# 2019–20 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by first-year head coach Greg Gary, played their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia, as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 17–15, 11–7 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to Western Carolina.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2018–19 season 11–20 overall, 6–12 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for sixth place. In the SoCon tournament, they were defeated by Furman in the first round.
On March 11, 2019, it was announced that head coach Bob Hoffman was fired. On March 26, Purdue assistant Greg Gary was announced as Mercer's next head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 29, 2019* 7:00 pm | | St. Andrews | W 86–55 | | Hawkins Arena (1,637) Macon, GA |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2019* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | at St. John's | L 79–109 | 0–1 | Carnesecca Arena (3,354) Queens, NY |
| November 8, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Columbia International | W 84–76 | 1–1 | Hawkins Arena (2,027) Macon, GA |
| November 11, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 74–62 | 2–1 | Hawkins Arena (2,373) Macon, GA |
| November 15, 2019* 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida Gulf Coast | W 84–68 | 3–1 | Hawkins Arena (2,613) Macon, GA |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | L 88–98 | 3–2 | Hanner Fieldhouse (1,421) Statesboro, GA |
| November 23, 2019* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UIC Boca Raton Beach Classic campus-site game | W 72–68 | 4–2 | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,276) Chicago, IL |
| November 26, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at St. Bonaventure Boca Raton Beach Classic campus-site game | L 51–56 | 4–3 | Reilly Center (3,218) St. Bonaventure, NY |
| December 1, 2019* 12:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | vs. Canisius Boca Raton Beach Classic | L 66–76 | 4–4 | FAU Arena (1,411) Boca Raton, FL |
| December 2, 2019* 11:00 am, CUSA.tv | | vs. Holy Cross Boca Raton Beach Classic | L 67–81 | 4–5 | FAU Arena (1,122) Boca Raton, FL |
| December 7, 2019* 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Georgia State | L 61–73 | 4–6 | Hawkins Arena (1,564) Macon, GA |
| December 16, 2019* 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at UNC Wilmington | W 72–63 | 5–6 | Trask Coliseum (2,423) Wilmington, NC |
| December 20, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Furman | L 62–64 | 5–7 (0–1) | Hawkins Arena (1,753) Macon, GA |
| December 22, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Florida Atlantic | L 50–65 | 5–8 | Hawkins Arena (1,932) Macon, GA |
| December 28, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Milligan | W 104–53 | 6–8 | Hawkins Arena (1,528) Macon, GA |
| January 1, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | L 63–72 | 6–9 (0–2) | Greensboro Coliseum (2,374) Greensboro, NC |
| January 4, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Chattanooga | W 70–61 | 6–10 (0–3) | Hawkins Arena (3,326) Macon, GA |
| January 11, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | L 71–79 | 6–11 (0–4) | Ramsey Center (2,296) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 15, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | VMI | W 72–62 | 7–11 (1–4) | Hawkins Arena (2,457) Macon, GA |
| January 18, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Samford | W 90–75 | 8–11 (2–4) | Pete Hanna Center (763) Homewood, AL |
| January 22, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Carolina | W 85–79 | 9–11 (3–4) | Hawkins Arena (2,572) Macon, GA |
| January 25, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3/Nexstar | | at VMI | W 69–66 | 10–11 (4–4) | Cameron Hall (2,400) Lexington, VA |
| January 29, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | W 71–55 | 11–11 (5–4) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,608) Johnson City, TN |
| February 1, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN3/Nexstar | | The Citadel | W 76–71 | 12–11 (6–4) | Hawkins Arena (4,072) Macon, GA |
| February 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 57–79 | 12–12 (6–5) | Timmons Arena (1,854) Greenville, SC |
| February 8, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | L 60–73 | 12–13 (6–6) | Hawkins Arena (3,472) Macon, GA |
| February 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wofford | W 70–68 | 13–13 (7–6) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,298) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 15, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | UNC Greensboro | L 55–67 | 13–14 (7–7) | Hawkins Arena (2,972) Macon, GA |
| February 19, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Samford | W 106–66 | 14–14 (8–7) | Hawkins Arena (2,972) Macon, GA |
| February 22, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Chattanooga | W 85–80 | 15–14 (9–7) | McKenzie Arena (3,146) Chattanooga, TN |
| February 26, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at The Citadel | W 73–57 | 16–14 (10–7) | McAlister Field House (1,112) Charleston, SC |
| February 29, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Wofford | W 59–47 | 17–14 (11–7) | Hawkins Arena (3,971) Macon, GA |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2020 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) Western Carolina Quarterfinals | L 56–70 | 17–15 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (5,573) Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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