# 2013–14 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2013–14 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by sixth year head coach Bob Hoffman, played their home games at Hawkins Arena on the university's Macon, Georgia campus and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 27–9, 14–4 in A-Sun play to win the regular season A-Sun championship, shared with Florida Gulf Coast. They defeated Florida Gulf Coast in the championship game of the A-Sun tournament to be A-Sun Tournament champions and earn the conferences automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, they upset Duke in the second round before losing in the third round to Tennessee.
This was their last season as a member of the Atlantic Sun as they joined the Southern Conference in July 2014.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/08/2013* 8:00 pm, LHN | | at Texas | L 73–76 | 0–1 | Frank Erwin Center (8,108) Austin, TX |
| 11/13/2013* 7:00 pm | | Reinhardt | W 95–53 | 1–1 | Hawkins Arena (1,872) Macon, GA |
| 11/16/2013* 3:00 pm | | Seton Hall | W 77–74 $^{2OT}$ | 2–1 | Hawkins Arena (2,057) Macon, GA |
| 11/18/2013* 8:00 pm | | at Evansville | L 76–89 | 2–2 | Ford Center (3,607) Evansville, IN |
| 11/20/2013* 2:30 pm | | vs. Johnson & Wales | W 109–56 | 3–2 | Hawkins Arena (1,727) Macon, GA |
| 11/23/2013* 12:00 pm | | Yale | W 81–54 | 4–2 | Hawkins Arena (3,500) Macon, GA |
| 11/26/2013* 7:00 pm | | at Ohio | L 67–76 | 4–3 | Convocation Center (4,416) Athens, OH |
| 11/29/2013* 8:00 pm | | at Valapraiso | W 117–108 $^{3OT}$ | 5–3 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,574) Valparaiso, IN |
| 12/02/2013* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Oklahoma | L 82–96 | 5–4 | Lloyd Noble Center (9,363) Norman, OK |
| 12/07/2013* 3:00 pm | | Denver | W 64–63 $^{OT}$ | 6–4 | Hawkins Arena (1,827) Macon, GA |
| 12/16/2013* 7:00 pm | | Alcorn State | W 70–44 | 7–4 | Hawkins Arena (1,723) Macon, GA |
| 12/22/2013* 4:00 pm, CSS | | at Ole Miss | W 79–76 | 8–4 | Tad Smith Coliseum (7,794) Oxford, MS |
| 12/27/2013* 7:00 pm | | St. Andrews (NC) | W 98–56 | 9–4 | Hawkins Arena (2,117) Macon, GA |
| 12/30/2013 7:30 pm | | at Jacksonville | W 86–49 | 10–4 (1–0) | Swisher Gymnasium (912) Jacksonville, FL |
| 01/01/2014 7:30 pm | | at North Florida | L 83–89 | 10–5 (1–1) | UNF Arena (634) Jacksonville, FL |
| 01/04/2014 4:30 pm | | USC Upstate | W 62–60 $^{OT}$ | 11–5 (2–1) | Hawkins Arena (3,031) Macon, GA |
| 01/06/2014 7:00 pm | | East Tennessee State | W 73–63 | 12–5 (3–1) | Hawkins Arena (1,537) Macon, GA |
| 01/10/2014 7:00 pm, CSS | | Kennesaw State | W 83–46 | 13–5 (4–1) | Hawkins Arena (3,372) Macon, GA |
| 01/16/2014 7:00 pm | | at Northern Kentucky | W 74–58 | 14–5 (5–1) | The Bank of Kentucky Center (2,782) Highland Heights, KY |
| 01/18/2014 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lipscomb | W 87–66 | 15–5 (6–1) | Allen Arena (1,235) Nashville, TN |
| 01/23/2014 7:00 pm | | Florida Gulf Coast | W 68–55 | 16–5 (7–1) | Hawkins Arena (3,500) Macon, GA |
| 01/25/2014 3:00 pm | | Stetson | W 87–49 | 17–5 (8–1) | Hawkins Arena (3,472) Macon, GA |
| 01/31/2014 7:00 pm | | at East Tennessee State | W 90–77 | 18–5 (9–1) | ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center (3,350) Johnson City, TN |
| 02/02/2014 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at USC Upstate | L 61–80 | 18–6 (9–2) | Hodge Center (706) Spartanburg, SC |
| 02/07/2014 7:00 pm, CSS | | at Kennesaw State | W 75–68 | 19–6 (10–2) | KSU Convocation Center (3,624) Kennesaw, GA |
| 02/14/2014 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lipscomb | W 79–48 | 20–6 (11–2) | Hawkins Arena (1,872) Macon, GA |
| 02/16/2014 2:00 pm | | Northern Kentucky | W 89–67 | 21–6 (12–2) | Hawkins Arena (2,172) Macon, GA |
| 02/21/2014 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 61–75 | 21–7 (12–3) | Alico Arena (4,664) Fort Myers, FL |
| 02/23/2014 1:00 pm | | at Stetson | W 73–52 | 22–7 (13–3) | Edmunds Center (1,015) DeLand, FL |
| 02/27/2014 7:00 pm | | North Florida | L 76–79 $^{OT}$ | 22–8 (13–4) | Hawkins Arena (2,134) Macon, GA |
| 03/01/2014 1:00 pm | | Jacksonville | W 69–55 | 23–8 (14–4) | Hawkins Arena (N/A) Macon, GA |
| Atlantic Sun tournament ||||||
| 03/04/2014 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (2) | (7) Jacksonville Quarterfinals | W 85–64 | 24–8 | Hawkins Arena (N/A) Macon, GA |
| 03/06/2014 8:30 pm, CSS/ESPN3 | (2) | (3) USC Upstate Semifinals | W 78–75 $^{2OT}$ | 25–8 | Hawkins Arena (2,572) Macon, GA |
| 03/09/2014 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | at (1) Florida Gulf Coast Championship | W 68–60 | 26–8 | Alico Arena (4,702) Fort Myers, FL |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/21/2014 12:15 pm, CBS | (14 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 8 Duke Second round | W 78–71 | 27–8 | PNC Arena (16,988) Raleigh, NC |
| 3/23/2014 6:10 pm, TNT | (14 MW) | vs. (11 MW) Tennessee Third round | L 63–83 | 27–9 | PNC Arena (18,712) Raleigh, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll, (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region MW=Midwest. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||