Mercer Bears (14-18) vs. Furman Paladins (24-7)
March 4, 2023 12:00 pm EDT
The Line: Furman Paladins -9.5 / Mercer Bears +9.5 ; Over/Under:
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The Mercer Bears and the Furman Paladins meet Saturday in Southern Conference Tournament college basketball action from US Cellular Center. Mercer is 14-18 on the year so far. The Bears beat the Citadel in tournament activity on Friday. As for Furman, they’re sitting at 24-7 overall this year and coming off a win over Samford last weekend. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Mercer Bears
Mercer was sitting at a sketchy 11-13 by the 24-game mark this year. The Bears finished off the regular season on a 2-5 run with losses to Samford, Chattanooga, Wofford, Western Carolina and Furman among wins over VMI and the Citadel.
On Friday in the tournament game rematch versus the Citadel, Mercer jumped out to a commanding 27-10 lead by halftime. The Bears kept it up with a 39-31 second half and won it 66-41. Jalyn McCreary led the team on 11 points with four rebounds.
Furman Paladins
Over on the Furman side, they stood at 18-6 at the 24-game mark this year. The Paladins finished off the regular season on a 6-1 stretch, beating Wofford, VMI, Western Carolina, East Tennessee State, Mercer and Samford along the way.
Last Saturday versus Samford, Furman was up 50-33 by halftime. The Paladins scored another 43 points from there in a 93-79 victory. Mike Bothwell led the way on 35 points, and JP Pegues added 20 points with four rebounds and four assists.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stick with Furman in this one. The line is generous enough to make a great case for Mercer, though. The Paladins will need to avoid the rust of a week’s layoff, but given their recent success the team should be just fine. Furman has scored very well lately with 69 or more points in 15 of their last 16 outings. These teams have played twice already this season, with the Paladins winning both times. Furman put up an 84-66 road win on January 11, then managed a much closer 70-67 victory at Timmons Arena back on February 22. Mercer hasn’t beaten anyone besides the Citadel in an entire month (February 4 versus VMI), but they’ve been competitive along the way. That said, the Paladins should be in control if they play well.
