The Mercer Bears and the Georgia State Panthers meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Georgia State Convocation Center. Mercer is 1-1 on the season so far. The Bears got their first win in their last game versus Milligan. As for Georgia State, they’re 1-1 as well and coming off a loss to Georgia Tech. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Mercer took on East Carolina in their opener this year, and it ended up being a tight game. The Bears were up nine by halftime but were overtaken in a 77-75 defeat. Jalyn McCreary led the team on 18 points, and Shawn Walker added 12 points.
In game two versus Milligan, the Bears fared much better. Mercer notched a whopping 66 points in the first half and cruised to the 118-64 result. Walker led the way on 23 points and McCreary was right there as well with 22 points and nine boards.
Over on the Georgia State side, they had a relatively easy opener versus Coastal Georgia this year. The Panthers scored 45 points in the second half and won 76-59. Ja’Heim Hudson doubled with 16 points and 10 boards, while Dwon Odom added 16 points of his own.
The Panthers took on Georgia Tech in game two. Georgia State was up 26-25 at the break but couldn’t hang on in an eventual 59-57 loss. Hudson doubled on 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Jamaine Mann posted 13 points with three boards.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Mercer. I could go either way in this one, though; it should be a pretty good matchup. In any case, the Bears didn’t have much trouble with Milligan College in their last outing. Mercer shot pretty well in their opener (46.6 percent) but botched some free throws on a 13-of-21 outing. As for Georgia State, they were stymied in the shooting department versus Georgia Tech with 36.8 percent from the field and 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from 3-point range. The Panthers should match up pretty well here also, and I think it’ll be close.