Mercer Bears vs VMI Keydets Prediction, 12/10/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Mercer Bears vs VMI Keydets

Date: Thursday, December 10, 2020

Location: Cameron Hall in Lexington, VA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Mercer (-4)

The Mercer Bears (5-0) travel to Cameron Hall on Thursday where they'll take on the VMI Keydets (3-2). Mercer opens this contest as 4-point favorites. The total has been set at 148.5.

Mercer comes into this contest with a win-loss record of 5-0 so far this season. The Bears are shooting 42.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (54 of 126) and 71.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 86.4 pts per game (36th in D-1) while connecting on 50.2% from the field. They are turning it over 14.0 times per game and as a team they commit 15.6 fouls per contest. As a unit, Mercer is collecting 42.8 boards per game and has tallied 104 assists on the campaign, which is 6th in the nation in terms of passing. On the defensive end of the court, the Bears are able to force 14.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.0 personal fouls. They rank 230th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 60 surrendered on the campaign. The Bears defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 41.0% (125 of 305) and they surrender 30.4 rebounds per game as a group. They are giving up 33.6% on 3-pointers while they are 126th in college hoops in PPG allowed (67.4).

The Mercer Bears faced off with the Southern Wesleyan Warriors and notched a win by a score of 96-85 in their last game. Mercer wrapped up the game having earned a 53.1% FG percentage (34 of 64) and made 13 of their 29 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Bears buried 15 of 20 tries for a percentage of 75.0%. In reference to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 42 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 23 dimes in the game while earning 4 steals and 7 blocked shots. When it comes to defense, Mercer let their opponent shoot 53.1% from the field on 34 out of 64. Southern Wesleyan earned 14 assists and 5 steals for this game. On top of that, the Warriors grabbed 24 rebounds (2 offensive, 22 defensive) and added 7 blocked shots. Southern Wesleyan finished the game at 71.4% when shooting free throws by making 10 of their 14 attempts. They buried 13 out of their 30 tries from three-point range.

Jeff Gary is a player who saw a lot of minutes in the game. He walked away with 12 points on 4 out of 7 shooting. He played 30 minutes played and also pulled down 4 rebounds. Gary finished shooting 57.1% from the field and dished out 5 assists. An additional guy that came through in the matchup for the Bears was Ross Cummings. He grabbed 5 rebounds and earned 2 dimes. He finished the game at 60.0% from the floor in the matchup via 9-of-15 (24 points). Overall, Cummings saw the court for 29 minutes.

VMI has a record of 3-2 this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Keydets are hitting on 46.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 141st in college hoops. VMI has earned 396 pts so far this season (79.2 per game) and they snag 40.0 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 16.0 times per game (88th in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 16.2 times per contest. The Keydets commit 16.4 personal fouls every game and they hit 78.6% from the charity stripe. The Keydets are ranked 149th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 69.8. They are forcing 13.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.1% from the floor (82nd in D-1). The VMI defense gives up 29.4% on 3-point shots (40 of 136) and opponents are converting on 60.8% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 10.6 dimes and 37.4 rebounds every game, which is ranked 69th and 207th in the nation.

In their last game, the VMI Keydets walked away with a victory by a final of 100-65 when they played the Greensboro College Pride. The Keydets recorded 34 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 43 for this contest. They blocked 2 tries while getting 5 steals for the matchup. The Pride committed 17 fouls in this contest which got the Keydets to the charity stripe for 21 attempts. They were able to make 19 of those for a percentage of 90.5%. In reference to three-point shots, VMI converted 15 out of 34 tries (44.1%). When the final whistle was blown, the Keydets shot 33 for 60 from the floor which had them shooting 55.0%. The Keydets permitted the Pride to convert 26 out of 69 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 37.7% for this contest. They finished 32.1% from distance by going 9 out of 28 and finished the contest at 4 of 11 from the charity stripe (36.4%). Concerning rebounding, VMI allowed Greensboro College to get 23 in all (10 on the offensive side).

Myles Lewis played a lot for the Keydets for the game. He knocked down 6 out of 8 in the matchup giving him a rate of 75.0%, which got him 17 points. Lewis totaled 10 boards in his 23 mins played and tallied 4 dimes for this game. Another guy that ended up being a major factor for VMI was Kamdyn Curfman. He ended up scoring 14 points in 22 minutes on the hardwood by way of 5 of 7 shooting for the contest. Curfman wrapped this one up going 71.4% from the floor as well as contributing 2 assists and 2 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Mercer (-4)

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