East Tennessee State hosts Mercer following Okojie's 22-point performance

Mercer Bears (8-6, 0-1 SoCon) at East Tennessee State Buccaneers (9-5, 1-0 SoCon)

Johnson City, Tennessee; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Buccaneers -5.5; over/under is 151.5

BOTTOM LINE: Mercer visits East Tennessee State after Baraka Okojie scored 22 points in Mercer's 74-72 loss to the Furman Paladins.

The Buccaneers are 7-1 in home games. East Tennessee State averages 78.2 points and has outscored opponents by 12.0 points per game.

The Bears are 0-1 in SoCon play. Mercer ranks sixth in the SoCon shooting 32.5% from 3-point range.

East Tennessee State makes 48.8% of its shots from the field this season, which is 7.3 percentage points higher than Mercer has allowed to its opponents (41.5%). Mercer averages 16.7 more points per game (82.9) than East Tennessee State allows (66.2).

The Buccaneers and Bears meet Saturday for the first time in SoCon play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brian Taylor II is averaging 14.1 points and 1.6 steals for the Buccaneers. Cam Morris III is averaging 11.8 points over the last 10 games.

Okojie is averaging 17.9 points and 5.4 assists for the Bears. Zaire Williams is averaging 12.9 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Buccaneers: 6-4, averaging 77.6 points, 32.1 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 8.9 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.2 points per game.

Bears: 6-4, averaging 83.7 points, 38.3 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 9.4 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.9 points.