Don't you understand that's not my problem? "Positively 4th Street" - Bob Dylan
Samford Bulldogs
87 – 80
FINAL Conference
Mercer Bears
Southern Conference · Pete Hanna Center · January 20, 2024
Betting Lines
Spread SAM -12.5 Away covered
O/U 154.5 Over
Money SAM -1200 / MER +900
Model Predictions
Spread Total SAM win
Actual SAM +7 167 Won
Massey SAM -16.4 (-9.4) — —
Massey Totals — 156.5 (+10.5) —
Bradley-Terry — — 98% ✓
Weighted B-T — — 99% ✓
Efficiency Plus ML ★ SAM -15.4 (-8.4) 149.2 (+17.8) 87% ✓
Baseline Tuned ML SAM -14.3 (-7.3) 150.2 (+16.8) 88% ✓
Baseline ML SAM -15.1 (-8.1) 151.8 (+15.2) 87% ✓
Baseline Plus ML SAM -15.6 (-8.6) 151.4 (+15.6) 87% ✓

Predictions use only rating snapshots dated before tip-off. Parenthesised values are the signed error vs. the actual result. Model performance →

Last 5 Meetings

Feb 21, 2026 MER 89 – 86 SAM
Feb 7, 2026 SAM 69 – 49 MER
Feb 6, 2025 SAM 100 – 79 MER
Jan 16, 2025 SAM 75 – 74 MER
Mar 9, 2024 SAM 70 – 57 MER

Team Comparison

Record & Ratings SAM MER
Overall 29-6 16-17
Conference 15-3 8-10
Home 18-0 10-6
Away 8-5 4-9
Neutral 3-1 2-2
Last 5 5-0 1-4
Streak L1 L1
Avg Pts For 84.5 70.4
Avg Pts Against 74.9 72.5
Massey 7.7 (#73) -5.0 (#263)
Bradley-Terry 2.32 (#24) -0.79 (#253)
W. Bradley-Terry 2.52 (#38) -1.33 (#277)
RPI 0.576 (#59) 0.458 (#248)
Shooting & Four Factors SAM MER
FG% 48.9% 42.9%
3PT% 41.2% 34.1%
REB / G 37.8 34.2
OREB / G 12.0 10.9
AST / TO 1.29 1.14
Four Factors — Offense
eFG% 57.1% 48.4%
TOV% 19.2% 17.2%
ORB% 33.7% 29.7%
FT Rate 23.6% 17.3%
Four Factors — Defense
Opp eFG% 49.5% 51.5%
Opp TOV% 22.0% 18.6%
DRB% 68.5% 70.5%
Opp FT Rate 27.6% 28.9%

Game Analysis

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