For Merrimack and Siena, opportunity to represent MAAC on dance floor is one not taken for granted

Joe Gallo and Merrimack are 40 minutes away from conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth nearly a decade in the making. (Photo by Jaden Daly/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — One school stands a proven winner and deserving favorite, yet still largely unknown outside of its conference and region despite a decade-long track record of success across three levels.

Across the court is the presence of a longtime flag-bearer in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and mid-majors in the Northeast, one seeking to regain its luster and take the floor in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.

In some ways, Tuesday’s MAAC championship clash between Merrimack and Siena represents new money against the establishment, so to speak, but at its core, the matchup yields two teams with a shared mission to add to their winning traditions.

The runaway regular season champion this season with a 17-3 record, Merrimack is on the conference tournament title stage for a third time in four seasons, furthering a winning tradition cultivated at the Division II level. The Warriors moved up to Division I in 2019 and promptly won the NEC regular season crown, but were unable to participate in any postseason tournaments after the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season in March. Ineligibility for the NCAA Tournament while in the transition period kept Merrimack from advancing in 2023, when it won the NEC tournament, and a loss to Wagner in the final the following year thwarted any hope of a coronation. Now in its second year in the MAAC, and led by freshman Player and Rookie of the Year Kevair Kennedy, Merrimack is hopeful the third time can be the charm.

“Every step of the way, I think people doubted us a little bit,” head coach Joe Gallo proposed. “Like, ‘this school’s really going Division I,’ and it worked out pretty well that first season. Then, ‘oh, they’re gonna make the jump to the MAAC that quick,’ and then we had the year we had last year and learned a little bit.”

“I think we approached February a little bit different this year. We’ve approached some things, the way we’ve operated coming down here, and being the one seed the way we were. At this point now, this is why you work since July, to be in this game.”

Nine years have passed since Siena last played for a MAAC championship. The Saints were awarded the conference crown in 2020 due to their first-place standing when the pandemic forced a shutdown of all sports, but have not cut down a net since the third of Fran McCaffery’s title-winning squads won the MAAC 16 years ago this month. A familiar face in upstate New York patrols the sidelines, as Gerry McNamara has brought Siena to the doorstep just two years after taking over for Carmen Maciariello. McNamara, much like the Saints program, has his own storied March history dating back to his time as a Syracuse player and assistant under Jim Boeheim. But the chance to burnish his own resume pales in comparison to what a return to the grand stage can do for Siena’s rich legacy.

A national champion as a player at Syracuse, Gerry McNamara looks to deliver MAAC tournament championship to Siena in second year as Saints’ head coach. (Photo by Lisa Schlager/Siena Athletics)

“I’ll say this: It’s why the kids that are in our program came to Siena,” McNamara said. “It was part of the recruiting pitch. The vision is why Justice (Shoats) and Gavin (Doty) came back, and Brendan Coyle. That’s why we went out and got the guys that we got in terms of filling the frontcourt. This was always the goal.”

“For me, being with these kids, the Siena tradition is a second thought, to be quite honest. I know there’s a great tradition here, that’s why I came here. But the relationship I have with the players I’ve coached, you just want it for them, and then we could add to what is already a storied program in terms of postseason play. But my mind and focus is I would really love this for my kids. They’re wonderful.”