| Matchup |
Merrimack (7-7, 1-0 NEC) vs. Robert Morris (5-9, 1-0 NEC) |
| Date/Time |
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 // 4 p.m. |
| Venue |
North Andover, Mass. // Hammel Court (Tickets) |
| Multimedia |
Watch // Live Stats |
| Social |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team is primed to host its first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) on Saturday when the Warriors welcome Robert Morris University to campus on Saturday afternoon for a 4 p.m. tip-off. Both Merrimack and RMU won their league openers on the road on Thursday evening; the Warriors tackled Sacred Heart while the Colonials bested Central Connecticut.
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE
- A general admission ticket for Sunday's game costs $7
- All faculty/staff, military, senior and youth tickets cost $5
- Seating at Hammel Court is all general admission
- Tickets can be purchased in person or online here
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris toppled Central Connecticut on Thursday, 89-78, to pick up its first league win. The Colonials enjoyed a 12-day layoff between games, which saw Robert Morris finish non-conference action with a 4-9 record. Robert Morris leads the NEC on 3-point percentage, knocking down over 36 percent of its treys. On the other end of the floor, however, Robert Morris has allowed team's to shoot a league-worst 47.7 percent from the field, which is among the bottom-20 nationwide. Josh Williams leads the team with 14.4 points per game and ranks second in the NEC with 48 3-point field goals.
HISTORY AGAINST RMU
Merrimack and Robert Morris will meet for the first time in program history on Saturday. The Warriors and Colonials are set to reconvene on two weeks from Saturday as well when Merrimack vists Moon Township, Pa. on Saturday, Jan. 18, for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
Matchup Comparison:
| Category |
Merrimack (7-7, 1-0 NEC) |
Robert Morris (5-9, 1-0 NEC) |
| Scoring Offense |
62.6 |
69.6 |
| Scoring Defense |
62.1 |
72.4 |
| Field-Goal % |
40.7% |
42.1% |
| Field-Goal % Defense |
44.1% |
47.7% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % |
29.9% |
36.3% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % Defense |
31.4% |
31.4% |
| 3-PT Field Goal Attempts |
358 |
355 |
| Free-Throw Percentage |
70.6% |
65.3% |
| Winning Percentage |
.500 |
.357 |
| Rebounding Margin |
-9.4 |
-1.0 |
| Assists/Game |
12.3 |
16.3 |
| Steals/Game |
10.3 |
7.0 |
| Turnovers/Game |
11.1 |
13.9 |
| Blocks/Game |
2.4 |
1.4 |
| Total Fouls |
242 |
256 |
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 last Sunday against Boston University,
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 (5.57), trailing only Sacred Heart's Cameron Parker (8.14), who is third nationally in helpers.
PICKING POCKETS & MAKING CHAOS
Hayes debuted spectacularly last night, swiping a career-high (in Division I) eight steals against Sacred. 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 48. As a team, the Warriors' havoc-creating defense has a league-best +6.00 turnover margin to rank sixth in Division I. Hayes and fellow guard
Mikey Watkins are key components of that: the duo have 79 combined thefts, the most of any duo in the country.
OLD FRIENDS REUNITE
Saturday's matchup is a reunion of sorts as fourth-year head coach
Joe Gallo faces his former team - Robert Morris - for the first time. Gallo was an Assistant Coach for current RMU boss Andrew Toole from 2012-16, serving on RMU's sideline for four seasons. While with the Colonials, Gallo was an assistant during RMU's 24-win campaign in 2012-13 that saw them defeat Kentucky in the opening round of the NIT. The Colonials won at least 20 games in three of Gallo's four years, including a NEC Championship in 2014-15 and a First Four triumph over North Florida in the NCAA Tournament.
Up Next:
Merrimack plays Mount St. Mary's on Thursday night for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Hammel Court. The contest will be the first-ever meeting between the Warriors and The Mount.
