Mercer pays a visit to Denver on Wednesday, hoping to send the Pioneers to a loss while covering the college basketball spread at Magness Arena.

The Pioneers sit at 1-5 (0-5 ATS) on the season. By comparison, the Bears are currently 4-4 (0-3 ATS). Looking to wager on the totals? Denver is 2-1 OU, and Mercer is 2-0 OU.



View Mercer vs Denver Odds and Stats.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Odds Shark Power Rankings have the Pioneers at No. 264 and the Bears at No. 66 heading into this contest. Handicapping models at Odds Shark project a 66-53 result in favor of the Bears.



How They Match Up:
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and Denver has the nation's No. 321-rated offensive output, at 58 PPG. The visiting Bears defense ranks No. 9 allowing on average 53.4 PPG. The Pioneers FG% has averaged 38.1% so far, less than the Bears marksmen have achieved on the year, 41.3% per game.

Defensively, Mercer features the nation's No. 89-rated defense on the road, allowing 64.5 points per game. Denver, meanwhile, comes in at No. 305 nationally in scoring at home.

Mercer won its last outing, a 61-56 result against Florida State on December 2. Travis Smith scored 13 points leading the Bears to a 61-56 victory over Florida State at Tucker Center on Sunday.

Denver was a 71-58 loser in their most recent outing on the road against Stanford. They failed to cover the 11.5-point spread as underdogs. Denver suffered a 71-58 loss against Stanford on Sunday, getting 17 points from Royce O'Neale in a losing effort at Maples Pavilion.


Denver Pioneers Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 3-7
After playing Stanford are 1-2
After a loss are 6-4

A few Bears at Pioneers trends to consider:
Denver is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games at home
Denver is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games


Next up:
Mercer home to Alabama A&M, Saturday, December 8
Denver home to Nebraska Omaha, Saturday, December 15