Basketball Preview: Merrimack hosts Fairfield in Friday MAAC matinee

Welcome back!

After taking some time off for the holidays, we’re back in full swing this weekend with men’s basketball and men’s hockey back in action. We’ll preview men’s hockey later today, but to start, let’s take a look at men’s basketball, which hosts Fairfield tomorrow at Lawler Arena.

This begins a stretch of 18 straight MAAC games until the end of the regular season on March 6.

Details: Merrimack vs. Fairfield

When: Friday, 3 p.m. ET
Venue: Lawler Arena (cap. 2,549)
Where: North Andover, Mass.
Watch: ESPN+

Inside the Numbers

Game Notes

— Merrimack and Fairfield will meet on Friday for the first time since 1977. The Stags are 4-0 in the all-time series, with all those games coming from 1953 to 1977. The last match between Merrimack and Fairfield in North Andover was on Jan. 30, 1958.

— The Warriors are coming off back-to-back close road losses before Christmas, which closed out the non-conference schedule. The Warriors dropped games at Stanford and Saint Mary’s — two Top 100 teams — by just 11 points total.

— Fairfield is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, including an 85-72 loss to Columbia on Saturday.

Matchup Breakdown

— You see a clear divide with Fairfield on offense vs. defense. The Stags aren’t bad offensively. They aren’t great, but they aren’t bad. They limit turnovers (No. 29 in the country) and have a good offensive rebound percentage. The sample size is small, but they rate as the best offensive team in the MAAC through two games.

Because the sample size is so small, we have to look at who the Stags played. They beat Rider 78-75, but they lost to Mount St. Mary’s 101-94. KenPom has Rider ranked No. 12 in the MAAC (out of 13 teams), and Mount ranked No. 4. For what it’s worth, KenPom has the Warriors rated as the top team in the MAAC, slightly ahead of Marist and Quinnipiac.

— The Warriors have a clear advantage on defense. Encompassing all games, Merrimack is No. 123 in defensive efficiency, and Fairfield has been one of the worst defensive teams in the country. The Stags are one of the worst teams defending 3-point shots, which could mean a big day for Devon Savage and/or Matt Becht.

Because the Stags don’t turn the ball over much, I’m curious how the Warriors — who rank as one of the best turnover teams in the country — do against their offense.