The undefeated Mercer Bears (3-0) look to extend their hot start when they compete against the Davidson Wildcats (2-0) at Belk Arena. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Nov. 23.
The Wildcats enter this game hoping for similar success after barely hanging on to beat Charleston 82-81 on Saturday. Peyton Aldridge was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting. The Bears, meanwhile, are coming off a 70-49 win against Alabama State on Thursday. Phillip Leonard was the team’s top scorer, registering 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
Davidson is a nine-point favorite against Mercer and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is set at 151 points. The Wildcats start the season off cold Against The Spread (ATS) with a 0-2 record, while sporting a 2-0 Straight Up (SU) record. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Davidson, which ranks 10th at 1.94. Davidson’s three-point defense can be considered one of the best in the nation, allowing just 8.0 three-pointers per game.
On the other side, the season has started off great for the Bears, who have an impressive record of 3-0 SU and 1-0 ATS. The Bears are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 18.0 assists per game. Switching gears to the Mercer defense, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Bears, who are the 41st-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .350. The Bears are a terror on the defensive glass, averaging an impressive 31.7 defensive rebounds per game. Mercer has not committed many turnovers, averaging only 10.0 per game.
Davidson and Mercer will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mercer, ATS Winner – Mercer, O/U – Over
Notes
Davidson is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games.
Davidson is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Davidson’s last 6 games at home.
The Mercer Bears have a defensive rating of 87.2 (ranked 44th), while the Davidson Wildcats have an offensive rating of 111.8 (ranked 110th).
Davidson averages 76.9 possessions per game, scoring 1.118 points on each possession. While Mercer averages fewer possessions per game with 67.8, they score more points per possession with 1.155.
Mercer has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.0%. Davidson is undefeated (1-0) when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Mercer ranks 44th in assists, recording 18.0 per game. Davidson performs worse at 101st with 15.5 assists per game.
Mercer, the 56th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 43.7 rebounds per game. Davidson does worse, ranked 201st with 37.0.
Mercer ranks 141st in offensive rebounds, while Davidson ranks at 100th in defensive rebounds.
