Game Preview
The East Carolina Pirates will host the Mercer Bears in the season opener for both teams. The Mercer Bears finished last season 16-17 overall, and 8-10 in Southern Conference play. They are led by head coach Greg Gary who is in his fourth year and has a 51-43 record at the school.
Mercer was voted to finish seventh in both the Southern Conference media and coach’s preseason polls. The Bears bring back three starters, but their top two scorers from last season are gone. Forwards James Glisson III (10.5 ppg, 5.0 rebs) and Kamar Robertson (10 ppg, 4.3 rebs) are the top returning producers. Senior guard Jalen Cobb averaged 7.2 ppg last season for Fordham and was added through the transfer portal.
East Carolina hopes to get off to a good start early in the season. Once conference play begins, things are expected to be rocky as the Pirates were voted to finish dead last out of 11 teams in the AAC Preseason Coach’s Poll. First-year head coach Michael Schwartz will lead the squad after serving as an assistant coach for Tennessee since 2016.
The Pirates are without their top six scorers from last season, with the leading scorers back being sophomores R.J. Felton (5.1 ppg) and Brandon Johnson (4.7 ppg, 5.1 rebs. East Carolina has five freshmen in a class that was rated #110.
It’s expected that first-year head coach Grey Gary will have the Pirates locked in defensively at home. It’s also expected for East Carolina guard Wynston Tabbs to be the most dynamic player on the floor, supported by a couple of Power-5 transfers. There are so many question marks and new players on both sides, but East Carolina is set to have the upper hand here, so a Pirate win is more than likely in the season opener.
Let’s check the latest NCAAB picks, news, stats and NCAAB expert picks for Mercer vs East Carolina. We’ve plenty of NCAAB predictions for you to consider.
Mercer Bears vs East Carolina Pirates Game Information
- Date: 11/08/2022
- Time: 07:00 PM ET
- Location: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, Greenville, NC.
- How to Watch Mercer vs East Carolina: ESPN+
- Live Stream: CBS.com
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