| Matchup |
Merrimack (8-8, 2-1 NEC) at Central Connecticut (1-15, 0-3 NEC) |
| Date/Time |
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 // 3:30 p.m. |
| Venue |
Detrick Gymnasium // New Britain, Conn. |
| Multimedia |
Watch // Live Stats |
| Social |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – For the first time since the 1984-85 season, the Merrimack College men's basketball team will play Central Connecticut State University when the Warriors and Blue Devils meet on Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off in New Britain, Conn. The contest at Detrick Gymnasium will be the first Division I and NEC affair between the two conference foes.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Sixteen-year NBA veteran Donyell Marshall is in his fourth year leading the Blue Devils, who enter Saturday's contest with a 1-15 (0-3 NEC) record. CCSU has dropped all three of its NEC games to date, including a 12-point loss last time out against Long Island University; the contest was a three-point game with three minutes to play before the Sharks pulled away late for the double-digit triumph. Sophomore and NEC All-Rookie selection Ian Krishnan has been a difference maker after missing the Blue Devils' first 12 games of the regular season. Appearing in the last four games, Krishnan has averaged a team-best 16.0 points per game while shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.
HISTORY AGAINST CCSU
The Warriors and Blue Devils will play for the 18th time on Saturday, but for the first time as Division I adversaries. CCSU owns a 13-4 lead in the all-time series, which will resume for the first time in 35 years. Merrimack's last win over Central Connecticut came during the 1982-83 campaign.
Matchup Comparison:
| Category |
Merrimack (8-8, 2-1 NEC) |
CCSU (1-15, 0-3 NEC) |
| Scoring Offense |
62.4 |
62.1 |
| Scoring Defense |
62.4 |
80.2 |
| Field-Goal % |
41.4% |
39.3% |
| Field-Goal % Defense |
44.2% |
48.2% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % |
30.0% |
33.9% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % Defense |
32.0% |
37.6% |
| 3-PT Field Goals (Made-Attempts) |
117-390 |
101-298 |
| Free-Throw Percentage |
70.1% |
63.4% |
| Winning Percentage |
.500 |
.063 |
| Rebounding Margin |
-9.5 |
-8.7 |
| Assists/Game |
12.3 |
10.4 |
| Steals/Game |
10.2 |
7.1 |
| Turnovers/Game |
11.6 |
15.0 |
| Blocks/Game |
2.6 |
2.8 |
| Total Fouls |
277 |
281 |
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Merrimack joins Cal Baptist and North Alabama as programs going through the reclassification process to Division I. As part of the process, the Warriors will not be postseason eligible in the NEC and not be able to compete in the conference tournament; Merrimack will, however, count in the regular season standings and have an opportunity to claim a NEC Regular Season Championship. The Warriors also will not appear in the national statistics until the reclassification process completes ahead of the 2023-24 season. In men's basketball, the Warriors are eligible for select postseason tournament such as the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and the College Insider Tournament (CIT).
THE NEW ASSIST KING
With six helpers on against Boston University on Sunday, Dec. 29,
Juvaris Hayes surpassed Darren Duncan '10 as the program's all-time assists leader. Hayes enters Thursday with 826 career helpers, maintaining his career average of 7.7 assists per game. He ranks second in the NEC in assists per game (5.75), trailing only Sacred Heart's Cameron Parker (8.13), who is third nationally in helpers.
PICKING POCKETS & MAKING CHAOS
Hayes debuted spectacularly in NEC play last week, swiping a career-high (in Division I) eight steals against Sacred Heart. He became just the fifth NEC player this century to register an eight-steal performance and posted the 11th-best single-game steal total in league history. He is tied for first nationally in steals with 55. As a team, the Warriors' havoc-creating defense has a league-best +5.25 turnover margin to rank 12th in Division I. Hayes and fellow guard
Mikey Watkins are key components of that: the duo have 88 combined thefts, the most of any duo in the country.
LOU HENSON AWARD MID-SEASON WATCHLIST
Another prestigious recognition bestowed to Hayes was a spot on the Lou Henson Award mid-season Watch List, which was announced on Thursday. The point guard was one of 50 players named to the list, which is given to the nation's top mid-major player at year's end. Hayes was one of three players from the NEC named on the watch list, as well.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Senior
Idris Joyner has led Merrimack in scoring in each of the last two games, becoming the eighth different Warrior to lead Merrimack in scoring this season. Joyner, Hayes, junior
Devin Jensen and sophomore
Mikey Watkins have led the team in scoring two times each. Senior
Jaleel Lord leads the way with five games as the team's top scorer.
Up Next:
Merrimack meets Bryant University on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Hammel Court. For tickets to Wednesday's game,
click here.
