The Mercer Bears and Western Carolina Catamounts meet Saturday in college basketball action at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center. The Mercer Bears need a win after losing five of their last eight games. The Western Carolina Catamounts look to snap a five-game losing streak.
The Mercer Bears are averaging 70.7 points on 45.2 percent shooting and allowing 70.8 points on 44.4 percent shooting. Felipe Haase is averaging 14.9 points and 5.8 rebounds, while Jalen Johnson is averaging 14.2 points and 1.4 assists. Neftali Alvarez is the third double-digit scorer and James Glisson III is dishing 1.5 assists. The Mercer Bears are shooting 35.6 percent from beyond the arc and 77.2 percent from the free throw line. The Mercer Bears are allowing 35 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 29.8 rebounds per game.
The Western Carolina Catamounts are averaging 71.2 points on 39.7 percent shooting and allowing 77.9 points on 44.5 percent shooting. Nicholas Robinson is averaging 14.9 points and 3 assists, while Travion McCray is averaging 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. Vonterius Woolbright is the third double-digit scorer and Joe Petrakis is dishing 0.4 assists. The Western Carolina Catamounts are shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc and 68.5 percent from the free throw line. The Western Carolina Catamounts are allowing 35.4 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35.2 rebounds per game.
The Bears are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS win and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Catamounts are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games. The over is 4-1 in Bears last 5 overall. The under is 8-2 in Catamounts last 10 overall.
The Western Carolina Catamounts are a bad team that loses by an average of 6.7 points on the season and is losing their last five games by an average of 14.8 points. Western Carolina also loses in the underdog role by an average of 10 points. The Mercer Bears have their issues as well, but they’ve shown far and away more signs of life this season. I’ll lay the chalk with Mercer.