Chattanooga Mocs vs Mercer Bears Prediction, 2/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Chattanooga Mocs vs Mercer Bears

Date: Thursday, February 19, 2026

Location: Hawkins Arena in Macon, GA

TV: ESPN+

Hawkins Arena is the site where the Mercer Bears (17-10) will play the Chattanooga Mocs (10-17) on Thursday.

The Chattanooga Mocs played Western Carolina and ended up losing by a score of 81-76 in their last contest. Chattanooga finished the game having earned a 49.2% FG percentage (31 out of 63) and converted 8 out of their 28 three-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Mocs buried 6 of 6 tries for a percentage of 100.0%. Concerning pulling down boards, they compiled 24 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 19 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With regard to defense, Chattanooga allowed the other team to go 37.9% from the field on 25 of 66 shooting. Western Carolina doled out 12 dimes and had 4 steals for the matchup. On top of that, Western Carolina collected 35 rebounds (14 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Western Carolina shot 80.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 20 of their 25 tries. They also buried 11 out of their 34 shots from beyond the arc. Regarding personal fouls, the Mocs walked away with 19 while Western Carolina finished the game with 17 personal fouls.

Jordan Frison is a player who was important for the game. He ended up going 61.5% from the floor and earned 6 dimes. He played for 38 mins and also totaled 3 rebounds. He finished with 20 points on 8 out of 13 shooting.

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Chattanooga will take the court with a mark of 10-17 so far this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 9.9 times per game and as a team they are committing 19.1 personal fouls every game. As a team, Chattanooga is collecting 32.7 boards per contest and has accounted for 408 dimes on the campaign, which is 85th in the nation in terms of passing. The Mocs are shooting 34.9% on shots from distance (279 of 799) and 76.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.7 pts per game (227th in D-1) while shooting 44.6% from the floor.

Defensively, the Mocs are able to force 10.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.1 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 189th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 353 conceded on the year. The Mocs defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 42.2% (660 of 1,564) and they surrender 36.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They concede 31.7% from 3-point land and they are 189th in college in opponents points per game (73.9).

In their last game, the Mercer Bears took home the win by a final score of 70-54 when they played The Citadel. Regarding how they rebounded, Mercer allowed The Citadel to pull down 28 in total (9 offensive). They finished the game shooting 28.0% from 3-point land by going 7 of 25 and ended up shooting 11 of 12 at the free throw line (91.7%). The Bears allowed The Citadel to bury 18 of their 53 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 34.0% for the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Bears finished 25 for 48 from the floor which had them shooting 52.1%. In the matter of shots from 3-point land, Mercer made 9 of 17 attempts (52.9%). They were able to bury 11 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 61.1%. The Citadel earned 19 personal fouls for the contest which took the Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 18 shots. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while getting 7 steals for the matchup. The Bears recorded 19 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 in this matchup.

Baraka Okojie was important for the Bears for the matchup. He scored 22 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and had 6 assists for this contest. He converted 6 of 11 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and had 5 rebounds.

Mercer has a mark of 17-10 on the year. As an offensive team, the Bears are shooting 45.3% from the field, which is 171st in college. Mercer has totaled 2,238 pts this year (82.9 per game) and they pull in 39.2 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.3 times per game (159th in D-1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.7 times per contest. The Bears are committing 15.3 fouls every game and they go 73.9% from the free throw line.

The Mercer defense allows 33.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (243 of 719) and their opponents are connecting on 72.9% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 12.7 dimes and 36.5 boards every game, which is 120th and 301st in college hoops. The Bears on the defensive side of the court are 197th in the country in points given up per game with 74.3. They are forcing their opponents into 13.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.4% from the floor (88th in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Chattanooga

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