Western Carolina at Mercer 1/22/20 - NCAA Basketball Picks & Predictions

By: Anthonoy-deleo |

Last Updated: 01/21/2020 at 9:15 PM ET

The Western Carolina Catamounts are set to visit Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia for a Southern Conference clash against the Mercer Bears. The Western Carolina Catamounts come into this matchup with a 12-5 record, and they will be looking to rebound after dropping their recent home game against the ETSU Buccaneers, 85-66. Leading the way for the Western Carolina Catamounts was junior guard Mason Faulkner as he recorded 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Freshman forward Xavier Cork had a productive outing for the Catamounts as he pitched in 16 points and 9 rebounds.

The Western Carolina Catamounts struggled shooting the ball against the ETSU Buccaneers as they connected on 19 of their 50 field goal attempts (38%), and they were slightly worse from behind the three-point line (33.3%). The Western Carolina Catamounts lost the turnover battle against the ETSU Buccaneers (11-8), and they were edged out by the Buccaneers in the rebounding department (35-33).

The Mercer Bears come into this matchup with an 8-11 record, and they will be looking to continue their success after winning their recent road game against the Samford Bulldogs, 90-75. Leading the way for the Mercer Bears was senior guard Ethan Stair as he recorded 26 points and 9 rebounds. Joining Stair in the backcourt was senior guard Djordje Dimitrijevic who had a productive outing for the Bears with 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.

The Mercer Bears had a good shooting game against the Samford Bulldogs as they connected on 34 of their 61 field goal attempts (55.7%), and they were good from behind the three-point line (48%). The Mercer Bears lost the turnover battle against the Samford Bulldogs (17-14), but they edged out the Bulldogs in the rebounding department (35-28).

The Western Carolina Catamounts are amongst the top-scoring teams in the country as they are averaging 81.2 PPG, and they should find success against the Mercer defense which has underperformed this season (72.1 PPG). The Catamounts have enjoyed the emergence of Mason Faulkner in Southern Conference play as he is averaging 19.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 6.3 APG, but he isn’t the lone source of production as Carlos Dotson is pitching in 16.8 PPG and 9.8 RPG. Western Carolina’s strength has been their three-point shooting as they are connecting on 38.7% of their attempts, and that has been the downfall of the Mercer defense as they rank 257th in three-point percentage. Western Carolina has been terrible on the defensive side of the court (80.5 PPG), but their scoring will allow them to edge out an inconsistent Mercer team. Final Score Prediction, Western Carolina Catamounts win and cover ATS 78-72.

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