Northeast Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

EMMITSBURG, MD - DECEMBER 17: The NEC conference logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the American Eagles the Mt. St. Mary's Mountaineers at the Knott Arena on December 17, 2019 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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Northeast Basketball (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

7. Merrimack

What a time to be a Merrimack Warrior. The Warriors are coming off their first-ever season – both in the NEC and as a Div. I institution – and defied every expectation possible. Finishing the year at 20-11 overall – the 20 wins marking an NCAA record for a first-year reclassifying program – resulted in a 14-4 NEC finish and a conference regular-season title.

Head coach Joe Gallo, deservedly, was rewarded for his incredible leadership at the helm, being named the Jim Phelan Coach of the Year and John McLendon National Coach of the Year. The fifth-year head coach and his crew put college hoops on notice almost immediately, knocking off Northwestern on the road by 10 in the opening week of the season.

That success was largely made possible through the trio of Jaleel Lord (10.8 ppg), Juvaris Hayes (10.7), and Idris Joyner (9.6). Hayes, in particular, will be greatly missed. The reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year – and Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year – currently holds the all-time NCAA steals record across all divisions with 457 steals.

The Warriors roster is not completely bare, however. Devin Jensen and Mikey Watkins – both 7.5-average scorers who started in all 31 games last year – return for Merrimack. Jensen was the NEC’s best three-point shooter, knocking down a three in 27 of Merrimack’s 31 games en route to maintaining a 43.5% mark.

Sophomore forwards Jordan Minor (6.2 ppg) and Ziggy Reid (5.2 ppg) should be expected to step into the holes left by Lord, Hayes, and Joyner. If they can do that, the Warriors should not suffer a misstep after statistically dominating the NEC last year.

The Warriors – despite having the conference’s worst offense last year (62.8 ppg) – were a force on the defensive end, maintaining the NEC’s best scoring defense at 60.2 ppg. Additionally, they led the league in three-point defense (.302), steals (9.94), turnovers forced (174), and turnover margin (5.58).

Suffice to say, this team is scary good defensively. They gave up 70 points or more on just four occasions last season, and their scoring defense ranks eighth in Div. I college hoops. Gallo’s morphing zone defense – largely because of that Northwestern win – has helped put Merrimack on the map.

Unfortunately, given Merrimack’s transition from Div. II to Div. I, the Warriors are not eligible for either the NCAA Tournament or NIT until the 2023-24 season – but they are still in a position to qualify for the CIT or CBI if those tournaments are still on.

For what it is worth, prior to the 2019-20 season, the Warriors were picked to finish 11th in the NEC – out of 11 teams. They are used to defying expectations, and this year should be no different. It will be more challenging, given the major losses from their roster, but it would be erroneous to count them out already.