The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers square off against the Mercer Bears in the first round of the CIT tournament at HTC Center. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Mar. 15.
The Chanticleers fell to Gardner-Webb 69-65 in the 2 of the Big South tournament. Shivaughn Wiggins finished with 17 points to lead the team. The Bears, meanwhile, are coming off an 81-65 loss against East Tennessee State in the 2 of the Southern tournament. Phillip Leonard led the team in scoring with 22 points.
Over the last five games, Wiggins has been playing at a high level for the Chanticleers. During that stretch, he has averaged 19.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 three-pointers.
Despite an 18-11 Straight Up (SU) record, the Chanticleers have not fared well Against The Spread (ATS) with a 2-3 record. Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 1-9 ATS. Opposing offenses have been stifled by the Chanticleers, allowing a field goal percentage of only .398.
Over on the other bench, Mercer has a SU record of 19-14 and an ATS record of 12-16. Recently, opponents have figured out how to slow down Mercer. Over the past 10 matchups, Mercer has not been able to cover any of its spreads (0-1 ATS).
Coastal Carolina and Mercer will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mercer, ATS Winner – Mercer
Notes
The Mercer Bears rank 94th for their offensive rating of 109.4. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers have a defensive rating of 99.6 (ranked 56th).
Coastal Carolina has an average field goal percentage of 46.1%. Mercer is a poor 2-4 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers attempt 21.0 three point field goals per game and the Mercer Bears attempt 17.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Coastal Carolina has a winning 13-6 record, while Mercer is 5-4.
Mercer, the 25th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 40.1 rebounds per game. Coastal Carolina ranks 51st with 39.0.
Coastal Carolina ranks 29th in defensive rebounding. When it comes to offensive rebounds, Mercer ranks 44th.
On average, Coastal Carolina forces a turnover rate of 16.1%. When Mercer turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 15-9 record.
