Longwood vs North Carolina Central Prediction 12/20/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Longwood Lancers and the North Carolina Central Eagles meet Saturday in college basketball action from McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium in Durham. Here’s a Longwood vs NC Central prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Longwood vs NC Central pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

Longwood Lancers Betting Preview

The Lancers started out the season pretty well on a 3-1 run with wins over Mary Baldwin, James Madison and Binghamton. Longwood lost four of the next five though, falling to Maryland Eastern Shore, Columbia, Siena and American. After wins over Pfeiffer and Morgan State, the Lancers lost to Delaware State to give the team a .500 run through 12 games at 6-6 overall.

In the Wake Forest game on Wednesday, the Lancers were up 34-30 by the end of the first half. Longwood was outscored 41-34 the rest of the way however, and ended up falling 71-68 in the end. Tops in scoring was Redd Thompson with 22 points and Elijah Tucker doubled up on 13 points with 10 rebounds. Johan Nziemi added 13 points with six assists and four rebounds as well.

NC Central Eagles Betting Preview

Over on the NC Central side, they lost six of their first eight games this year. Those defeats came courtesy of NC State, Virginia, App State, North Carolina, Dayton and South Carolina Upstate. After a win over Carolina U, NC Central continued to struggle with losses to James Madison, North Carolina A&T and Kentucky. That would give the team a 3-9 run over 12 games this year.

In the Wednesday matchup with Mid-Atlantic Christian, the Eagles jumped out to a 15-point edge by the break. NC Central closed on a 51-32 run from there and took the win in the end 96-62 in blowout fashion. Jae Slack posted 32 points with 11 rebounds and three assists for a double-double and Gage Lattimore added 18 points with two rebounds. Khouri Carvey put up 13 points with nine rebounds as well.

Longwood Lancers @ North Carolina Central Eagles Betting Trends: December 20, 2025

Why the North Carolina Central Eagles will win

• North Carolina Central has won 18 of its last 19 day games at McDougald-McLendon Arena following a home win.
• Longwood has lost six of its last eight games against non-Conference opponents.

Why the Longwood Lancers will win

• North Carolina Central has lost 12 of its last 13 games against non-Conference opponents.
• Longwood has won four of its last five road day games against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
• North Carolina Central has lost the first half in four of its last five home games against the Big South Conference.

Longwood vs NC Central Prediction

I’ll stick with Longwood. The Lancers were able to hang with a pretty good Wake Forest team this week, despite shooting just 35.5 percent from the field with 13 turnovers. Longwood did pretty well from the line (16-of-21 for 76.2 percent) and out-rebounded the Deacons 37-30 in the three-point loss. The Lancers have given up 71 or more points in four of the last five games, going 2-3 in that time.

As for NC Central, they cruised right past Mid-Atlantic Christian U in their last outing. The Eagles shot 53.7 percent from the field with 47 rebounds, but also hit just 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) from the line and had 16 turnovers. NC Central had scored 67 or fewer points in three straight games (all losses) prior to that victory.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Longwood Lancers TBA