AUBURN, Ala. - The Merrimack men's basketball plays at Auburn on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET
THE LATEST
• Merrimack opened the season Monday night in Souix Falls, S.D., losing to South Dakota State in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. Sophomore Tye Dorset shot 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from behind the arc to lead the Warriors with a career-high 19 points.
• Merrimack does have a Power Conference win, having won at Northwestern 71-61 on Nov. 8, 2019. Joe Gallow was the head coach in the school's second-ever D-I game. Current Merrimack assistant Juvaris Hayes had 19 points . Devin Jensen led the Warriors with 23 points in the school's first D-I win.
• Merrimack's Make Chaos zone defense had a stifling stretch to start the second half, holding South Dakota State to just nine points over the first 13 minutes of the second half. The Warriors forced 14 turnovers on the game.
• #MakeChaos: Joe Gallo and Merrimack have been known for its zone defense. Focusing on moving quickly, forcing turnovers and preventing three-point shots. The Warriors ranked 15th in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 64.2 points per game last season. The Warriors were also 7th in the nation in steals per game (9.5) and 15th in the nation in turnovers forced per game (15.1). Merrimack ranked 42nd in the nation in field goal percentage defense (41.3) and 45th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (30.9).
• Road Warriors: This will be the second of three-straight games in the Central Time Zone to start the season for Merrimack. The Warriors open the season with four-straight true road games, travelling to Texas to face Tarleton State Tuesday.
• Coming off a second-place finish in its inaugural year in the MAAC, the Warriors have 10 new faces as they open the 2025-26 season. The Merrimack coaching staff rebuilt the roster with a mix of transfers from the Atlantic 10 to D-II, and freshmen, including First-Team All-Philadelphia Catholic League and Max Preps PA State Player selection Kevair Kennedy.
• Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo signed a 10-year extension after leading the Warriors to a second-place finish in the MAAC regular season standings, and a berth in the MAAC semifinals. Gallo is a 2004 graduate of Merrimack, and led the transition from Division II to Division I. Since the transition to Division I, Gallo led the Warriors to a NEC tournament championship (but they weren't eligible for the NCAA Tournament), and three regular season championships.
• Along with head coach Joe Gallo ('04), three other members of the coaching staff are Merrimack alums: assistant coach Micky Burtnyk ('08), assistant coach Juvaris Hayes ('20) and assistant coach Chris Mohr ('97)
