Previewing Sacred Heart's Potential Matchups as the Pioneers Vie For First NEC Tournament Crown

By Joe Budzelek

(@stf_ncaa)

Winners of the previous ten matchups, Merrimack entered this past weekend as the favored team to win the Northeast Conference tournament, but after Sacred Heart finished the regular season with a confident and gritty 89-to-85 win against the Warriors, the Pioneers' confidence is at a season-high as they are vying for their first, and final Northeast Conference Tournament Championship after moving next season to the MAAC. 

"We kinda got punked last game [against Merrimack] so we had to make sure we came out with a different mindset," said Sacred Heart senior guard Kyle McGee after Saturday's win, "We matched the physicality and picked it up to another level."

That physicality and intensity was clear as the Pioneers forced two more turnovers than the Warriors, a feat that is exceptional considering that Merrimack currently is ranked 5th nationally in KenPom defensive turnover percentage. Sacred Heart was also able to capitalize against Merrimack's typically weakness on the glass, with the Pioneers out-rebounding the Warriors by nine. 

Not only did the Pioneers step it up physically, but their veteran focus and poise helped Sacred Heart sail through the dangerous Merrimack defense relatively unscathed. "We've got great coaches," added McGee, “We went over the scout to find and attack the gaps in their zone and try to get them to play man."

McGee was one of the three Pioneers to dish four or more assists alongside the Sacred Heart frontcourt of Alex Sobel and Nico Galette as the duo were able to provide the low-post skill on the baseline that is typically the kryptonite of Joe Gallo's zone. Case in point, last season, I was at FDU when Ansley Almonor had his breakout 25 point performance in the Knights' comeback win. Back to Saturday's game, Galette and Sobel combined for 42 points and 9 assists.

Speaking of breakout performances, Sacred Heart fifth-year senior Raheem Solomon finished the game tying a career high of 26 points, thanks to an incredibly efficient 10-for-13 shooting from the field. Scoring double-digits in each of his last four games, Sacred Heart will look to ride his hot streak entering this week's tournament. 

Broadening the focus to the tournament full field, Sacred Heart will host Wagner on Wednesday, after defeating the Seahawks in both matchups so this season. In both games, the Seahawks failed to surpass 61 points scored while their lack of size had trouble containing Alex Sobel inside, with the grad transfer shooting a combined 11-for-15 (78%) in both games. In general, Wagner is much more responsible defending the perimeter than the paint, so it did not surprise that the Pioneers won by a greater margin in the season's second matchup against Wagner with both Sobel and Galette healthy.

Losing 8 of their last 12, Wagner are the clear underdogs Wednesday as the Pioneers are looking to reprise their Saturday night matchup with Merrimack in the semifinals, and if that holds true, the biggest adjustment Merrimack will need to make is to fine tune their defensive assignments to bottle up Sacred Heart's free flowing offense from Saturday.

Should the Pioneers advance to the final, their odds-on opponent is intrastate rival Central Connecticut State, who beat Sacred Heart in both of their February matchups. 

In both games, CCSU's slashers Allan Jeanne-Rose, Kellen Amos and Jordan Jones rim-attacking put defensive pressure on Sobel and Galette and put themselves in foul trouble. In the first matchup, Galette fouled out late while Sobel fouled out in both games, which was especially key in the second matchup of the season as the Blue Devils hit five free throws off four second half Alex Sobel fouls in the back-and-forth one-point Blue Devil victory.

Back in June, I prognosticated the potential of the NEC title being decided between one of the conference's two Nutmeg State programs and now in early March, there's a solid chance both teams will meet in Hard Hittin' New Britain on Tuesday, March 12.