SoCon foes will collide when the Mercer Bears (7-9, 0-3 SoCon) go head-to-head with the Samford Bulldogs (7-10, 3-1 SoCon) at Hawkins Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 13, 2018.
Samford Bulldogs vs. Mercer Bears ATS Preview
In the Bulldogs last contest, they were victorious over the Citadel Bulldogs, 107-91. With 13 points and 13 assists, Samford’s Justin Coleman had a solid game. Samford had a much better effective field goal percentage (0.762 vs. 0.556), while Citadel had a free throw rate of 0.153 (below the 0.211 mark opponents have averaged against Samford this season).
The Bears are trying to rebound after their 58-56 loss to the Western Carolina Catamounts in their last outing. Stephon Jelks led Mercer in scoring with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Western Carolina held the Bears to an offensive rebounding percentage of 22.9 (below their season average of 32.3). Mercer, on the other hand, did a fantastic job of making free throws (15-20; 75.0 percent).
Mercer could have their way on the offensive side of the ball as their prolific offense goes up against one of the nations worst defenses. The Bears rank 44th in offensive efficiency, while Samford ranks 323rd in defensive efficiency.
This will be the first matchup of the year between these two teams, after the Bears won both meetings last season. In the most recent contest, Mercer won 88-79. The Bears dominated nearly every stat category in the game. They had an extraordinary offensive rebounding percentage of 51.4 and a phenomenally low turnover percentage of 6.3. The Bulldogs were 23.3 and 12.7, respectively, for those same stats.
Samford Bulldogs vs. Mercer Bears Free Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Mercer, ATS Winner – Mercer, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The Bulldogs rank 36th in blocks allowed per game (2.6) while the Bears rank 99th (3.7).
- Mercer ranks 74th in assists per game (15.2) while Samford ranks 241st in assists allowed per game (19.7).
- The Bears average 21.8 three pointers per game, which ranks 149th in the NCAA. The Bulldogs rank 253rd in three pointers allowed per game (26.6).
- Mercer ranks 11th in rebounds allowed per game (30.3) while Samford ranks 79th (33.5).
Betting Trends:
- The Bears average margin of victory in their last five games has been 1.6, down from 8.6 for the season.
- During their last five games, the Bulldogs have scored an average of 80.6 points per game (4.2 above their season average) and allowed an average of 75.8 points per game (2.2 below their season average).
