Western Carolina Catamounts vs Mercer Bears Prediction, 1/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Carolina Catamounts vs Mercer Bears

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Location: Hawkins Arena in Macon, GA

TV: ESPN+

The Western Carolina Catamounts (6-11) are en route to Hawkins Arena on Wednesday where they will attempt to defeat the Mercer Bears (12-7).

The Western Carolina Catamounts faced off with Chattanooga and ended up losing by a score of 90-82 in their last game. In regard to personal fouls, the Catamounts ended up walking away with 19 while Chattanooga racked up 14 personal fouls. They also made 16 of their 31 attempts from distance. Chattanooga ended up going 94.7% at the free throw line by converting 18 of their 19 attempts. Moreover, Chattanooga snagged 25 boards (2 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Chattanooga doled out 16 assists and had 2 steals in the matchup. With regard to defense, Western Carolina allowed their opponent to shoot 52.8% from the floor on 28 of 53 shooting. They also recorded 13 dimes for the contest while forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When discussing rebounding, they compiled 30 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Catamounts converted 13 of 21 tries for a percentage of 61.9%. Western Carolina walked away from the game with a 45.5% FG percentage (30 out of 66) and made 9 of their 25 shots from 3-point land.

Julien Soumaoro is someone who came through in this contest. He shot 42.9% from the floor and recorded 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins played and also grabbed 4 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 17 points on 6 of 14 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

Western Carolina enters this matchup with a record of 6-11 this year. They lose possession via turnover 13.0 times per contest and as a squad they commit 20.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Western Carolina is collecting 39.5 boards per game and has earned 230 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 296th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Catamounts are connecting on 31.8% on shots beyond the perimeter (134 of 422) and 69.2% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 77.2 points per contest (175th in Division 1) while shooting 44.0% from the floor.

On defense, the Catamounts are forcing 11.6 turnovers every game while drawing 15.8 personal fouls. They currently rank 131st in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 234 surrendered on the year. The Catamounts defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.0% (453 of 985) and they surrender 34.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 38.1% on 3-pointers and they rank 327th in college hoops in PPG allowed (80.6).

When they last played, the Mercer Bears went home victorious with a score of 102-92 when they played UNC Greensboro. The Bears recorded 20 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in this game. They also coughed up the ball 15 times, while getting 5 steals for the game. UNC Greensboro committed 26 fouls in the matchup which took the Bears to the charity stripe for 41 attempts. They were able to convert 30 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 73.2%. In the matter of 3-pointers, Mercer made 10 of their 20 attempts (50.0%). Overall, the Bears walked away from this one shooting 31 for 51 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 60.8%. The Bears allowed UNC Greensboro to bury 32 of their 63 tries from the field which had them shooting 50.8% in this contest. They finished the game shooting 44.0% from distance by connecting on 11 out of 25 and finished the game at 17 out of 23 from the free throw line (73.9%). In regard to rebounding, Mercer permitted UNC Greensboro to get 19 in total (5 offensive).

Baraka Okojie ended up being a major contributor for the Bears for this contest. He earned 25 points in his 33 mins on the court and had 3 dimes for the matchup. He knocked down 5 of 14 for this contest giving him a rate of 35.7%, and accounted for 3 rebounds.

Mercer has a win-loss mark of 12-7 so far this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bears are connecting on 46.9% from the field, which has them ranked 99th in Division 1. Mercer has earned 1,620 pts on the season (85.3 per game) and they average 39.2 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 14.9 times per game (138th in the country) and they are turning it over 11.3 times per contest. The Bears are responsible for committing 15.5 personal fouls per contest and they go 72.9% from the free throw line.

The Mercer defense allows 33.5% on three-point shots (165 of 492) and opponents are converting on 71.6% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 12.8 assists and 37.2 total boards per game, which is 142nd and 311th in those categories on the defensive end. The Bears defensively are ranked 223rd in the country in points allowed per contest with 75.0. They are able to force 13.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.4% from the floor (113th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Western Carolina

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.