Merrimack (18-10) vs LIU (7-21)
March 6, 2024 at 07:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Merrimack Warriors -14.5 — Over/Under:
The Long Island University Sharks and the Merrimack Warriors meet Wednesday in Northeast Conference Tournament college basketball action from Hammel Court. LIU is fresh off a loss to Central Connecticut that dropped the Sharks to 7-21 overall. As for Merrimack, they’re 19-11 following a loss to Sacred Heart. Let’s get into our LIU vs. Merrimack prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Pick Dawgz.
LIU Sharks
Long Island U got off to a 4-16 run over their first 20 games of the season. The Sharks have since gone a rough 3-5, beating St. Francis PA, Sacred Heart and Le Moyne. The losses were versus Merrimack, Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner and Central Connecticut otherwise.
In the Central Connecticut matchup on Thursday, the Sharks trailed 32-29 going into the second half. LIU didn’t get any closer on a 46-35 run from there and lost 78-64 in the end. Leading team scorer Eric Acker put up 13 points with eight rebounds and seven assists in the defeat.
Merrimack Warriors
Over on the Merrimack side, they were a sketchy 9-10 to start the year. The Warriors would then beat Stonehill, St. Francis PA, Central Connecticut, Long Island U, Le Moyne, Stonehill, Long Island U, St. Francis PA and Fairleigh Dickinson in succession before a loss to Sacred Heart.
In Saturday’s game versus Sacred Heart, the Warriors were in the locker room with a 42-41 advantage. Merrimack faltered a bit in the second with a 48-43 deficit and took the tough loss 89-85. Jordan Derkack was the team’s leading scorer on 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
ANDREW’S FREE LIU VS MERRIMACK PREDICTION
I’ve got to stay with Merrimack. The Warriors took a tough loss versus Sacred Heart in their last outing, breaking their lengthy win streak. Merrimack was highly permissive on defense in that one with 54.1 percent shooting allowed alongside a 36-27 rebounding deficit. Still, the Warriors are scoring well these days with 71 or more points in four straight games.
Merrimack took both meetings between these teams this year: 82-79 in overtime on February 8 and 83-68 on February 17 at home. The Warriors shot a nice 50.9 percent from the field in game two but got outmuscled on the boards 37-29. The 22 LIU turnovers for 28 points really helped as well. Merrimack can’t rely on that this time around but I still think they’ll cover.