Wagner vs Merrimack Odds & Prediction: Bet Warriors in NEC Title Game

Let's dive into the Wagner Seahawks vs. Merrimack Warriors odds and make a prediction for Tuesday's NEC Championship.

The No. 2 seed Merrimack Warriors face the fifth-seeded Wagner Seahawks in the NEC Championship on Tuesday night.

The significance of a championship game is obvious, so let's get right to my Wagner vs. Merrimack pick.

The Wagner Seahawks last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2003. That is their only NCAA Tournament appearance, but Donald Copeland has the Seahawks trending in the right direction in year two of his tenure on Staten Island.

Copeland is a defensive coach and has led Wagner to the 181st-best defense in the sport. That's not an eye-popping number, but it's not bad for an NEC team. Wagner's stout defense carried the way in the first two rounds of the NEC tournament against Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State as the Seahawks kept both below 60 points.

The Seahawks play at a bottom-five tempo in college basketball and want to force teams into shooting late-clock 3s. That has been working well as opponents shoot only 30% from downtown against Copeland's squad.

Tahron Allen is in his first season at Wagner and is quickly becoming an NEC household name. Allen scored 22 points in the win over Sacred Heart and drilled a mid-range bucket for the win against CCSU. The former Monmouth guard is also shooting 48% from 3 (53 attempts).

Guard Melvin Council Jr. leads the team in scoring with and average of 14.7 points per game and although he only scored 14 total points in the first two rounds, Wagner still snuck out wins.

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If the NCAA didn’t have an archaic rule for teams transitioning from non-D1 levels to the D1 ranks, Merrimack would’ve played in last year's tournament instead of Fairleigh Dickinson. Now, the Warriors will attempt to put their finishing touches on the NEC before joining the MAAC next season.

Head coach Joe Gallo leads one of the best defenses in college hoops. Gallo deploys an aggressive zone defense and his team is very aggressive, forcing turnovers on 23% of defensive possessions.

Freshman guard Adam Clark leads the defense and grabs over two steals per contest.

However, Clark isn’t the star. That’s NEC Player of the Year, Jordan Derkack. The sophomore standout averaged 17.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and four assists per game.

The Warriors half-court offense relies on 3-point shooting and attempts 3s on 40% of its field-goal attempts. However, Devon Savage is the only Merrimack starter shooting above 35% from 3.

Merrimack is certainly offensively challenged, but not as much as Wagner.

Merrimack should secure its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. This game fits right into Merrimack’s hands and I can’t see Wagner holding the Warriors to fewer than 60. Meanwhile, Wagner is unlikely to reach the 70-point marker, especially against an elite defense.

Pick: Merrimack -6.5

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