The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 251 is Mercer basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Mercer basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 1
- Bids: 3
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 14.3
- Bids per season: 0.06
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 1
- Conference Players of the Year: 4
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 3
- Conference tournament titles: 3
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 1
Overall scoop on Mercer basketball
From one March Madness legendary story to another, we move from Georgia State to Mercer basketball.
The Bears are known for their 2014 upset of 2-seed Duke. Mercer had a 26-8 record heading into the NCAA Tournament and, after starting the season 6-4, went 20-4 the rest of the way, winning the Atlantic Sun regular season and conference tournament titles. The Bears actually needed double overtime to beat USC Upstate in the A-Sun semis, or else their famous win over Duke would have never happened. But Blue Devils fans would have a rough one, as their team, which featured Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood, and Amile Jefferson, fell, 78-71, to the 14-seeded Mercer.
Since then, Mercer has not reached the big dance but has six winning seasons, including a 19-13 record last year. However, they had two tourney appearances in 1981 and 1985 under head coach Bill Bibb, who went 222-194 in 15 seasons.
Bibb’s 1984-85 team featured Sam Mitchell, who had a lengthy pro career. Mitchell was drafted in the third round, but actually played in the Continental Basketball Association, US Basketball League, and went international for a total of four seasons. In 1989, the Minnesota Timberwolves gave him a chance, and as a 26-year-old rookie, Mitchell averaged nearly 13 points per game. He’d go on to play 13 seasons with the franchise, appearing in just short of 1,000 career games and scoring over 8,500 points.
Mercer also got some extra bonus points in our formula for their 2012 CIT championship. The Bears went 27-11 and knocked off Tennessee State, Georgia State, Old Dominion, Fairfield, and Utah State to win the postseason title.
Overall, Mercer has found a way to stay consistent in their conference and has had some fun memories to look back on. When you beat Duke in March, no one will forget you!