USC Upstate vs UNC Asheville Prediction 1/15/25 College Basketball Picks

The USC Upstate Spartans and the UNC Asheville Bulldogs meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Kimmel Arena. Here’s a USC Upstate vs UNC Asheville prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best USC Upstate vs UNC Asheville pick. We will examine:

The USC Upstate Spartans’ recent form and player performance

The UNC Asheville Bulldogs’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the USC Upstate Spartans

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UNC Asheville Bulldogs

Recent betting trends in games played between USC Upstate and UNC Asheville

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the USC Upstate vs UNC Asheville game

USC Upstate Spartans Betting Preview

It’s been a tough campaign for the Spartans, to put it mildly. USC Upstate has won consecutive outings just once this year and they’re struggling. During a 2-8 start, the Spartans fell versus NC State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, UNC Wilmington, East Tennessee State, Queens, Iowa, and Coastal Carolina. Following victories over Brevard and Western Carolina, USC Upstate fell to South Carolina, South Carolina State, Youngstown State, and Winthrop before another win over Presbyterian. Following another loss to Radford, the Spartans were stuck with a rough 5-13 record over their first 18 games of the season.

In the Radford matchup over the weekend, USC Upstate opened up the first half with a 41-35 deficit. The Spartans didn’t end up getting any closer in the second with a 39-32 run, eventually falling 80-67. Mister Dean led the team in the defeat, coming off the bench to contribute 16 points with three assists and two rebounds. Carmelo Adkins added 12 points with seven rebounds, and Breylin Garcia had 12 points with seven boards and two blocks.

UNC Asheville Bulldogs Betting Preview

Over on the UNC Asheville side, their season has gone markedly better—though it was a tough start to begin with. The Bulldogs lost to Alabama, Ohio, Central Arkansas, and George Mason during a 3-4 opening run alongside wins over North Florida, SEMO, and Tennessee State. Since then it’s been a solid 8-2 stretch with losses to only UNC Wilmington and Longwood. The wins otherwise have come courtesy of St. Andrews, Bluefield U, Western Carolina, North Florida, Virginia-Lynchburg, Columbia International, High Point, and Presbyterian for an 11-6 record.

In the Presbyterian game on Saturday, the Bulldogs held a 45-44 edge in the locker room. UNC Asheville put up a 51-43 stretch in the second for a 96-87 victory in the end. Tops in scoring with 30 points, three steals, and four rebounds was Jordan Marsh. Toyaz Solomon added 18 points with seven boards and four assists, while both Fletcher Abee (two rebounds) and Josh Banks (one assist) contributed 16 points apiece. Leading the team off the bench was Connor Dubsky with five points in seven minutes of work on 5-of-6 from the field.

Why the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs will win

• North Carolina-Asheville has won each of its last 16 night games at Kimmel Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• USC Upstate has lost nine of its last 10 road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• USC Upstate has lost the first half in 10 of its last 11 road games.

USC Upstate vs UNC Asheville Prediction

I’ll probably just stay with UNC Asheville in this one. The Bulldogs took care of a middling Presbyterian team quite well in their last outing, securing 56.4 percent shooting with just seven turnovers. UNC Asheville was quite permissive on defense with 59.2 percent shooting allowed but did score a nice 22 points on 17 Blue Hose turnovers. That makes 74 or more points in 10 straight games for UNC Asheville—an 8-2 overall run.

As for USC Upstate, they didn’t shoot too badly (45.8 percent) in their latest loss to Radford but did give up 15 turnovers for 15 Highlanders points. The Spartans have scored pretty well themselves lately, with 67 or more points in four of the last five games. USC Upstate is just 1-4 in that quintet, however, as they’re giving up a lot of points on the other side. I like UNC Asheville to take advantage here and cover.

Andrew Jett's Pick: UNC Asheville Bulldogs -12.5