Saturday, December 31
Spartanburg, S.C.
1:00 PM ET
Mercer University
at
Wofford
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Opens Conference Play at Wofford Saturday
12/30/2016 8:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Out with the old and in with the new. Mercer will say goodbye to 2016 while opening up conference play when the Bears face Wofford in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Saturday at 1 p.m.
GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Saturday, Dec. 31 | 1 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (6-7, 0-0 SoCon) at Wofford (5-8, 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Spartanburg, S.C. | Benjamin Johnson Arena (3,500)
TV: ESPN3 | Watch ESPN
TV Talent: Thom Henson (play-by-play), Mark Hauser (analyst)
Radio: Mercer Sports Network (Flagship: 97.3 FM The Bull Icons) | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play)
Live Stats: Click Here
Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | Wofford
Tickets: Click Here to Purchase
Hot Starts
Hot starts seem to be all the rage for Mercer under Bob Hoffman. The Bears have won their conference opener in each of the last four seasons and could extend that streak to a fifth consecutive year with a win Saturday. Overall, Mercer is 5-3 in conference openers under Bob Hoffman. That includes a 2-0 mark in conference openers since joining the Southern Conference.
Mercer in Conference Openers under Bob Hoffman
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Home Court Advantage
As Mercer and Wofford prepare to meet for the 42nd time this New Year's Eve the Bears will be looking to buck a longstanding trend in the all-time series. To date, 80.5 percent of the games in the series have been won by the home team (33 out of 41 contests).
Sponsorship with Rolaids coming?
Because Mercer fans might need one. Mercer has already played in five one-possession games this season (posting a 2-3 record) and suffered back-to-back heartbreaking losses. The first came at Auburn on Dec. 18 as the Tigers hit an off-balance fadeaway buzzer-beater for the win. Then, four days later, La Salle edged Mercer in triple overtime (98-96) on Dec. 22. That follows a two-point loss to Akron from the Savannah Invitational. The Bears finally got back on the right track on Dec. 28 with an 80-76 win at Kennesaw State.
Tough Hoff
Entering this week's competition, Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman is at the top of the class in the Southern Conference. Of the four SoCon coaches that have been at their respective schools for five years or more (counting this current season), Hoffman leads them all with an average of 18.9 wins per year at that school. Additionally, his total wins ranks just third in the league and he is quickly catching up to Western Carolina's Larry Hunter.
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Rolling on the (Hand of) Rivers
Demetre Rivers seems to have found his groove. Entering this week's game, the junior is nationally ranked as one of the best shooters in the country and is atop the Southern Conference statistical rankings in terms of field goal percentage (based on the NCAA rankings). Based on those NCAA parameters, no other SoCon player is ranked in the top 100 nationally.
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Peachy-Keen Against In-State Competition
Entering the 2016-17 season, Mercer had won more games and more games per year over the last five years than any other Division I school in the state of Georgia. The Bears seem to be extending that streak of success against in-state schools as the Dec. 28 win over Kennesaw State put the Bears at 2-0 against Division I teams from Georgia this year.
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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GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Saturday, Dec. 31 | 1 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (6-7, 0-0 SoCon) at Wofford (5-8, 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Spartanburg, S.C. | Benjamin Johnson Arena (3,500)
TV: ESPN3 | Watch ESPN
TV Talent: Thom Henson (play-by-play), Mark Hauser (analyst)
Radio: Mercer Sports Network (Flagship: 97.3 FM The Bull Icons) | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play)
Live Stats: Click Here
Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | Wofford
Tickets: Click Here to Purchase
Hot Starts
Hot starts seem to be all the rage for Mercer under Bob Hoffman. The Bears have won their conference opener in each of the last four seasons and could extend that streak to a fifth consecutive year with a win Saturday. Overall, Mercer is 5-3 in conference openers under Bob Hoffman. That includes a 2-0 mark in conference openers since joining the Southern Conference.
Mercer in Conference Openers under Bob Hoffman
| 2016-17 | at Wofford | Dec. 31 | 1 p.m. | Southern |
| 2015-16 | Samford | W | 69-50 | Southern |
| 2014-15 | VMI | W | 90-81 | Southern |
| 2013-14 | at Jacksonville | W | 86-49 | Atlantic Sun |
| 2012-13 | Stetson | W | 70-64 | Atlantic Sun |
| 2011-12 | at Belmont | L | 78-82 | Atlantic Sun |
| 2010-11 | at Belmont | L | 67-89 | Atlantic Sun |
| 2009-10 | Lipscomb | L | 89-98 | Atlantic Sun |
| 2008-09 | USC Upstate | W | 74-64 | Atlantic Sun |
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Home Court Advantage
As Mercer and Wofford prepare to meet for the 42nd time this New Year's Eve the Bears will be looking to buck a longstanding trend in the all-time series. To date, 80.5 percent of the games in the series have been won by the home team (33 out of 41 contests).
Sponsorship with Rolaids coming?
Because Mercer fans might need one. Mercer has already played in five one-possession games this season (posting a 2-3 record) and suffered back-to-back heartbreaking losses. The first came at Auburn on Dec. 18 as the Tigers hit an off-balance fadeaway buzzer-beater for the win. Then, four days later, La Salle edged Mercer in triple overtime (98-96) on Dec. 22. That follows a two-point loss to Akron from the Savannah Invitational. The Bears finally got back on the right track on Dec. 28 with an 80-76 win at Kennesaw State.
Tough Hoff
Entering this week's competition, Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman is at the top of the class in the Southern Conference. Of the four SoCon coaches that have been at their respective schools for five years or more (counting this current season), Hoffman leads them all with an average of 18.9 wins per year at that school. Additionally, his total wins ranks just third in the league and he is quickly catching up to Western Carolina's Larry Hunter.
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| Coach | School | Years | Wins | Wins/Year |
| Bob Hoffman | Mercer | 9 | 170 | 18.9 |
| Mike Young | Wofford | 15 | 237 | 15.8 |
| Larry Hunter | Western Carolina | 12 | 176 | 14.7 |
| Wes Miller | UNCG | 6 | 68 | 11.3 |
Rolling on the (Hand of) Rivers
Demetre Rivers seems to have found his groove. Entering this week's game, the junior is nationally ranked as one of the best shooters in the country and is atop the Southern Conference statistical rankings in terms of field goal percentage (based on the NCAA rankings). Based on those NCAA parameters, no other SoCon player is ranked in the top 100 nationally.
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| Rank | Name, Team | Cl | Ht | Pos | G | FGM | FGA | FG% |
| 42. | Demtre Rivers, Mercer | Jr. | 6-8 | G | 13 | 66 | 116 | 56.9 |
| 114. | Zane Najdawi, The Citadel | So. | 6-7 | F | 14 | 77 | 151 5 | 1.0 |
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Peachy-Keen Against In-State Competition
Entering the 2016-17 season, Mercer had won more games and more games per year over the last five years than any other Division I school in the state of Georgia. The Bears seem to be extending that streak of success against in-state schools as the Dec. 28 win over Kennesaw State put the Bears at 2-0 against Division I teams from Georgia this year.
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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Players Mentioned
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