| Matchup |
Merrimack (14-8, 8-1 NEC) vs LIU (10-11, 5-3 NEC) |
| Date/Time |
Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 // 4 p.m. |
| Venue |
North Andover, Mass. // Hammel Court (Tickets) |
| Multimedia |
Watch // Live Stats |
| Social |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – A top-four tilt in the Northeast Conference (NEC) awaits the Merrimack College men's basketball program on Saturday when the Warriors welcome Long Island University to campus for a 4 p.m. tip-off. The contest pits the first-place Warriors, who are riding a seven-game winning streak, against the fourth-place Sharks, who have won five of their last seven NEC affairs.
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE
- A general admission ticket for Thursday'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
- GAME PROMOTION: Kids Day // Mack Gold Rush
- Saturday's game will be Kids Day on campus sponsored by Pilot Pens USA. Pens and autograph books will be distributed before the game to youth in attendance, and a postgame autograph session will occur with members of the Warriors
- Additionally, Merrimack will be distributing 500 t-shirts as part of the Warriors' Mack Gold Rush promotion presented by Cedar's
SCOUTING THE SHARKS
LIU brings an up-tempo attack into Hammel Court on Saturday in what will be a battle of playing styles against Merrimack's havoc-creating defense. The Sharks lead the NEC in scoring offense, but also are second-to-last in scoring defense. The also lead the NEC in 3-pointers made (211) while shooting a league-high 617 times from distance. Senior Raiquan Clark paces the NEC with 20.3 points per game, the only player averaging at least 20 per contest.
HISTORY AGAINST LIU
The Warriors will meet the recently merged Long Island University for the first time on Saturday. Merrimack and Division II LIU Post played 16 times, with each squad winning eight games apiece. The Warriors did meet LIU's Brooklyn campus on one occasion, falling by a nine-point margin in the 1973-74 season opener.
Matchup Comparison:
| Category |
Merrimack (14-8, 8-1 NEC) |
LIU (10-11, 5-3 NEC) |
| Scoring Offense |
63.0 |
78.0 |
| Scoring Defense |
60.8 |
78.0 |
| Field-Goal % |
41.8% |
44.9% |
| Field-Goal % Defense |
43.1% |
43.7% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % |
31.3% |
34.2% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % Defense |
31.0% |
32.6% |
| 3-PT Field Goals (Made-Attempts) |
161-514 |
211-617 |
| Free-Throw Percentage |
70.5% |
70.6% |
| Winning Percentage |
.636 |
.476 |
| Rebounding Margin |
-7.6 |
-6.4 |
| Assists/Game |
12.2 |
14.7 |
| Steals/Game |
10.5 |
7.0 |
| Turnovers/Game |
12.0 |
14.1 |
| Blocks/Game |
2.5 |
3.5 |
| Total Fouls |
370 |
309 |
MOST WINS EVER?
Merrimack is nearing an unprecedented mark as it moves through its first-ever Division I season. The Warriors need three wins over the remainder of the regular season to eclipse Cal Baptist's 16-win campaign as the most ever for a first-year team reclassifying to Division I. Merrimack has already one-upped Cal Baptist in one area as the Warriors have 13 wins against DI opponents, one more than Cal Baptist did in 2018-19. The Lancer won four games against non-DI foes and 12 games against DI teams.
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 WARRIORS ARE STREAKING
Merrimack's current seven-game winning streak is officially the longest for the program under fourth-year head coach
Joe Gallo after the Warriors won on Thursday night vs. St. Francis Brooklyn. It is the longest winning streak for the program since 2009-10 season when the Warriors rattled off 11 straight triumphs. The Warriors have the 18th longest active winning streak in the nation.
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 Monday with 878 career helpers. He ranks second in the NEC in assists per game (5.6).
PUTTING THE NEC IN THE ZONE
Led by the nation's leader in steals in
Juvaris Hayes (85), the Warriors' defense has dominated during NEC play. The Warriors led the conference in turnover margin (+5.5) and steals per game (10.5), averaging nearly three more steals than any other team. Merrimack also has the league's best scoring defense at 60.8 points per game. Nationally, Merrimack ranks fourth in turnover margin and tied for fourth in steals per game.
THE RETURN OF THE ROAD WARRIORS
With Merrimack's current run, the Warriors became the first NEC team since Wagner in 2017-18 to sweep the daunted "Western PA" trip to Robert Morris and Saint Francis. The Warriors have seven true road victories on the year, sitting in a tie for second nationwide in road victories including with undefeated and top-ranked San Diego State, Hofstra, William and Mary, Vermont and Stephen F. Austin lead the land with eight road wins.
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 last 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
Merrimack is tied with Illinois State and East Tennessee State with eight different leading scorers on the season. Senior
Idris Joyner became Merrimack's eighth different player to lead the team in scoring at Robert Morris (1/4), and has since done it in six out of the last eight games. Senior
Jaleel Lord leads the team with seven occurrences as the Warriors' top scorer.
DRIS IS COOKING IN CONFERENCE
Joyner has been Merrimack's top scorer in conference play, averaging over 15 points per game. His in-league scoring average has increased his overall scoring average to over 10 points per game, aided by a career-best 28-point performance last Monday at Saint Francis. He was named College Sports Madness NEC Player of the Week for his efforts last week.
Up Next:
Merrimack heads on the road for its next three games, beginning with a trek to face Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m. on Thursday night in Teaneck, N.J.
