Mercyhurst Lakers vs LIU Sharks Prediction, 1/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Mercyhurst Lakers vs LIU Sharks

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

Location: Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, NY

TV: ESPN+

Steinberg Wellness Center is the site where the LIU Sharks (8-7) will meet the Mercyhurst Lakers (6-9) on Thursday.

The Mercyhurst Lakers took the court against Le Moyne and walked away with a win by a score of 74-60 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Lakers ended up finishing with 12 and Le Moyne accumulated 12 personal fouls. They converted 4 of their 20 attempts from three-point range. Le Moyne shot 57.1% when shooting free throws by making 8 of their 14 tries. Furthermore, Le Moyne snagged 31 rebounds (11 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't have a block. Le Moyne totaled 9 assists and had 7 steals for the contest. With regard to defense, Mercyhurst allowed the other team to go 39.3% from the field on 24 of 61 shooting. They also doled out 11 assists for the contest in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and having 5 steals. In regard to grabbing boards, they earned 36 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Lakers knocked down 16 of their 19 attempts for a percentage of 84.2%. Mercyhurst walked away from the contest having earned a 43.9% FG percentage (25 out of 57) and buried 8 of 20 shots from distance.

Bernie Blunt III is a player who was a factor in this game. He finished the game at 54.5% from the field and also distributed 2 assists. He played for 29 mins and collected 1 rebound. He ended up with 18 points on 6 out of 11 shooting.

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Mercyhurst will enter this game with a mark of 6-9 this season. They are giving up possession 10.9 times per contest and as a team are committing 18.2 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Mercyhurst is snagging 31.7 boards per contest and is sitting with 218 assists this season, which ranks 183rd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Lakers are connecting on 30.9% from downtown (88 of 285) and 65.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 67.1 points per contest (339th in D-1) while going 44.9% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Lakers are able to force 13.9 turnovers per game and they draw 14.6 fouls. They are giving up 33.7% on three-point shots while they are 45th in D-1 in points per game allowed (66.9). The Lakers are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.6% (336 of 770) and they surrender 34.5 boards per contest as a team. They are ranked 51st in college in giving up assists with 169 conceded this season.

When they last played, the LIU Sharks took home the win by a final score of 74-55 against Chicago State. In regard to team rebounding, LIU allowed Chicago State to get 28 in total (11 on the offensive side). They went 21.4% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 3 of 14 and ended up shooting 10 of 16 from the charity stripe (62.5%). The Sharks permitted Chicago State to bury 21 of 62 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 33.9% in the game. When this game wrapped up, the Sharks shot 28 for 53 from the field which gave them a percentage of 52.8%. In the matter of shots from downtown, LIU made 10 out of their 26 attempts (38.5%). They were able to knock down 8 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. Chicago State was called for 14 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Sharks to the charity stripe for a total of 12 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. The Sharks recorded 26 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 in this contest.

Jamal Fuller pitched in for the Sharks for the matchup. He had 21 points in his 38 minutes of playing time and added 5 assists in this contest. He converted 8 of 14 in this contest giving him a rate of 57.1%, and accounted for 7 rebounds.

LIU has a mark of 8-7 so far this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Sharks are shooting 48.1% from the field, which ranks 66th in college. LIU has earned 1,154 points this year (76.9 per contest) and they average 35.1 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 14.5 times per game (172nd in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.4 times per game. The Sharks are responsible for committing 17.8 fouls every game and they connect on 64.3% from the charity stripe.

The LIU defense allows 33.9% on three-point shots (102 of 301) and opponents are converting on 68.6% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 14.3 dimes and 35.4 rebounds every game, which is ranked 252nd and 236th in the nation. The Sharks defensively are ranked 315th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 79.3. They are forcing 12.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.9% from the floor (314th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Mercyhurst

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