LIU hosts Merrimack after Derkack’s 22-point game

Merrimack Warriors (13-10, 7-2 NEC) at Long Island Sharks (5-16, 4-5 NEC)

New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Warriors -11; over/under is 134.5

BOTTOM LINE: Merrimack takes on the Long Island Sharks after Jordan Derkack scored 22 points in Merrimack’s 71-68 victory over the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils.

The Sharks have gone 3-2 at home. LIU is 1-4 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 13.7 turnovers per game.

The Warriors are 7-2 in NEC play. Merrimack ranks ninth in the NEC shooting 29.7% from 3-point range.

LIU averages 64.9 points per game, 1.4 fewer points than the 66.3 Merrimack gives up. Merrimack’s 44.0% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.3 percentage points lower than LIU has allowed to its opponents (46.3%).

The Sharks and Warriors meet Thursday for the first time in NEC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tai Strickland is averaging 15.1 points and 1.8 steals for the Sharks.

Derkack is averaging 17.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals for the Warriors.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sharks: 4-6, averaging 67.7 points, 34.8 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 5.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.0 points per game.

Warriors: 7-3, averaging 67.4 points, 30.0 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 9.3 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.