Mercer Bears vs Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction, 11/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Mercer Bears vs Virginia Tech Hokies

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026

Location: Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Mercer (+19.0)

Cassell Coliseum is where the Virginia Tech Hokies (19-13 last year) will attempt to defeat the Mercer Bears (19-13 last season) on Thursday. Mercer is 19.0-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The total is 152.5.

The Mercer Bears played Reinhardt and walked away with a win by a score of 90-53 in their last contest. Mercer finished the contest having earned a 47.8% FG percentage (32 out of 67) and made 10 out of their 35 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Bears buried 16 of their 22 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 43 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 10 assists in this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and getting 13 steals. When discussing defending, Mercer allowed the other team to go 33.3% from the floor on 19 of 57 shooting. Reinhardt earned 12 dimes and had 11 steals in this game. Furthermore, Reinhardt totaled 24 rebounds (7 offensive, 17 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Reinhardt finished 84.6% at the free throw line by burying 11 of 13 tries. They also knocked down 4 of 20 shots from 3-point range. In the matter of personal fouls, the Bears ended up with 14 while Reinhardt racked up 17 personal fouls.

Shane Cherry is one guy who came through in the game. He went 63.6% from the field and distributed 1 assist. He saw the court for 17 minutes played and also totaled 4 rebounds. He totaled 21 points on 7 out of 11 shooting.

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Mercer enters this one after finishing with a record of 19-13 last season. They turned it over 10.4 times per contest and as a team committed 15.4 fouls per contest. As a group, Mercer collected 37.6 boards per game and had 440 assists last season, which was 207th in college in terms of passing. The Bears hit on 34.9% on shots from 3-point land (280 of 803) and 72.3% from the free throw line. They averaged 82.7 pts per game (42nd in D-1) while going 46.3% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Bears were able to force 12.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.9 personal fouls. They were 72nd in college in allowing assists 397 relinquished last season. The Bears allowed an opponent FG percentage of 43.1% (857 of 1,987) and they surrendered 36.4 rebounds per game as a group. They conceded 34.0% on shots from beyond the arc and they were 230th in college hoops in opponents points per game (75.5).

The last time they took the court, the Virginia Tech Hokies walked away with a victory by a final of 88-54 against Coppin State. With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, Virginia Tech permitted Coppin State to snag 25 in all (9 offensive). They went 16.7% from three-point range by going 2 of 12 and finished the game at 14 of 24 from the free throw line (58.3%). The Hokies allowed Coppin State to make 19 out of their 52 tries from the floor which had them shooting 36.5% in this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Hokies shot 29 out of 58 from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0%. When discussing 3-point attempts, Virginia Tech buried 13 out of 28 attempts (46.4%). They were able to convert 17 of those for a rate of 65.4%. Coppin State was called for 20 fouls for this contest which got the Hokies to the free throw line for a total of 26 tries. They also coughed it up 13 times, while getting 12 steals for this game. The Hokies pulled down 21 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 34 in this contest.

Ben Hammond ended up having an impact for the Hokies for this game. He made 6 out of 14 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 42.9%, and added 3 rebounds. He earned 20 points in his 33 minutes on the court and earned 8 dimes in the game.

Virginia Tech had a mark of 19-13 last season. The Hokies committed 17.1 fouls every game and they shot 74.3% from the charity stripe. They dished out assists 14.4 times per game (138th in the nation) and they coughed up possession 10.4 times per game. Virginia Tech earned 2,521 pts last season (78.8 per contest) and they collected 34.8 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Hokies hit 45.2% from the floor, which was ranked 182nd in the country.

The Hokies on the defensive side of the court were 213th in college in PPG allowed with 74.9. They forced 12.0 TO's per game and let teams shoot 44.8% from the floor (224th in college). The Virginia Tech defense allowed 30.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (236 of 771) and their opponents converted on 74.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They gave up 13.5 assists and 35.0 total boards per game, which ranked them 176th and 226th in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Mercer (+19.0)

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