Mercer vs Western Carolina Basketball Prediction, Odds, Picks, Best Bets for SoCon Tournament

The No. 8 seed Mercer Bears (13-18, 6-12 SoCon) are taking on the No. 9 seed Western Carolina Catamounts (8-21, 4-14 SoCon) in the SoCon tournament on Friday at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, at 5 p.m. ET airing on ESPN+.

Before you place your bet on this matchup at FanDuel Sportsbook, here are the NCAA basketball odds and spreads you need to know.

Mercer vs. Western Carolina Game Info and Odds

• Game day: Friday, March 7, 2025
• Game time: 5 p.m. ET
• TV channel: ESPN+
• Location: Asheville, North Carolina
• Arena: Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville

Mercer vs. Western Carolina Picks and Prediction

All college basketball win probability predictions and picks are according to numberFire.
Prediction: Mercer win (72.5%)

If you plan to place a wager on Mercer-Western Carolina matchup (in which Mercer is a 6.5-point favorite and the total has been set at 153.5 points), below are a few betting trends and insights for Friday's game.

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Mercer vs. Western Carolina: ATS Betting Stats and Trends

• Mercer has put together a 15-14-0 ATS record so far this year.
• Western Carolina is 10-16-0 ATS this season.
• When the spread is set as 6.5 or more this season, Mercer (4-2) covers a higher percentage of those games when it is the favorite (66.7%) than Western Carolina (7-11) does as the underdog (38.9%).
• The Bears have done a better job covering the spread in home games (6-5-0) than they have in road games (7-9-0).
• Against the spread, the Catamounts have had better results on the road (7-8-0) than at home (3-8-0).
• Against the spread, in conference action, Mercer is 8-10-0 this season.
• Western Carolina's SoCon record against the spread is 7-11-0.

Mercer vs. Western Carolina: Moneyline Betting Stats

• Mercer has been victorious in eight of the 10 contests it has been chosen as moneyline favorites in this season.
• The Bears have a mark of 6-1 in contests where sportsbooks favor them by -260 or better on the moneyline.
• Western Carolina has won 14.3% of the games this season it was the underdog on the moneyline (3-18).
• The Catamounts are 1-15 (winning just 6.2% of their games) when playing as a moneyline underdog of +210 or longer.
• Mercer has an implied victory probability of 72.2% according to the moneyline set by oddsmakers for this matchup.

Mercer vs. Western Carolina Head-to-Head Comparison

• Mercer outscores opponents by 1.3 points per game (scoring 76.9 per game to rank 96th in college basketball while allowing 75.6 per outing to rank 284th in college basketball) and has a +40 scoring differential overall.
• Ahmad Robinson's team-leading 16.9 points per game ranks 122nd in the nation.
• Western Carolina has been outscored by 9.6 points per game (posting 69.8 points per game, 290th in college basketball, while giving up 79.4 per contest, 342nd in college basketball) and has a -280 scoring differential.
• Western Carolina's leading scorer, Bernard Pelote, ranks 337th in the country, averaging 14.3 points per game.
• The Bears pull down 36 rebounds per game (21st in college basketball) compared to the 35.7 of their opponents.
• Alex Holt averages 6.9 rebounds per game (ranking 181st in college basketball) to lead the Bears.
• The Catamounts are 33rd in college basketball at 35.3 rebounds per game. That's similar to the 34.7 their opponents average.
• Pelote's 7.4 rebounds per game lead the Catamounts and rank 117th in the country.
• Mercer ranks 266th in college basketball with 92.7 points scored per 100 possessions, and 124th in college basketball defensively with 91.2 points conceded per 100 possessions.
• The Catamounts average 85.6 points per 100 possessions on offense (354th in college basketball), and allow 97.4 points per 100 possessions (291st in college basketball).

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