Preview: Merrimack opens the men's basketball season against Vermont
Merrimack opens the 2024-25 men’s basketball season on Saturday night at home against the Vermont Catamounts.
Vermont is the favorite to win America East this season. The Catamounts are 1-1 this season with a win over UAB on Monday night and a loss to Auburn on Wednesday.
Merrimack vs. Vermont
When: Saturday
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
Watch U.S.: ESPN+
Venue: Lawler Arena (2,549)
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Purchase Tickets: Click here
Scouting the Catamounts
Vermont is 2-0 all-time against Merrimack. The teams faced off last year with the Catamounts coming away with a 67-55 win up in Burlington. Merrimack hosted UVM in 2022 and the Catamounts won 66-43.
Vermont coach John Becker told the Burlington Free Press last week that the Catamounts aren’t just eyeing a fourth-straight American East championship, they’re shooting for a 30-win season.
"It’s hard to do things for the first time at Vermont; we’ve been really successful through the years," said Becker. “There's still some stuff that we can do for the first time. That’s the expectations that we have for this group and we have that potential."
Vermont returned nine scholarship players and a handful of starters fraom a 28-win team last season. They won America East but fell to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Catamounts have also been hampered by early-season injuries. Shamir Bogues and TJ Long are playing, but both were hurt during the preseason. Long played more than 70 percent of UVM’s minutes last season and has been limited to just over 50 percent through two games this season.
Three Thoughts Ahead of Merrimack-UVM
1. You can’t double Devon Savage and Matt Becht
Devon Savage shot 34.4 percent from 3-point range last season, which was actually down from 38 percent in 2022-23. Earlier this week, Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo on our podcast attributed that to teams keying on Savage as a shooter, which limited his open looks last season.
With Becht, that’s going to change.
Becht shot 44.8 percent from 3-point range with Southern New Hampshire last season.
If you’re a Merrimack opponent, who are you going to double-team? Who do you want to take away the open look from? Because if they’re both on the floor, you can’t take it away from both of them.
2. Warriors have depth up front
Initially, I thought we’d see Bryan Etumnu and 6-foot-7 transfer David Murray rotate with each other. Gallo said this week that both have looked so good, they’re trying to get looks where Etumnu and Murray are on the floor together.
Merrimack might have the best rotation of size in its history. Etumnu, Murray, and gritty forward Sean Trumper are all 6-foot-7. Trumper and Etumnu are 215 pounds, and Murray is a bruising 245 pounds.
The Warriors have always had a strong big man — like Jordan Minor — but they haven’t had the size depth that they’ll have this season.
The Warriors should be able to beat up some teams down low, which has not been the norm over the years.
3. The start of an ambitious non-conference schedule
Merrimack has arguably its most difficult non-conference schedule this season. The Warriors will begin with the preseason favorite to win the America East and also play against No. 25 Rutgers, VCU (receiving votes), and Saint Mary’s (receiving votes).
The Warriors have six non-conference opponents in KenPom’s preseason top 100, and the Catamounts are just outside (No. 103). The Warriors also have games against No. 119 Troy and No. 121 UMass Lowell.
The Warriors only have one non-conference opponent (No. 244 Boston University) ranked below them by Kenpom to start the season. The Warriors open the year ranked No. 229.
For what it’s worth, Kenpom has Merrimack going 14-17 overall this season, and 12-8 in the MAAC.
Kenpom’s projected MAAC standings:
1. Iona 14-6
2. Saint Peter’s 13-7
3. Quinnipiac 12-8
4. Merrimack 12-8
5. Marist 11-9
6. Rider 10-10
7. Mount St. Mary’s 10-10
8. Fairfield 10-10
9. Canisius 9-11
10. Manhattan 8-12
11. Siena 8-12
12. Niagara 8-12
13. Sacred Heart 7-13