The Mercer Bears and the UNC Greensboro Spartans meet Sunday in college basketball action from Greensboro Coliseum. Mercer is 13-13 on the year so far. The Bears lost to VMI in their last game. As for UNC Greensboro, they’re currently 15-10 and coming off a win over the Citadel. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Mercer managed to go 11-7 over their first 18 games this year, but things have taken a turn for the worse since then. The Bears are just 2-6 in their last eight games. They’ve fallen to Chattanooga twice and VMI once in their last three outings.
In the VMI matchup back on Thursday, the Bears were outscored 34-40 in the first half. Mercer kept the pace from there but still lost 85-79. Tops in scoring was Shawn Walker with 18 points, while James Glisson added 17 points with six boards.
Over on the UNC Greensboro side, they’ve had a choppy year so far but with more high notes than low points. Since their last two losses to VMI and Wofford, the Spartans have hit a win streak versus Furman, Western Carolina and the Citadel.
In the game versus the Citadel on Thursday, the Spartans drilled the Bulldogs 44-28 in the first half. UNC Greensboro would then cruise to the 86-66 blowout win. Bas Leyte was the team’s top scorer with 20 points and eight rebounds during the victory.
The Spartans are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 after a straight-up win and the over is 5-1 in their last six on Sunday. The under is 18-8 in UNCG’s last 26 at home.
Meanwhile, the Bears are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games and 1-4 ATS in their last five on Sunday. The under is 7-3 in Mercer’s last 10 overall.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on UNC Greensboro here. The Spartans haven’t necessarily been all that impressive on the scoreboard lately; they’ve been at 68 points or fewer in four of their last five games. Furthermore, UNC Greensboro had a bad game the last time these teams met up in a 58-49 road loss.
That said, I think the Spartans will post a better effort in this more comfortable home game. Mercer has been choppy on the scoreboard lately, and if UNCG can keep the Bears in check I think they’ll be fine on a revenge cover. Should be a fun game to watch.