their second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship appearance under Head Coach Sydney Johnson and ended the 2017-18 campaign with a 17-16 overall mark, the fifth winning season under Coach Johnson. But Fairfield will need to replace its top two scorers from last season, losing Tyler Nelson and Ferron Flavors Jr. Nelson averaged 22.2 points per game and led the MAAC in scoring while Flavors represented the program's other double-digit scorer with 12.3 points per contest.

The Stags do not have a player returning who averaged better than 10 points per game, led by sophomore Jesus Cruz's 9.1 scoring average. Fairfield's top four scorers include a pair of sophomores and a pair of seniors. Cruz and Wassef Methnani comprise the second-year duo with Methnani adding 6.4 points per contest. The seniors are Jonathan Kasibabu, who earned 9.0 points per game, and Matija Milin, who tallied 6.0 points every forty minutes. Kasibabu also led the team in field goal percentage (.675) and rebounding (5.6 rpg). Aidas Kavaliauskas posted 92 assists in his 20 games and was within 18 of the team lead despite playing 13 less games than leader Nelson (110 assists).

The Boilermakers finished off the 2017-18 season with a 30-7 overall record and a 15-3 mark in Big Ten play, the most wins under Head Coach Matt Painter. The team's previous high was 29 victories during the 2009-10 campaign. Purdue defeated Cal-State Fullerton and Butler in its first two NCAA tournament games before seeing the season come to an end with a 78-65 setback to Texas Tech.

The team must replace three of its top four scorers from a year ago, namely Isaac Haas (14.7 ppg), Vincent Edwards (14.6 ppg), and Dakota Mathias (12.0 ppg). And, Edwards (7.4 rpg) and Haas (5.7 rpg) also represented the team's top two rebounders from 2017-18. Guard Carsen Edwards is back in uniform after leading the team in scoring with an 18.5 scoring average. He was also the leader in assists (104) and three-point field goals (97) which included six assists, and two three pointers with 18 points against Fairfield last season. Matt Haarms also returns to the lineup in 2018-19 after posting 4.8 points and a team-best 79 blocks a year ago. 

Fairfield and Purdue will meet for the second time overall and for the second straight season. Last year, the Boilermakers handed the Stags their first loss of the season, a 106-64 decision at Mackey Arena. Fairfield trailed by 11 points at 21-10 through the first seven minutes of the game before Purdue used an 11-2 run over the four minutes to open up a 20-point lead at 32-12 with 9:25 on the clock and the Stags would not come closer than that margin the rest of the way. The Boilermakers used the three-point shot to its advantage by netting 19 baskets from behind the arc. Dakota Mathias was perfect from long range, making all six of his three-point tries. He finished the game with 23 points, while Tyler Nelson led all Fairfield scorers with 16 points including three three pointers.

Tuesday's game represents the first of two road games to start the Stags' 2018-19 campaign, finishing the brief road swing at Bucknell University on November 10. Fairfield opens the home portion of its schedule the following week by hosting LIU-Brooklyn on November 13 and Wagner College on November 17. Both of those home dates will be played at Webster Bank Arena.

The game will be broadcast on the BTN+ on the BTN2Go app, part of the Big Ten Network. WVOF radio coverage will not be available for non-conference road games this season as the broadcast schedule will include Fairfield basketball home games and both home and away MAAC games as the University's expands its coverage of Stags basketball on ESPN3/+ in 2018-19.