Mercer Bears
Basketball NCAAB Sat 3 Jan 16:00
East Tennessee State Buccaneers (ETSU)
  1. Prediction
  2. SGP Picks
  3. Odds
  4. Player Props
  5. Team Stats
  6. Standings

College Basketball Betting Preview: Mercer vs East Tennessee State

The Mercer Bears face the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, with tip-off scheduled for 16:00 on Saturday, January 3.

We’re Expecting ETSU to Cover the Line

We’re excited to see ETSU at -6.5 on the spread and think it’s a great number for the favorites to cover against Mercer at odds of -115.

Confident in our wager? Grab our exclusive BetMGM promo code and read our expert site review before placing locking in your spread pick.

ETSU 59-58 Winners When Teams Last Met

Mercer Bears were defeated in their previous game. On the road, they suffered a 74-72 reverse against Furman Paladins.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers won last time out by a 74-49 scoreline. It was on the road against The Citadel Bulldogs.

Head-to-Head Statistics

ETSU beat Mercer when the teams last met. It was a 59-58 scoreline. ETSU have four straight victories against Mercer. They’ve also claimed 6 wins in the past 10 head-to-head meetings.

NCAAB Overall PF PA N. Pts Home Away Strk
E. Tennessee St. 10-5 1172 998 174 8-1 2-4 2W
Mercer 8-7 1231 1106 125 6-0 2-7 2L
View Full Standings

Mercer vs East Tennessee State Prediction & Picks

We’ve got your Mercer vs East Tennessee State bets covered, including our expert match prediction, correct score recommendation and a hand-picked bet builder tailored for value.

Game Prediction

ETSU really stand out in this college contest. Back them at -6.5 on the spread with the confidence that the betting favorites cover the line at -115.

Getting the lowdown on injuries and analyzing the form guide are key steps before making basketball predictions. We also put strong emphasis on stats, where a data-led approach often leads to smarter college hoops picks.

Key Mercer vs East Tennessee State stats:

  • The -6.5 line has been covered by ETSU in 4 of their last 5 games at home.
  • The -6.5 line has been covered by ETSU in 7 of their last 10 games at home.

ETSU -6.5 Probability

According to the best sportsbooks, there’s a 53.5% likelihood of our pick landing a return. Taking all factors into consideration, our experts think there’s a stronger chance of success and estimate the probability to be closer to 60%. It’s the reason why we are recommending this college basketball bet.

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Our Game Prediction
ETSU -6.5 @ -115 Bet Now BetMGM logo
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Published 13:57, 03 January 2026

Same Game Parlay Picks

Spread ETSU -6.5
Totals Under 151.5
Result & BTTS 80 ETSU / No

Our same game parlay pick is ETSU -6.5 on the spread, Under 151.5 and at least one team not to score 80 points and ETSU to win on the Result & BTTS lines.

The same game parlay option allows you to combine different outcomes within the same game. You need all your picks to be correct although bettors love to place a tailored basketball bet on the matchup which interests them most.

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Correct Score Prediction

Mercer Mercer logo 68 - 77 ETSU logo ETSU

We’re going for the Bucs to claim a 77-68 victory and the good news is that there are massive betting odds for this outcome. A small stake can return a potentially large amount.

Mercer vs East Tennessee State Odds

The odds and lines are updated on a frequent basis. You might therefore find that they are different to the ones listed for the above betting predictions.

ETSU Have the Shortest Odds to Win

The sportsbooks’ betting odds have East Tennessee State as -313 favorites for this college game, implying that they are 76% likely to win. If you’re looking for an alternative angle, Mercer are trading at +240.

The current spread is 7.5 and the total points line is 149.5. There are many ways to bet on basketball including the Totals. If you want to bet Under 149.5, there are odds of -114.

Whether you’re betting pre-game or in-game, the top basketball sportsbooks serve up a wide range of team props and game lines to choose from. The options are nearly endless, and it’s great to have so much variety.

Betting Lines & Odds
Player Props & Micro Betting

If you have a view on Total Points, Three-Pointers, Assists, Double-Doubles or Triple-Doubles, then the player prop betting could be up your street. It’s a great way of wagering on individual performance.

Micro betting is something that’s really popular with bettors, with college basketball fans essentially being able to wager in-game when it comes to score, player and team props. Check out the two-way lines where you can bet whether the next shot will be a Two-pointer or a Three-pointer.

Best Betting Offers
Last 5 & H2H
Team Stats

Latest regular season and playoff games stats.

Mercer logo Mercer Stats
East Tennessee State logo East Tennessee State Stats
Moneyline
  • 6 wins and 4 defeats in the last 10 games
  • 2 wins and 8 defeats in the last 10 games on the road
Moneyline
  • 6 wins and 4 defeats in the last 10 games
  • 8 wins and 2 defeats in the last 10 home games
Point Spread
Point Spread
Total Points
Total Points

NCAAB Table Select Season

Southern Overall PF PA N. Pts Home Away Strk
E. Tennessee St. 10-5 1172 998 174 8-1 2-4 2W
Wofford 10-5 1154 1114 40 5-1 5-4 3W
Furman 10-5 1173 1067 106 8-3 2-2 1L
Samford 8-7 1164 1133 31 4-1 4-6 1L
Mercer 8-7 1231 1106 125 6-0 2-7 2L
UNC Greensboro 6-9 1185 1182 3 5-3 1-6 3W
VMI 6-9 1152 1140 12 5-2 1-7 1W
Chattanooga 6-9 1153 1083 70 4-2 2-7 2L
Western Carolina 5-8 1004 1051 -47 4-1 1-7 1W
Citadel 3-12 1049 1155 -106 3-6 0-6 5L
  • Overall = Overall Wins-Losses
  • PF = Total Points For
  • PA = Total Points Against
  • N. Pts = Point Differential
  • Home = Home Record
  • Away = Away Record
  • Strk = Current Streak