Southern Conference Tournament: Mercer v. UNC Greensboro

Who will WIN the championship?

Mercer Bears (18-10)

UNC Greensboro Spartans (20-8)

Current odds:

Mercer Bears: (+180)

UNC Greensboro Spartans: (-220)

• The line for this game is UNC Greensboro by 5 points.

• The Spartans have averaged 78.5 in their two tournament games. Over the last three minutes of its tournament games, UNCG has combined to outscored ETSU and The Citadel, 20-5. In its 77-65 semifinal victory over ETSU, SoCon Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Isaiah Miller led UNCG with 21 points for the second consecutive contest. The 6-foot, 1-inch senior from Covington, Georgia also added seven rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three amazing dunks, one of which was the No. 2 play on SportsCenter Top 10. With a win tonight, Miller would become the first player to lead the league in scoring and win the tournament since Davidson’s Stephen Curry in 2008. Miller was named the media’s Player of the Year. The media’s Player of the Year has seen his team go on to win the SoCon tournament 25 times since 1957, with Wofford’s Fletcher Magee last accomplishing the feat in 2019. Sophomore guard Keyshaun Langley was splendid in finishing with 11 points and seven assists. A.J. McGinnis scored nine points while Mohammed Abdulsalam and Hayden Koval chipped in with eight points each. All of McGinnis’ points came during the first half and they helped UNCG escape from an early 28-19 deficit in the opening 12 minutes.

• The Bears have defeated No. 10 Samford, No. 2 Wofford, and No. 6 VMI on the road to the championship game. In the semifinals, Neftali Alvarez scored 23 points to propel the Mercer men’s basketball squad to its first-ever Southern Conference championship game via a 73-59 win over the VMI Keydets. In addition to Alvarez’s 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting, the Bears received impressive showings from Felipe Haase (15 points and 11 rebounds) and Leon Ayers III (14 points). Haase’s double-double was his second in the past six games. He shot 50 percent from the floor and made three three-pointers. Ayers III was over 50 percent for the third time in as many games, going 5-of-9 (55.6 percent). As a team, the Bears connected on 42.6 percent (29-of-68) of their tries and made 11-of-31 three-pointers. (35.5 percent). Mercer is third nationally in assists (468).

• UNCG 81, Mercer 68, January 27 (Greensboro): UNCG used a strong finishing kick to sprint past Mercer. Miller led five players in double figures with a game-high 22 points to help UNCG to its fifth consecutive triumph. Junior guard Angelo Allegri (career-high-tying eight rebounds) and Langley (six assists) finished with 12 points each. Koval and McGinnis (10) combined for all 21 of the Spartan bench points. Hunter added nine points. UNCG shot 47 percent, took six charges, and scored 40 or more points in each half. The Spartans outscored Mercer, 18-8, in the final 8:58.  Haase led the Bears with 17 points. Cummings collected 10 points.

• UNCG 77, Mercer 74, February 13 (Macon, Georgia): Allegri scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first-half. He finished with a career-best tying five 3-pointers to fuel the Spartans offense. Four of his 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes helped UNCG open a double-digit advantage in the first half. That separation was appreciated late in the game when Mercer finished fast and threw a scare into UNCG, which scored a season best 45 points in the first half. The Spartans survived a game-tying 3-point shot attempt as the buzzer expired to hold off hard-charging Mercer, which ended the contest by scoring 18 of the game’s final 23 points. Miller added 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Hunter contributed 11 points while Abdulsalam finished with 10 rebounds. Leon Ayers III scored 17 points to lead the Bears. Cummings (15 points) and Jeff Gary (14) reached double digits for Mercer.