USC Upstate vs Gardner Webb Prediction 1/18/25 College Basketball Picks

The South Carolina Upstate Spartans and the Gardner Webb Bulldogs meet Saturday in college basketball action from Paul Porter Arena. Here’s a USC Upstate vs Gardner Webb prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best USC Upstate vs Gardner Webb pick. We will examine:

The South Carolina Upstate Spartans’ recent form and player performance

The Gardner Webb Bulldogs’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the South Carolina Upstate Spartans

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Gardner Webb Bulldogs

Recent betting trends in games played between USC Upstate and Gardner Webb

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

South Carolina Upstate Spartans Betting Preview

South Carolina Upstate hasn’t had a very good year so far—and that’s putting it gently. The Spartans have just one instance of consecutive wins, taking out Brevard and Western Carolina in early December. USC Upstate lost to NC State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, UNC Wilmington, East Tennessee State, Queens, Iowa, and Coastal Carolina in their first 10 games prior to those wins. Since then it’s been a 1-6 run with a lone win over Presbyterian mixed among losses to South Carolina, South Carolina State, Youngstown State, Winthrop, Radford, and UNC Asheville, giving the Spartans a rough 5-14 overall record through their first 19 games this year.

In the UNC Asheville matchup back on Wednesday, the Spartans came out of halftime looking up at a 49-46 advantage on the scoreboard. USC Upstate was outscored 47-43 the rest of the way, however, resulting in a tough loss of 93-92 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Mister Dean with 25 points and 11 boards for a double-double. Brit Harris wasn’t far behind with 23 points, six assists, and two steals, while Karmani Gregory finished on 14 points, nine assists, five rebounds, and three turnovers in 37 minutes of work on the court in the loss.

Gardner-Webb Bulldogs Betting Preview

Over on the Gardner-Webb side, they’ve had a couple of brief runs this year, but otherwise, it’s been a struggle for them as well. The Bulldogs opened on a 4-3 record with wins over NC Central, Elon, SE Louisiana, and Bethune-Cookman amid losses to Tennessee, Pittsburgh, and Charlotte. A losing streak ensued afterward with losses to Belmont, Wofford, NC Central, Queens, and Georgia Southern, then a 3-1 run with a loss to Charleston Southern amid wins over East Carolina, Presbyterian, and Winthrop. In the last two games, the Bulldogs have fallen to High Point and Radford, giving them a rough 7-11 overall record so far this season.

Matched up against Radford in Wednesday’s game, the Bulldogs entered the locker room with a 36-31 edge. Gardner-Webb faltered on a 48-39 run the rest of the way, however, losing 79-75 in the end. Darryl Simons led the team in scoring with 18 points, one assist, and one steal in 33 minutes of work. Jamaine Mann notched 16 points with four rebounds and one assist, while Pharrell Boyogueno chipped in 12 points with five boards, two assists, and two steals.

Why the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs will win

• USC Upstate has lost 10 of its last 11 day games against the Big South Conference.
• Gardner-Webb has won seven of its last eight home day games against the Big South Conference.
• Gardner-Webb has won the first half in 23 of its last 27 day games at Paul Porter Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the USC Upstate Spartans will win

• Gardner-Webb has lost three of its last four day games at Paul Porter Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.

USC Upstate vs Gardner-Webb Prediction

I’ll stick with the Bulldogs. There’s not a lot to like about this game if you’re not a fan of either team, though. Both squads are struggling. That said, Gardner-Webb didn’t play horrendously against a decent Radford squad in their last game. The Bulldogs shot a nice 48.3 percent from the field with 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) from the line in that defeat but went just 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from 3-point range and got outmuscled on the boards 33-28. Gardner-Webb has been below 64 points in three of the last five games (a 2-3 run), so it’d be nice to see a solid total here. I like the Bulldogs to pull it off, but I’m probably avoiding this one in reality.