The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers square off against the Mercer Bears in the first round of the CIT tournament at HTC Center. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Mar. 15.
The Chanticleers are expecting a different result after their 69-65 loss to Gardner-Webb in the 2 of the Big South tournament. Shivaughn Wiggins finished with 17 points to lead the team. The Bears, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after the 81-65 loss to East Tennessee State in the 2 of the Southern tournament. Phillip Leonard had a team-high 22 points.
Over the last five games, Wiggins has been playing at a high level for the Chanticleers, averaging 19.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 three-pointers.
Despite being 18-11 Straight Up (SU), the Chanticleers have struggled to cover the spread in most of their matchups, only managing a record of 2-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 1-9 ATS. The Chanticleers have really locked down opponents on the defensive end, ranking 18th in the country with a .398 opponent field-goal percentage.
Across the court, Mercer has a SU record of 19-14 and an ATS record of 12-16. Mercer has not performed well ATS over its last 10 games, going 0-1 to go with a 7-3 SU record.
This game will be the first meeting for Coastal Carolina and Mercer 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 subpar 2-4 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
Coastal Carolina attempts an average of 21.0 three pointers per game and Mercer attempts 17.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers have a winning 13-6 record while the Mercer Bears have a 5-4 record.
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.
