Hallelujah, here she comes. "Skateaway" - Dire Straits
Mercer Bears
95 – 81
FINAL Conference
VMI Keydets
Southern Conference · Hawkins Arena · January 31, 2026
Betting Lines
Spread MER -18.5 Away covered
O/U 153.5 Over
Money MER -2400 / VMI +1200
Model Predictions
Spread Total MER win
Actual MER +14 176 Won
Massey MER -22.7 (-8.7) — —
Massey Totals — 157.6 (+18.4) —
Bradley-Terry — — 98% ✓
Weighted B-T — — 99% ✓
Baseline Plus ML MER -16.9 (-2.9) 151.8 (+24.2) 90% ✓
Efficiency Plus ML ★ MER -16.0 (-2.0) 151.4 (+24.6) 90% ✓
Baseline Tuned ML MER -16.3 (-2.3) 150.4 (+25.6) 91% ✓
Baseline ML MER -17.6 (-3.6) 151.0 (+25.0) 90% ✓

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

Last 5 Meetings

Jan 15, 2026 MER 77 – 67 VMI
Feb 15, 2025 VMI 80 – 71 MER
Jan 4, 2025 MER 70 – 67 VMI
Feb 3, 2024 MER 90 – 69 VMI
Jan 6, 2024 MER 86 – 64 VMI

Team Comparison

Record & Ratings MER VMI
Overall 19-13 6-26
Conference 11-7 1-17
Home 14-1 5-9
Away 5-11 1-14
Neutral 0-1 0-3
Last 5 4-1 0-5
Streak L1 L17
Avg Pts For 80.1 68.5
Avg Pts Against 77.8 83.2
Massey 2.3 (#132) -17.2 (#358)
Bradley-Terry 0.37 (#130) -2.86 (#352)
W. Bradley-Terry 0.35 (#138) -3.56 (#352)
RPI 0.547 (#87) 0.374 (#354)
Shooting & Four Factors MER VMI
FG% 46.5% 38.5%
3PT% 35.4% 30.7%
REB / G 36.4 31.4
OREB / G 12.0 10.6
AST / TO 1.21 0.95
Four Factors — Offense
eFG% 53.8% 46.6%
TOV% 15.7% 16.5%
ORB% 33.6% 27.6%
FT Rate 26.9% 22.9%
Four Factors — Defense
Opp eFG% 52.5% 55.8%
Opp TOV% 17.4% 16.9%
DRB% 65.4% 60.1%
Opp FT Rate 20.6% 25.8%

Game Analysis

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