Preview: Merrimack hits the road to face VCU
Hitting the road for the first time this season, the Merrimack men’s basketball team will play Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday night.
VCU is 2-0 this season with wins over Bellarmine (84-65) and Boston College (80-55).
Merrimack vs. VCU
When: Wednesday
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
Watch U.S.: MASN / ESPN+
Venue: Siegel Center (7,637)
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Purchase Tickets: Click here
History: Merrimack and VCU will meet for the first time. Moreover, this will be the first time the Warriors meet a team from the Atlantic 10.
VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin was an assistant AD at Merrimack from 1997-00 and he is also a former director of media relations for Hockey East.
Inside the Matchup
— VCU head coach Ryan Odom is ready for what Merrimack brings defensively, telling reporters this week:
“They’re aggressive and they clearly practice it for the majority of their practices because they’re really good at it. They force teams to turn over the ball. Year in and year out they are one of the top 30 teams in terms of forcing turnovers. It’s a disruptive defense and you have to take care of the basketball.
“I’m sure they are able to tweak it and move it around, but they are committed to it. They aren’t going to many other things. They’re committed to playing it and they’re good at it. We’re going to have to play really well to attack it.”
— Philip Russell had a big night for VCU against Boston College (20 points), and he’s been one of the Rams’ go-to players along with Joe Bamisile.
— Digging into the analytics, ESPN gives the Warriors a 6.1% chance of winning. KenPom gives the Warriors a 7% chance of winning, with a projected score of 77-60 VCU.
KenPom has VCU ranked No. 36 in the country. The Warriors went 0-2 against top-40 competition last season (65-49 loss to Cincinnati and a 77-57 loss to Florida).
— After Saturday’s win over Vermont, the Warriors are receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll for the first time this season.
Merrimack has several opponents in the poll, including No. 3 Princeton, which the Warriors will face on Sunday at Lawler Arena, and No. 4 Saint Mary’s, which they will face in December.
VCU received votes in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.
Keys to the Game for Merrimack
Keep it close early. In part, Boston College was outmatched by VCU last week because the Rams went on a big run to open the game. When the Warriors succeed in these games — like Florida and Georgetown last season — it’s usually because they avoid a big early hole.
Be the better team from 3-point range. That’s not going to be easy, but again, looking at the BC game, the Eagles struggled to shoot from 3-point range, and it’s part of the reason they were dug into such a hole. VCU is the better team on paper, but good 3-point shooting can be an equalizer.
Don’t be afraid to be aggressive on defense. The Warriors must avoid individual foul trouble, but the Rams have been a poor free-throw shooting team early this season (67.4%). That should give the Warriors the green light to be aggressive on defense.
Inside the Numbers
