Check out our free Samford vs Mercer pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Macon. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Samford vs Mercer Pick & Preview: Wednesday, February 8th Betting Odds

Bulldogs vs Bears Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Samford Bulldogs at Mercer Bears
  • Where: Macon at Hawkins Arena
  • Date: Wednesday, February 8th
  • Betting Odds: Samford -3.5, SAMF -176 | MERC +143 O/U 137.5

Bulldogs Preview:

Samford will take the floor against the Bears with an overall record of 16-9. So far, the Bulldogs have played 12 games on the road, with a record of 5-7. This season, Samford has been favored to win in 15 games, sitting with a mark of 12-3. For today’s contest, Samford has a betting line set -3.5 points in their favor.

Samford’s leading scorer this season is Logan Dye, who is averaging 14.08 points per contest. So far, Dye has accounted for 17.98% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 5.48 rebounds per game and 1.28 assists. Jermaine Marshall is the second leading scorer for the Bulldogs, averaging 11.38 points per game. Between him and Marshall, they are accounting for 31.9% of the team’s scoring.

On offense, Samford is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 74.7 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 25 games, they have only hit 33.5% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 42.61% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.

Bears Preview:

Mercer heads into this matchup having played 25 games and have an overall record sitting at 12-13. So far this season, Mercer has played 12 games at home, sitting with a record of 7-5. For the season, Mercer has been the underdog in 12 games, sitting with a mark of 2-10. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Bears being +3.5 point underdogs.

Jalyn McCreary comes into today’s game as the Bears’ leading scorer at 15.68 points per contest. Not only has McCreary been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Mercer’s top rebounder at 5.72 boards per contest. Behind McCreary, the team has benefited from the strong play of Kamar Robertson, who is second on the team in scoring at 11.48 points per game. Overall, he has hit 48.1% of his shots and is adding 2.43 boards per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Mercer this season, as they are currently ranked 225th in college basketball at 70.5 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Bears’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 35.1%, placing them 173rd in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: Mercer Bears +3.5

Heading into this matchup between the Samford Bulldogs and Mercer Bears we have a strong lean on taking the points with Mercer at +3.5. Both team’s are going to come into this game looking to get up looks from outside, as they are both average team’s in terms of 3-pointers made per game. Look for Mercer to benefit from facing another squad looking to turn this into a 3-point shooting contest. When looking at the line, we see tremendous value in taking the Mercer Bears at +3.5. Go ahead and lock this bet in before tip-off.