Mercyhurst (8-13) vs Wagner (10-8)
January 24, 2025 at 07:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Mercyhurst -1.5 — Over/Under: 119.5
The Wagner Seahawks and the Mercyhurst Lakers meet Friday in college basketball action from the MAC. Here’s a Wagner vs Mercyhurst prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Wagner vs Mercyhurst pick. We will examine:
The Wagner Seahawks’ recent form and player performance
The Mercyhurst Lakers’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Wagner Seahawks
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Mercyhurst Lakers
Recent betting trends in games played between Wagner and Mercyhurst
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Wagner vs Mercyhurst game
Wagner Seahawks Betting Preview
The Seahawks had a pretty nice run going in November and December, but otherwise, they’ve struggled quite a bit so far during the 2024-25 campaign. Wagner went just 3-4 in their first seven outings, beating Manor College, Boston U, and Springfield with losses to Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, and Georgetown otherwise. A 5-1 stretch came next with wins over Coppin State, MD Eastern Shore, NJIT, Penn State Fayette, and Penn State Scranton (and a loss to Manhattan). Since then it’s been a 2-3 run for the Seahawks with wins over Central Connecticut and St. Francis PA. The losses otherwise came versus Chicago State, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Mercyhurst for a 10-8 overall record so far this year.
In the St. Francis PA matchup, the Seahawks had a tough battle on their hands. After a 30-23 deficit in the second half, Wagner fought back through two overtime periods to preserve a 70-68 win in the end. Leading team scorer Ja’Kair Sanchez finished on 24 points with five rebounds, while Zaire Williams had 15 points with seven boards and two assists. Keyontae Lewis doubled up with 10 points and 12 rebounds as well.
Mercyhurst Lakers Betting Preview
Over on the Mercyhurst side, they got off to a pretty solid start over their first six games. The Lakers have hit the skids since then, however, and haven’t won consecutive outings since mid-November. After a 4-2 opener featuring losses to only George Washington and Columbia, Mercyhurst fell to Air Force, California, San Francisco, Lafayette, Kent State, Binghamton, and West Virginia during a 2-7 stretch. Following another win over Stonehill, Mercyhurst lost to Central Connecticut, St. Francis PA, Le Moyne, and Long Island U (with a win over Wagner) during a 1-4 stretch. The result has been an 8-13 overall run through 21 games so far.
Matched up against LIU in their Monday outing, the Lakers posted a 34-28 deficit in the first half. Mercyhurst fought back to force overtime but got outscored 13-4 in the extra period during a 72-63 defeat in the end. Leading the team in scoring during the loss was Jeff Planutis, who scored 18 points and three rebounds. Aidan Reichert added 15 points with five boards and four steals. Bernie Blunt had 13 points with three assists and two rebounds as well.
Why the Mercyhurst Lakers will win
- Wagner has lost four of its last five road games following a home win.
- Mercyhurst has won three of its last four night games following a road loss.
Why the Wagner Seahawks will win
- Wagner has won each of its last four road games against Conference opponents.
- Mercyhurst has lost four of its last five games against the Northeast Conference.
- Wagner has won the first half in eight of its last 10 night games against Conference opponents.
Wagner vs Mercyhurst Prediction
I’ll lean toward Wagner in this one. The Seahawks are coming off a gritty win over St. Francis PA, and may well be able to carry some of that momentum into this road rematch. Wagner shot just 36.7 percent from the field in their latest win but did well on the boards with a 43-39 advantage. That makes two wins in the last three games.
The last time these teams met up wasn’t that long ago: January 18 in a 69-65 road win for Mercyhurst. The Seahawks didn’t shoot terribly from the floor (41.9 percent) and had a 30-21 rebounding edge. What went wrong? Well, most of it was the 15 turnovers for 18 Lakers points. Wagner should control the glass in the road rematch here, and if they can clean up their mistakes (and maybe shoot better) I like the Seahawks to get a little revenge.