2023–24 Merrimack Warriors men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2023–24 Merrimack Warriors men's basketball team represented Merrimack College in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Warriors, led by eighth-year head coach Joe Gallo , played their home games at Hammel Court , with some games at Lawler Arena, located in North Andover, Massachusetts , as members of the Northeast Conference (NEC). They finished the season 21–12, 13–3 in NEC play , to finish in a tie for the regular-season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the NEC tournament , they defeated LIU [ 1] Le Moyne [ 2] Wagner in the championship game.[ 3]
On October 23, 2023, it was announced that this season would be the last for Merrimack as members of the Northeast Conference , as they will be joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference next season.[ 4]
Previous season
The 2022–23 season marked Merrimack's final year of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I . As a result, the Warriors were not be eligible to play in the NCAA tournament . However, a rule change made by the Northeast Conference allowed the Warriors to compete in the NEC tournament .[ 5]
The Warriors finished the 2022–23 season 15–16, 12–4 in NEC play, to claim first place. In the NEC tournament , Merrimack defeated LIU ,[ 6] Sacred Heart [ 7] Fairleigh Dickinson to win the championship.[ 8] [ 9]
Preseason polls
Northeast Conference poll
The Northeast Conference released its preseason coaches' poll on October 24, 2023. The Warriors were picked to finish in fourth in the conference.[ 10]
Rank
Team
1.
Sacred Heart (7)
2.
Central Connecticut (1)
3.
Fairleigh Dickinson (1)
4.
Merrimack
5.
Wagner
6.
Stonehill
7.
LIU
8.
Saint Francis
9.
Le Moyne
() first-place votes
Preseason All-Conference Team
No Warriors were selected as members of the NEC Preseason All-Conference Team.[ 11]
Roster
2023–24 Merrimack Warriors men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G 0
Adam "Budd" Clark 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg)
Fr West Catholic High School
Philadelphia, PA
G 1
Jaylen Stinson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg)
Jr James Madison
Philadelphia, PA
F 2
Samba Diallo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg)
GS Manhattan
Rufisque, Senegal
F 3
Christian Foy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
Fr North Mecklenburg High School
Huntersville, NC
G 4
Jordan Derkack 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg)
So Spire Academy
Colonia, NJ
G 5
Devon Savage 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg)
Jr James Madison
Washington, D.C.
F 10
Elliott Black 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg)
So St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School
Washington, D.C.
F 11
Bryan Etumnu 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg)
So Kempner High School
Sugar Land, TX
G 12
Thomas Hall 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg)
Jr Albertus Magnus
Nanuet, NY
F 13
Edrick Quezada 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
Fr Brimmer and May School
Rockland, MA
F 14
Brandon Legris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
So Perkiomen School
Hatfield, PA
F 15
Ryan Isaacson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
Sr Hinsdale Central High School
Willowbrook, IL
F 20
Jacob O'Connell 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg)
GS Princeton
Voorhees, NJ
G 24
Jordan McKoy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
GS Dwight-Englewood School
Westwood, NJ
G 33
Malik Edmead 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg)
Jr Albany
Deer Park, NY
G 34
Jaden Battle 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg)
Fr MacDuffie School
St. Albans, NY
G 41
Armandas Plintauskas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg)
So Northern Illinois
Kėdainiai, Lithuania
Head coach Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible(W) Walk-on Roster
Schedule and results
Date
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance)
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023 *7:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Vermont
L 55–67 0–1
Patrick Gym Burlington, VT
November 9, 2023 *7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Worcester State W 93–72 1–1
Hammel Court North Andover, MA
November 12, 2023 *4:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Maine
W 71–65 2–1
Memorial Gymnasium Orono, ME
November 15, 2023 *7:00 p.m., B1G
at Ohio State
L 52–76 2–2
Value City Arena Columbus, OH
November 22, 2023 *5:30 p.m.
vs. North Carolina A&T Samford MTE W 96–73 3–2
Pete Hanna Center Homewood, AL
November 24, 2023 *4:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Samford Samford MTE L 71–79 3–3
Pete Hanna Center (818)Homewood, AL
November 25, 2023 *1:00 p.m.
vs. Alabama State Samford MTE L 60–66 OT
3–4
Pete Hanna Center (136)Homewood, AL
November 29, 2023 *8:30 p.m., FS1
at Georgetown
L 67–69 3–5
Capital One Arena Washington, D.C.
December 2, 2023 *3:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
UMass Lowell W 74–68 4–5
Lawler Arena (2,347)North Andover, MA
December 5, 2023 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+/SECN+
at Florida
L 57–77 4–6
O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
December 9, 2023 *7:30 p.m., NEC Front Row
Felician W 89–85 5–6
Lawler Arena (769)North Andover, MA
December 19, 2023 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Cincinnati
L 49–65 5–7
Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH
December 22, 2023 *2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Bucknell W 68–52 6–7
Lawler Arena (587)North Andover, MA
December 30, 2023 *2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Boston University
L 63–74 6–8
Case Gym Boston, MA
NEC regular season
January 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Fairleigh Dickinson W 60–56 7–8
Lawler Arena (693)North Andover, MA
January 6, 2024 3:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Sacred Heart W 82–58 8–8
Lawler Arena (547)North Andover, MA
January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
at Le Moyne
W 66–62 9–8
Ted Grant Court DeWitt, NY
January 15, 2024 4:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
at Central Connecticut
L 70–75 9–9
William H. Detrick Gymnasium New Britain, CT
January 19, 2024 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Wagner L 65–71 9–10
Hammel Court (812)North Andover, MA
January 21, 2024 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Stonehill W 63–47 10–10
Hammel Court (861)North Andover, MA
January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
at Wagner
W 60–44 11–10
Spiro Sports Center Staten Island, NY
January 27, 2024 4:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
at Saint Francis (PA)
W 74–55 12–10
DeGol Arena Loretto, PA
February 3, 2024 3:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Central Connecticut W 71–68 13–10
Lawler Arena (1,936)North Andover, MA
February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
at LIU
W 82–79 OT
14–10
Steinberg Wellness Center Brooklyn, NY
February 10, 2024 3:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Le Moyne W 66–50 15–10
Hammel Court (782)North Andover, MA
February 15, 2024 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
at Stonehill
W 66–63 16–10
Merkert Gymnasium Easton, MA
February 17, 2024 3:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
LIU W 83–68 17–10
Hammel Court (1,347)North Andover, MA
February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
Saint Francis W 71–60 18–10
Lawler Arena (1,346)North Andover, MA
February 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
at Fairleigh Dickinson
W 74–55 19–10
Bogota Savings Bank Center Hackensack, NJ
March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
at Sacred Heart
L 85–89 19–11
William H. Pitt Center Fairfield, CT
NEC tournament
March 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., NEC Front Row
(2)
(7) LIU Quarterfinals W 72–66 20–11
Lawler Arena (1,076)North Andover, MA
March 9, 2024 12:00 p.m., YES/ESPN+
(2)
(4) Le Moyne Semifinals W 61–51 21–11
Lawler Arena (1,565)North Andover, MA
March 12, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN2
(2)
(6) Wagner Championship L 47–54 21–12
Lawler Arena North Andover, MA
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern .
Sources:[ 12] [ 13]
References
^ "Men's Basketball Advances to Northeast Conference Semifinal After Battle with Long Island" . Merrimack College Athletics . 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2024-10-04 .^ "Men's Basketball Breaks Division I Program Win Record and Advances to NEC Championship Game for Second Straight Season" . Merrimack College Athletics . 2024-03-09. Retrieved 2024-10-04 .^ "Men's Basketball Season Ends with Loss to Wagner in NEC Finals" . Merrimack College Athletics . 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-10-04 .^ "MAAC Welcomes Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University as Newest Full Members" . Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference . Retrieved November 26, 2023 .^ "2022 NEC Spring Meeting Recap" . Northeast Conference . June 28, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2023 .^ "Career Highs From Reid and Bennett Propels Men's Basketball to NEC Semifinal" . Merrimack College Athletics . 2023-03-01. Retrieved 2024-10-04 .^ "Men's Basketball Earns Tenth Straight Victory and Spot in NEC Championship Game with Win Over Sacred Heart" . Merrimack College Athletics . 2023-03-04. Retrieved 2024-10-04 .^ "NORTHEAST CONFERENCE CHAMPS: Men's Basketball Takes Home Conference Championship in Battle with Fairleigh Dickinson" . Merrimack College Athletics . 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2024-10-04 .^ "2022-23 Merrimack Warriors Men's Schedule and Results" . Sports Reference . Retrieved November 11, 2023 .^ "In Pursuit of First-Ever #NECMBB Crown, Sacred Heart Enters 2023–24 Season As Clear Favorite" . Northeast Conference . October 24, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023 .^ "2023–24 Preseason All-NEC Men's Basketball Team Revealed" . Northeast Conference . October 24, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023 .^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule" . Merrimack College Athletics . Retrieved November 26, 2023 .^ "Merrimack Warriors Schedule 2023-24" . ESPN . Retrieved November 26, 2023 .
