Anthony Borgonzi – Sports Writer
Last week, the Merrimack College men’s basketball team officially announced its
non-conference schedule for the 2024-2025 season, debuting in the highly competitive Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference.
The Warriors’ 2024-2025 season will be an exciting test as they play established non-conference
powerhouses and new opponents in conference play. With a mix of returning players and
transfer students, the Warriors have the pieces to compete in the MAAC. How the team
navigates adversity in non-conference games will prepare them for conference play. The
Warriors and Coach Gallo are ready to embrace the new opportunity to elevate the program to
new heights.
Non-Conference Schedule
The 2024-2025 season’s first two months consist of a challenging non-conference schedule that
will prepare the Warriors for conference play. The Warriors play a loaded schedule with teams
from the A-10, ACC, America East, Big East, Big 10, and West Coast Conferences. With tough
opponents scheduled and few home games, the Warriors need to be ready from the jump, as these
games can help build the foundation for a successful season.
The Warriors open the season at Lawler Arena on November 9th against the University of
Vermont, which has represented the America East Conference in the NCAA tournament for three
consecutive seasons. Five days later, the Warriors will travel to Virginia to take on a consistently
competitive VCU team of the A-10 conference. On November 17th, the Warriors will return
home to play the Ivy League regular season champions for the last three seasons, the Princeton
Tigers.
The Warriors will not have much time to rest as they prepare for a five-game road trip and play
five games over the next nine days. The Warriors will play at Rutgers University on November
20th. Last season, Jordan Derkack led the Warriors as the NEC conference player of the year;
now, it will be interesting to see him play for the other team as he transferred to Rutgers. Two
days later, the Warriors will have a quick turnaround and travel to Butler, Indiana, to face off
against the Bulldogs of the Big East.
The Warriors will return home to continue the road trip as they travel fifteen minutes up the
road to Lowell to play our longtime rival on November 25th. Two days later, the Warriors will
travel to Troy, Alabama, to compete in the Trojan Turkey Tip-Off. The Warriors will face off
against the University of Texas San Antonio and Troy University over the holiday weekend
tournament. Following the five-game road trip, the Warriors will get a much-needed week of
rest and hit the road once again to play in two conference games.
On December 13th, the Warriors will return home to play their third home game in front of the
Lawler faithful against Boston University. Over the weekend, the Warriors will travel to
California to take on the ACC’s newest addition, the Stanford Cardinals, on December 17th. The
Warriors will stay in California to continue the road trip against one of their most formidable
opponents of the season in the St. Mary’s College Gaels on December 19th. The California road
trip will conclude the Warrior’s non-conference schedule and give the team a much-needed
opportunity to rest before starting conference play for the second half of the season.
MAAC Conference Schedule
As the Warriors transition into the first season of conference play in the MAAC, the team
realizes it presents new challenges and opportunities. Fans will have more opportunities to
attend games in the second half of the season, as the team only plays three home games before
the new year. The Warriors defend home court, as they finished last season with a 13-2 record
playing in North Andover. Every game will be competitive as the Warriors face off against
notable conference opponents such as Iona, St. Peters, and Quinnipiac. The MAAC is
unanimously ranked as a more competitive conference than the NEC, but the Warriors are eager
to prove they belong.
The Warriors begin conference play for a two-game stretch between non-conference games on
December 6th at Canisius University. Then, they will travel north to play Niagara University on
December 8th.
The next conference game will not be until January 3rd when Fairfield University will visit
North Andover for the Warriors’ conference home opener. One week later, on January 10th, the
Warriors will travel to play a familiar opponent: Sacred Heart University. SHU transitioned from
the NEC to the MAAC with Merrimack, and this matchup could become a rivalry. On January
12th, the Warriors returned to Lawler Arena to play Manhattan University.
The Warriors head on the road to play the defending regular season conference champions in
the Quinnipiac Bobcats on January 16th. Two days later, the Warriors return home to play Siena
College. In the most anticipated matchup of the season, the Warriors will travel to New Jersey to
take on the defending conference champions in the St. Peter’s Peacocks on January 23rd. The
Warriors will extend their road trip to play Fairfield University on January 25th. Closing out the
month, the Warriors will return to Lawler Arena to play Mount St. Mary’s on January 31st.
Closing out the season, the Warriors will play six of their final ten games at home and do not
play back-to-back games on the road. The team travels to take on Rider University on February
2nd before returning home for a two-game home stand against familiar opponents. The first
game is on February 6th against Niagara University, and the second is on February 8th against
Canisius University. Following the homestand, the Warriors will travel to the Big Apple to take
on Manhattan University for the season’s second matchup on February 14th. Following the
matchup, the Warriors will return to Lawler Arena for two home games, where they will face
Marist College on February 16th and SHU on February 21st. In another anticipated matchup, the
Warriors will travel to Iona College to take on the Gaels on February 23rd. Merrimack will
return from New York to close the month against Rider University on February 28th.
On March 2nd, the Warriors will have a great final test before the postseason as they match up
against the defending conference champions in Quinnipiac for the season’s second meeting.
Merrimack hits the road for its final game of the regular season on March 6th when it takes on
Marist College.
MAAC Conference Championship
With the addition of new teams to the MAAC, the conference has decided to eliminate the three
worst teams from the conference tournament, setting up a ten-team conference tournament.
Unfortunately, unlike the NEC conference championship, the MAAC conference championship
is played at a neutral site in Atlantic City, NJ. The Warriors want to finish the season playing
some of their best basketball, carrying their momentum into the conference tournament to prove
they belong in the MAAC.
Season Outlook
The Warrior’s commitment to the Make Chaos defense makes them one of college basketball’s
most exciting defensive teams to watch. Last season, the Warrior’s defense ranked fourth in the country in defensive rating, keeping them competitive even when they struggled to shoot the ball
effectively. Merrimack fans can look forward to another season of physical defense that will
confuse new opponents, leading to many turnovers and poor shots attempted. The Warriors can
show college basketball fans that our program is legit, building on success from the NEC to
become a recognizable program within college basketball.
