NCAA Tournament March Madness
#164 Mercer
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Projection: need to automatically qualify
Mercer looks like a team that will have to secure the conference’s automatic bid because a nonconference slate littered with damaging losses at major programs and an ugly trip to Winthrop leaves the résumé without a signature win that a committee would grab onto. Its best moments have come in league play, with road victories at Southern Conference opponents and sturdy home wins over vulnerable league rivals that show it can close out games, while its worst moments are heavy defeats and poor true-road showings at Tennessee, Clemson, UCF and Samford that will be viewed as resume killers. The final stretch against Chattanooga, Samford, Western Carolina and ETSU gives clear opportunities to add meaningful road or neutral wins and change the narrative, but unless Mercer can produce a marquee scalp the cleanest path to the NCAA tournament runs through winning the conference’s automatic berth.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3 | @Tennessee | 19 | L76-61 |
| 11/9 | Lipscomb | 173 | W92-77 |
| 11/15 | @Winthrop | 132 | L105-69 |
| 11/22 | @E Kentucky | 271 | W95-83 |
| 11/26 | Appalachian St | 175 | W75-67 |
| 11/29 | @Elon | 190 | W91-84 |
| 12/2 | Georgia St | 293 | W78-67 |
| 12/13 | @Clemson | 33 | L70-63 |
| 12/17 | @UCF | 49 | L81-63 |
| 12/20 | @Washington St | 133 | L84-78 |
| 12/31 | @Furman | 189 | L74-72 |
| 1/3 | @ETSU | 141 | L77-71 |
| 1/7 | Citadel | 351 | W101-63 |
| 1/10 | Wofford | 225 | W109-97 |
| 1/15 | @VMI | 360 | W77-67 |
| 1/17 | @UNC Greensboro | 298 | W102-92 |
| 1/21 | W Carolina | 262 | W88-76 |
| 1/24 | @Wofford | 225 | L80-77 |
| 1/29 | UNC Greensboro | 298 | W95-77 |
| 1/31 | VMI | 360 | W95-81 |
| 2/5 | @Chattanooga | 302 | L79-75 |
| 2/7 | @Samford | 205 | L69-49 |
| 2/11 | Furman | 189 | W69-64 |
| 2/14 | @Citadel | 351 | W70-54 |
| 2/19 | Chattanooga | 302 | 86% |
| 2/21 | Samford | 205 | 68% |
| 2/25 | @W Carolina | 262 | 60% |
| 2/28 | ETSU | 141 | 56% |