# 2018–19 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by 11th-year head coach Bob Hoffman, played their home games at Hawkins Arena on the university's Macon, Georgia campus as fifth-year members of the Southern Conference (SoCon).

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2017–18 season 19–15, 11–7 in SoCon play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to Wofford. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Grand Canyon in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals to North Texas.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2018* 8:00 p.m. | | at UAB | L 67–75 | 0–1 | Bartow Arena (3,185) Birmingham, AL |
| November 9, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Piedmont | W 105–52 | 1–1 | Hawkins Arena Macon, GA |
| November 13, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia State | L 60–62 | 1–2 | GSU Sports Arena (1,579) Atlanta, GA |
| November 16, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Martin | W 77–60 | 2–2 | Hawkins Arena (2,705) Macon, GA |
| November 20, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 80–42 | 3–2 | Hawkins Arena (2,589) Macon, GA |
| November 24, 2018* 2:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | at NC State | L 74–78 | 3–3 | PNC Arena (12,828) Raleigh, NC |
| November 27, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Brewton–Parker | W 90–65 | 4–3 | Hawkins Arena (2,374) Macon, GA |
| December 1, 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | L 69-79 | 4–4 (0–1) | McAlister Field House (765) Charleston, SC |
| December 5, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at Florida Atlantic | L 64–68 | 4–5 | FAU Arena (1,492) Boca Raton, FL |
| December 8, 2018* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia Southern | L 74–89 | 4–6 | Hawkins Arena (3,272) Macon, GA |
| December 18, 2018* 8:00 p.m., SECN | | at Florida | L 63–71 | 4–7 | O'Connell Center (8,043) Gainesville, FL |
| December 21, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Wilmington | W 77–73 | 5–7 | Hawkins Arena (2,219) Macon, GA |
| December 29, 2018* 1:30 p.m. | | vs. Harvard | L 67–71 | 5–8 | State Farm Arena (2,504) Atlanta, GA |
| January 3, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 58–71 | 5–9 (0–2) | Timmons Arena (1,753) Greenville, SC |
| January 5, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Wofford | L 74–78 | 5–10 (0–3) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (2,681) Spartanburg, SC |
| January 10, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Carolina | W 84–80 | 6–10 (1–3) | Hawkins Arena (2,521) Macon, GA |
| January 12, 2019 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | L 68–72 $^{OT}$ | 6–11 (1–4) | Hawkins Arena (3,227) Macon, GA |
| January 17, 2019 8:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Chattanooga | L 70–73 | 6–12 (1–5) | McKenzie Arena (3,769) Chattanooga, TN |
| January 19, 2019 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Samford | W 93–87 | 7–12 (2–5) | Pete Hanna Center (1,391) Homewood, AL |
| January 24, 2019 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | VMI | W 88–68 | 8–12 (3–5) | Hawkins Arena (2,376) Macon, GA |
| January 26, 2019 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | L 81–88 | 8–13 (3–6) | Greensboro Coliseum (2,928) Greensboro, NC |
| January 31, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wofford | L 67–76 | 8–14 (3–7) | Hawkins Arena (2,517) Macon, GA |
| February 2, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Furman | L 63–74 | 8–15 (3–8) | Hawkins Arena (3,027) Macon, GA |
| February 9, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | The Citadel | L 61–67 | 8–16 (3–9) | Hawkins Arena (2,185) Macon, GA |
| February 14, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | W 74–65 | 9–16 (4–9) | Ramsey Center (1,203) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 16, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at East Tennessee State | L 69–88 | 9–17 (4–10) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,146) Johnson City, TN |
| February 21, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Samford | W 65–62 | 10–17 (5–10) | Hawkins Arena (1,727) Macon, GA |
| February 23, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | W 74–69 | 11–17 (6–10) | Hawkins Arena (3,227) Macon, GA |
| February 28, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at VMI | L 71–84 | 11–18 (6–11) | Cameron Hall (833) Lexington, VA |
| March 2, 2019 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | L 47–74 | 11–19 (6–12) | Hawkins Arena (1,406) Macon, GA |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 8–11, 2019 8:30 p.m., ESPN3 | (6) | vs. (3) Furman First round | L 74–85 | 11–20 | U.S. Cellular Center (2,916) Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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