The top-seeded Samford Bulldogs (26-5, 15-3 SoCon) are squaring off against the No. 8 seed Mercer Bears (16-16, 8-10 SoCon) in the SoCon tournament on Saturday at Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, at 12:00 PM 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.

Samford vs. Mercer Game Info and Odds

• Game Day: Saturday, March 9, 2024
• Game Time: 12:00 PM ET
• TV Channel: ESPN+
• Location: Asheville, North Carolina
• Arena: Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville

Samford vs. Mercer Picks and Prediction

All college basketball win probability predictions and picks are according to numberFire.
Prediction: Samford win (87.9%)

See these betting insights and trends before you wager on Saturday's Samford-Mercer spread (Samford -8.5) or total (153.5 points).

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Samford vs. Mercer: ATS Betting Stats and Trends

• Samford has covered 16 times in 29 chances against the spread this season.
• Mercer has won 17 games against the spread this season, while failing to cover 12 times.
• Samford covers the spread when it is an 8.5-point favorite or more 50% of the time. That's less often than Mercer covers as an underdog of 8.5 or more (83.3%).
• The Bulldogs own a better record against the spread at home (9-7-0) than they do on the road (7-6-0).
• The Bears have been better against the spread at home (8-5-0) than on the road (7-6-0) this year.
• Against the spread, in conference games, Samford is 10-8-0 this season.
• Mercer is 11-8-0 against the spread in SoCon action this season.

Samford vs. Mercer: Moneyline Betting Stats

• Samford has won in 21, or 91.3%, of the 23 contests it has been named as the moneyline favorite in this year.
• This season, the Bulldogs have come away with a win 12 times in 13 chances when named as a favorite of at least -430 or better on the moneyline.
• Mercer has won seven of the 18 games it was the moneyline underdog this season (38.9%).
• The Bears have a record of 3-3 in games they have played as a moneyline underdog with odds of +330 or longer (50%).
• Samford has an implied victory probability of 81.1% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.

Samford vs. Mercer Head-to-Head Comparison

• Samford has a +382 scoring differential, topping opponents by 12.4 points per game. It is putting up 86.9 points per game to rank fourth in college basketball and is allowing 74.5 per contest to rank 257th in college basketball.
• Achor Achor's 15.2 points per game lead Samford and rank 261st in the nation.
• Mercer has a -10 scoring differential, putting up 71.6 points per game (241st in college basketball) and allowing 71.9 (181st in college basketball).
• Jalyn McCreary's 15.7 points per game leads Mercer and ranks 210th in college basketball.
• The Bulldogs average 35.9 rebounds per game (143rd in college basketball) compared to the 35.6 of their opponents.
• Achor leads the Bulldogs with 5.8 rebounds per game (386th in college basketball play).
• The 34.4 rebounds per game the Bears accumulate rank 245th in the nation. Their opponents record 34.9.
• Alex Holt tops the team with 4.8 rebounds per game (654th in college basketball).
• Samford ranks 20th in college basketball with 104.2 points scored per 100 possessions, and 91st in college basketball defensively with 89.4 points conceded per 100 possessions.
• The Bears' 93.8 points per 100 possessions on offense rank 211th in college basketball, and the 94.2 points they allow per 100 possessions rank 225th in college basketball.

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