This dance ain't for everybody. Only the sexy people. "Push It" - Salt-n-Pepa
Mercer Bears
74 75
FINAL Conference
Samford Bulldogs
Southern Conference · Hawkins Arena · January 16, 2025
Betting Lines
Spread SAM -5.5 Home covered
O/U 164.5 Under
Money MER +195 / SAM -230
Model Predictions
Spread Total MER win
Actual SAM +1 149 Lost
Massey SAM -5.6 (+4.6)
Massey Totals 173.6 (-24.6)
Bradley-Terry 18%
Weighted B-T 12%
Efficiency Plus ML SAM -5.3 (+4.3) 161.7 (-12.7) 20%
Baseline Tuned ML SAM -5.9 (+4.9) 160.8 (-11.8) 25%
Baseline ML SAM -4.7 (+3.7) 161.9 (-12.9) 28%
Baseline Plus ML SAM -4.4 (+3.4) 161.1 (-12.1) 27%

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 8986 SAM
Feb 7, 2026 SAM 6949 MER
Feb 6, 2025 SAM 10079 MER
Mar 9, 2024 SAM 7057 MER
Feb 17, 2024 MER 8884 SAM

Team Comparison

Record & Ratings MER SAM
Overall 14-19 22-11
Conference 6-12 12-6
Home 7-6 13-3
Away 5-11 9-7
Neutral 2-2 0-1
Last 5 3-2 5-0
Streak L1 L3
Avg Pts For 73.7 81.5
Avg Pts Against 77.0 76.8
Massey -4.6 (#245) 4.8 (#99)
Bradley-Terry -0.72 (#232) 1.52 (#66)
W. Bradley-Terry -1.03 (#241) 1.76 (#73)
RPI 0.460 (#240) 0.545 (#89)
Shooting & Four Factors MER SAM
FG% 44.1% 47.9%
3PT% 33.2% 39.0%
REB / G 36.5 34.3
OREB / G 11.0 12.1
AST / TO 1.07 1.29
Four Factors — Offense
eFG% 50.9% 57.5%
TOV% 17.1% 18.9%
ORB% 28.4% 34.5%
FT Rate 20.7% 21.7%
Four Factors — Defense
Opp eFG% 52.3% 53.3%
Opp TOV% 18.6% 22.7%
DRB% 70.1% 64.5%
Opp FT Rate 24.8% 26.4%

Game Analysis

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