Merrimack (6-5) vs. UC Santa Barbara (7-4)
Thunderdome, Santa Barbara, California; Sunday, 5 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Merrimack and UC Santa Barbara both look to put winning streaks together . Each squad earned a victory in their last game. UC Santa Barbara earned a 74-68 overtime road win over Idaho State on Monday, while Merrimack won 69-60 at home against Army on Dec. 12.
FAB FRESHMEN: Merrimack's Juvaris Hayes, Jaleel Lord and Jordan Minor have combined to account for 43 percent of the team's scoring this season and have scored 50 percent of all Warriors points over the last five games.
SPARKING THE OFFENSE: Hayes has had his hand in 46 percent of all Merrimack field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 14 field goals and 17 assists in those games.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: UC Santa Barbara is a perfect 5-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 42.3 percent or less. The Gauchos are 2-4 when they allow opponents to shoot any better than that.
STREAK STATS: UC Santa Barbara has won its last three home games, scoring an average of 78.7 points while giving up 65.7.
DID YOU KNOW: The disruptive Merrimack defense has forced opponents to turn the ball over on 26.9 percent of all possessions, the ninth-best rate in the country. UC Santa Barbara has a forced-turnover percentage of only 17.9 percent through 11 games (ranking the Gauchos 293rd among Division I teams).
