The Mercer Bears (18-7) visit Wofford to play the Terriers (12-13) in a game that has the potential to be low-scoring. Action starts at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 11 and can be seen on ES3.
The Terriers enter this game hoping for similar success after blowing out VMI 92-60 on Monday. Fletcher Magee was the game’s high scorer with 34 points on 11-for-13 shooting. The Bears, meanwhile, are coming off a 72-66 loss at the hands of Chattanooga on Monday. Demetre Rivers had a team-high 20 points.
Magee has taken his game to another level as of late for the Terriers, averaging 17.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 4.2 three-pointers over the last five games.
Half-court execution will be at a premium as Wofford ranks 323rd in the nation in possessions per game (65.7 possessions per game), while Mercer is 292nd (67.0). Moreover, the Bears are among the nation’s elite on the offensive backboards, ranking 20th in OR% at 37.3%. But the Terriers rank 24th at corralling defensive rebounds with a DR% of 75.0%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Bears won the first game 70-69. Eric Garcia was a top player in the game with 21 points, four rebounds, nine assists, and three three-pointers.
The Terriers come into this game 12-13 Straight Up (SU) and 10-10 Against The Spread (ATS). Wofford is excellent from the perimeter with 214 three-pointers made (8.0 per game), the 40th-most in the country.
On the other side, Mercer has a SU record of 18-7 and an ATS record of 12-8. The Bears are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 41.6 rebounds per game. Switching gears to the Mercer defense, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Bears, who are the 15th-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .387.
With the Bears’ last win against the Terriers, Mercer moved closer to evening up its record against Wofford. It now stands at 1-2 SU. Additionally, Wofford leads the matchup ATS with a record of 2-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mercer, ATS Winner – Mercer
Notes
In its last game, Wofford won by a margin of 32 points. Mercer is 5-1 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Wofford has a 4-3 record in blowouts.
With 65.7 possessions and 1.085 points per possession, the Wofford Terriers perform worse on both metrics than the Mercer Bears. Mercer averages 67.0 possessions and 1.089 points per possession.
Wofford has an average effective field goal percentage of 52.5%. Mercer is undefeated (4-0) when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Wofford Terriers average 20.0 three point attempts per game and are 7-8 when attempting at least 20 in a game. The Mercer Bears average 17.0 attempts and have a winning record (4-2) when attempting 20 or more.
Wofford ranks 58th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.27. Mercer is ranked lower at 112th with an A/TO of 1.16.
Wofford ranks 328th in offensive rebounds, while Mercer ranks 18th in defensive rebounds.
The Wofford Terriers make an average of 5.3 steals per game. When the Mercer Bears allow 5 or more steals, they are a solid 11-5.
