Wagner Seahawks vs Mercyhurst Lakers Prediction, 2/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wagner Seahawks vs Mercyhurst Lakers

Date: Thursday, February 19, 2026

Location: Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Wagner Seahawks (9-16) are hitting the road to Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Thursday where they will meet the Mercyhurst Lakers (13-14).

The Wagner Seahawks faced off with LIU and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 83-65 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Seahawks walked away with 14 while LIU totaled 20 personal fouls. They also knocked down 10 of 19 attempts from 3-point land. LIU ended up going 69.2% from the charity stripe by converting 9 of their 13 attempts. On top of that, LIU collected 28 boards (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. LIU doled out 16 assists and had 11 steals for this contest. When it comes to the defense, Wagner let their opponent shoot 58.2% from the floor on 32 out of 55 shooting. They also recorded 11 assists for the game in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When talking about pulling down boards, they earned a total of 27 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Seahawks made 13 of their 22 shots for a percentage of 59.1%. Wagner finished the game having earned a 41.8% field goal percentage (23 out of 55) and made 6 of 14 shots from distance.

Bryan Akanamu is one guy who came through for the game. He walked away with 10 points on 4 out of 9 shooting. He saw the court for 25 mins and grabbed 6 rebounds. He finished the game at 44.4% from the field and distributed 2 assists.

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Wagner will enter this game with a record of 9-16 on the year. They are averaging 71.6 points per outing (285th in Division 1) while shooting 44.1% from the field. The Seahawks are hitting 35.2% on 3-pointers (185 of 526) and 70.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Wagner is collecting 37.0 rebounds per game and has earned 321 dimes so far this season, which ranks 304th in college hoops in terms of passing. They are turning it over 12.9 times per game and as a unit are committing 18.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Seahawks are forcing 10.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.0 fouls. They are 207th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 359 surrendered this year. The Seahawks defense is giving up a FG percentage of 44.1% (628 of 1,423) and they surrender 33.5 rebounds per game as a unit. They concede 34.8% on shots from downtown while they are 177th in college hoops in points per game allowed (73.6).

The last time they took the court, the Mercyhurst Lakers got the victory with a final of 94-79 when they played Saint Francis. Regarding rebounding, Mercyhurst allowed Saint Francis to grab 18 in all (5 offensive). They shot 46.7% from three-point range by shooting 7 out of 15 and walked away from this one shooting 20 of 33 at the free throw line (60.6%). The Lakers permitted Saint Francis to knock down 26 out of their 50 attempts from the field which had them at 52.0% for the contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Lakers ended up going 35 out of 58 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 60.3%. Regarding shooting from beyond the arc, Mercyhurst made 8 out of 21 attempts (38.1%). They were able to knock down 16 of the free throws for a percentage of 88.9%. Saint Francis had 16 personal fouls for the contest which got the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 18 shots. They also coughed it up 8 times, while getting 7 steals in this matchup. The Lakers were able to collect 26 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 33 in the matchup.

Bernie Blunt III ended up being a factor for the Lakers for this game. He made 11 out of 22 for the matchup for a rate of 50.0%, and totaled 8 rebounds. He totaled 31 points in his 35 minutes of playing time and had 4 assists in this game.

Mercyhurst has a win-loss mark of 13-14 on the campaign. The Lakers are responsible for committing 17.9 fouls per contest and they connect on 71.0% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 14.9 times per game (120th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.8 times per game. Mercyhurst has accounted for 1,838 points for the season (68.1 per contest) and they pull in 32.2 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Lakers are hitting on 45.3% from the floor, which ranks 171st in the nation.

The Mercyhurst defense gives up 32.7% on shots from distance (162 of 496) and their opponents are making 69.4% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 12.2 assists and 34.3 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 87th and 178th in D-1. The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 20th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 66.0. They are forcing 13.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.4% from the floor (141st in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Mercyhurst

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