Mercyhurst vs Northwestern Prediction 11/3/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

In this article we will formulate a Mercyhurst vs Northwestern prediction for this College Basketball game on Monday, November 3rd at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois. Let’s take a look at the prediction for this College Basketball matchup.

Mercyhurst Lakers Betting Preview

The Mercyhurst Lakers went 15-16 (9-7) last season and they finished third in the NEC standings. Mercyhurst opened their season with 76-59 loss to George Washington, but did win the three games after that. The Lakers were 6-6 through 12 games to start the year, but didn’t play their best in the middle of the season. Mercyhurst did finish the regular season playing well, as they won seven of their last ten games, including their last two against FDU and Chicago State. The Lakers did not play in the NEC Tournament, as they are still in their transition period from D-2. Mercyhurst scored 67.9 points per game last year, which was ranked 320th, while they allowed 69.9 points against per game, which was ranked 115th. 

This season, Mercyhurst lost their top two leading scorers, which accounted for about 29 points per game. The Lakers do return Bernie Blunt III, who averaged 12.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, and Jake Lemelman, who averaged 5.4 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. 

Northwestern Wildcats Betting Preview

The Northwestern Wildcats were 17-16 (7-13) last year and they finished 12th in the Big Ten standings. Northwestern started their season with a 90-46 win over Lehigh, but followed that up with a 71-66 loss against Dayton. The Wildcats did play very well at the start of the season, as they were 10-3 through 13 games, but it started to fall apart after that. Northwestern finished the regular season playing very poorly, as they lost 12 of their last 18 games. The Wildcats did win their first game in the Big Ten tournament against Minnesota by a score of 72-64, but lost to Wisconsin by a score of 70-63 in their second game. Northwestern scored 72.4 points per game last year, which ranked 219th, while they allowed 69.2 points against per game, which ranked 85th. 

This season, Northwestern has quite a bit of production to replace from last year’s team, but they do return leading scorer, Nick Martinelli, who averaged 20.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. They do lose their second, third, and fourth leading scorers, but also return KJ Windham, who averaged 5.6 points and 2.0 assists per game. 

Why the Northwestern Wildcats will win

• Northwestern has won each of its last eight games against non-Conference opponents at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
• Mercyhurst has lost seven of its last eight road games against non-Conference opponents.

Matchup/League Facts

• Northwestern ranked T32nd among Division 1 teams for turnovers per game last season (10.0).
• Northwestern ranked 36th among Division 1 teams for turnover percentage last season (12.9%).
• Mercyhurst ranked 8th among Division 1 teams for opponent field goal attempts per game last season (51.8).
• Mercyhurst ranked 38th among Division 1 teams for opponent turnovers per game last season (14.3).

Mercyhurst vs Northwestern Prediction 

Both of these teams will have plenty of new faces to start this year, but Northwestern does have Martinelli, who is one of the better plays in the Big Ten. I expect the Wildcats to use their size to control the paint, which is going to make it very difficult for Mercyhurst to compete. We saw Northwestern dominate Lehigh to start the 24-25 season and I think we will see a similar result here. Take the Wildcats to win by a wide margin and cover the number.