As of now, MAAC play is for Merrimack men’s basketball, which opens the second half of the season Monday afternoon at Sacred Heart with tip-off at 2 p.m.
The Warriors enter conference play at 6-7 overall, but are heading in the right direction after winning four of their last five games. That stretch includes a 2-0 start in MAAC action, with wins in the first month over Rider and Fairfield.
Merrimack last saw action on Dec. 14, dropping a 66-59 decision on the road to Vermont.
Sacred Heart is 5-8 overall and 1-1 in league play. The Pioneers last took the floor on Dec. 22, when they suffered a lopsided 72-47 loss at Towson.
When: Monday, 2 p.m
Where: The Pitt Center (Fairfield, Conn.)
TV/stream: Watch (ESPN+)
— Sacred Heart’s roster presents a handful of matchup issues. Anquan Hill ranks among the top 100 in the country in both ball possession and team shot share while on the ground. Mechi Conner tops the national charts in terms of support rate, while Nyle Ralph Beyer has been one of the nation’s most efficient perimeter shooters, ranking 59th nationally at 47.8 percent from beyond the arc.
– Keep an eye on it KC Ugwuakazi. His defensive impact has become increasingly apparent, and his minutes are starting to reflect this. After opening the season with less than 10 minutes in two of the first three games, Ugwuakazi has logged 23 minutes or more in three of the last six games. In the two games where he didn’t reach 20 minutes – against La Salle and Princeton – he still played 19 and 18 minutes respectively.
— The Warriors are all-time 12-7 against Sacred Heart in a series that dates back to their days together in the Northeast 10 at the Division II level. The first meeting took place in 1992. Merrimack has won five of its last seven games, including an overtime victory in the MAAC tournament last March.
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