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Merrimack Basketball: Should the NCAA Tournament probation be waived?

By Holden Walter-Warner

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: A game ball sits on the court in the first half between the Mississippi Rebels and the Oklahoma Sooners during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: A game ball sits on the court in the first half between the Mississippi Rebels and the Oklahoma Sooners during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Merrimack Basketball is tearing up the Northeast Conference in their debut season. Despite their high performance, they won’t be seeing the NCAA Tournament this year.

Divert your eyes away from the NCAA Tournament bubble for a brief moment and train them upon North Andover, Massachusetts, home of this year’s biggest surprise: the Merrimack Basketball Warriors.

Coming into the Northeast Conference on a three-year Division II NCAA Tournament appearance streak, the Warriors have exceeded all expectations for them in their first year at the Division I level. After their home victory over Sacred Heart on Friday night, the Warriors have now clinched at least a share of the NEC title and have a solid chance to win it outright, with a home game against Central Connecticut State to close their regular season schedule.

Normally, their record would install Merrimack atop the NEC Tournament bracket and give them the inside track at an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

But that’s not going to happen for the Warriors this year.

As Merrimack is competing in Division I for the first time this season, they are ineligible to compete in both the NCAA Tournament and NEC Tournament. Furthermore, they will not be eligible to compete in either until the 2023-24 season as the program waits out a four-year reclassification period mandated by the NCAA.

They will, however, be eligible to participate in other postseason tournaments (i.e. the NIT, CBI, CIT), meaning we’ll likely be seeing them as the NIT, which typically takes any regular-season conference champion that fails to make the NCAA Tournament.

Still, it’s fair to ask if Merrimack deserves more than a consolation postseason tournament for a championship-caliber season.

Merrimack has cruised against NEC competition, losing only three times (vs. Robert Morris, at LIU-Brooklyn, at Bryant). They even upset Northwestern on the road in just their second game of the season. Sure, the Wildcats are having a down year, but the shock factor of the win electrified the college basketball world for several days.

The Warriors are probably one of the best 25 mid-majors in the country, and while they aren’t deserving of an at-large bid into March Madness, they’re deserving of the chance to at least compete for one.

Bryant actually makes for an interesting parallel. Just over a decade ago, they made the same transition to the NEC Merrimack is making now. They too were ineligible for the NCAA Tournament in their first four years at the D-I level. The difference? Over those four years, Bryant won 20 games COMBINED, a mark Merrimack can surpass in one season if they win their last two games.

The NCAA has their reasons for the four-year reclassification period. They want to make sure the school making the transition up the ladder is up to snuff academically, financially, compliant-wise and athletically. It’s patently unfair, however, that without a redshirt year, the freshmen of this year’s Warriors squad will never get a chance to reach the big dance – they should be able to reach that mark this year, as they’re the best squad in their conference.

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The Merrimack Warriors have earned the right to reach the NCAA Tournament in 2020. The NCAA should allow them the opportunity.