Friday, November 25
Savannah, Ga.
5:00 PM ET
Mercer University
vs
East Carolina
Mercer Faces East Carolina in Savannah Friday
11/24/2016 11:23:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Mercer will play on a neutral court for the second and third times this season when the Bears head towards the coast for the Savannah Invitational at the Savannah Civic Center on Friday and Saturday.
The Bears (3-1) face East Carolina (4-1) on Friday at 5 p.m. as part of a four-team bracket. Mercer will then face either Air Force (5-0) or Akron (3-1) Saturday evening based on Friday's results.
TOURNAMENT LINEUP
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 25 | 5 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (3-1) vs. East Carolina (4-1)
Location: Savannah, Ga. | Savannah Civic Center – MLK Arena (7,200)
Radio: Mercer Sports Network (Flagship: 97.3 FM The Bull Icons) | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB
Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | East Carolina
Tickets: Purchase Here
Series History
Mercer and East Carolina have not met since the 1977-78 season and have never faced off on a neutral court. The teams haven't met in over 38 years and even a glance at the series history couldn't give an indication on Friday's outcome; over the four all-time meetings (all at campus sites) the home team has won each time with the series split evenly at 2-2.
Bears Return to Savannah for First Time in a Decade
Savannah – dubbed "The Hostess City of the South" – will play hostess to the Bears for the first time in a decade this weekend when Mercer plays in the inaugural Savannah Invitational. But when the Bears head towards the coast, they will be looking for a kinder reception from the hostess city as the last trip to Savannah did not result in the outcome Mercer was hoping for.
Mercer has made four trips in all and has posted a 3-1 record in Savannah, falling in its last trip in the coastal town to Savannah State over a decade ago. The Bears have faced Savannah State in all four trips and this weekend's tournament will mark the first visit to the city for a neutral site game.
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Mercer in Savannah (3-1)
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Looking to Keep the Streak Going
Mercer's defense has been suffocating this season and that has been problematic for opponents. The Bears, ranked 14th in the nation in field goal percentage defense entering this weekend's games (34.6 percent) have not allowed an opponent to shoot 40 percent or better this season. In fact, no team has shot 37 percent or better this season on the Bears.
Opponent Shooting Success?
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Not Just a Mercer Thing, It's a SoCon Thing
Mercer's scoring defense is currently ranked 35th nationally as opponents are averaging 60.8 points per game on the Bears entering this weekend's contests but that does not seem to be limited just to the Bears. In fact, stellar scoring defenses are prevalent around the Southern Conference as, while Mercer is ranked 35th nationally, the Bears are just third in the league.
The Missouri Valley Conference (4) is the only mid-major league with more teams ranked in the top 35 nationally in scoring defense than the Southern Conference (3). Also representing the SoCon in the category is Samford (ranked 21st, 58.7 ppg) and UNCG (23rd, 58.8).
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS:
On this week's schedule:
"We have to take Wednesday off by NCAA rules and then school is out. They will get in, get some shots, stretch a little bit on their own, lift weights – all of that will be up to them. Then we will feed them really good for a couple days and take off for Savannah where we will play a hot East Carolina team who has a really good coach in Jeff Lebo. We've played against him before and his teams always play physical, a lot like the team we played (Tuesday night)."
On East Carolina:
"We were fortunate to beat one team out of the American Athletic Conference last year over Thanksgiving in Tulane in Nashville. We hope we can keep that string alive but it won't be easy. They are going to be ready for us. But I think our guys will be up to the challenge. Over the years we have been pretty good on neutral floors. We need to find a way to get that done."
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How to Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMBB (Twitter), /MercerBasketball (Facebook) and @Mercer_MBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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The Bears (3-1) face East Carolina (4-1) on Friday at 5 p.m. as part of a four-team bracket. Mercer will then face either Air Force (5-0) or Akron (3-1) Saturday evening based on Friday's results.
TOURNAMENT LINEUP
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 25 | 5 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (3-1) vs. East Carolina (4-1)
Location: Savannah, Ga. | Savannah Civic Center – MLK Arena (7,200)
Radio: Mercer Sports Network (Flagship: 97.3 FM The Bull Icons) | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB
Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | East Carolina
Tickets: Purchase Here
Series History
Mercer and East Carolina have not met since the 1977-78 season and have never faced off on a neutral court. The teams haven't met in over 38 years and even a glance at the series history couldn't give an indication on Friday's outcome; over the four all-time meetings (all at campus sites) the home team has won each time with the series split evenly at 2-2.
Bears Return to Savannah for First Time in a Decade
Savannah – dubbed "The Hostess City of the South" – will play hostess to the Bears for the first time in a decade this weekend when Mercer plays in the inaugural Savannah Invitational. But when the Bears head towards the coast, they will be looking for a kinder reception from the hostess city as the last trip to Savannah did not result in the outcome Mercer was hoping for.
Mercer has made four trips in all and has posted a 3-1 record in Savannah, falling in its last trip in the coastal town to Savannah State over a decade ago. The Bears have faced Savannah State in all four trips and this weekend's tournament will mark the first visit to the city for a neutral site game.
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Mercer in Savannah (3-1)
| Jan. 2, 2003 | at Savannah State | W | 84-66 |
| Dec. 30, 2004 | at Savannah State | W | 98-81 |
| Feb. 13, 2006 | at Savannah State | W | 77-60 |
| Nov. 14, 2006 | at Savannah State | L | 61-71 |
Looking to Keep the Streak Going
Mercer's defense has been suffocating this season and that has been problematic for opponents. The Bears, ranked 14th in the nation in field goal percentage defense entering this weekend's games (34.6 percent) have not allowed an opponent to shoot 40 percent or better this season. In fact, no team has shot 37 percent or better this season on the Bears.
Opponent Shooting Success?
| FG% | Opponent | Date |
| 36.8 | Georgia Southern | Nov. 20 |
| 36.1 | vs. Florida | Nov. 13 |
| 34.6 | Radford | Nov. 22 |
| 31.3 | Brewton-Parker | Nov. 11 |
Not Just a Mercer Thing, It's a SoCon Thing
Mercer's scoring defense is currently ranked 35th nationally as opponents are averaging 60.8 points per game on the Bears entering this weekend's contests but that does not seem to be limited just to the Bears. In fact, stellar scoring defenses are prevalent around the Southern Conference as, while Mercer is ranked 35th nationally, the Bears are just third in the league.
The Missouri Valley Conference (4) is the only mid-major league with more teams ranked in the top 35 nationally in scoring defense than the Southern Conference (3). Also representing the SoCon in the category is Samford (ranked 21st, 58.7 ppg) and UNCG (23rd, 58.8).
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS:
On this week's schedule:
"We have to take Wednesday off by NCAA rules and then school is out. They will get in, get some shots, stretch a little bit on their own, lift weights – all of that will be up to them. Then we will feed them really good for a couple days and take off for Savannah where we will play a hot East Carolina team who has a really good coach in Jeff Lebo. We've played against him before and his teams always play physical, a lot like the team we played (Tuesday night)."
On East Carolina:
"We were fortunate to beat one team out of the American Athletic Conference last year over Thanksgiving in Tulane in Nashville. We hope we can keep that string alive but it won't be easy. They are going to be ready for us. But I think our guys will be up to the challenge. Over the years we have been pretty good on neutral floors. We need to find a way to get that done."
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How to Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMBB (Twitter), /MercerBasketball (Facebook) and @Mercer_MBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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