UNC Asheville (15-6) vs Radford (14-8)
January 29, 2025 at 06:30 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: UNC Asheville -2.5 — Over/Under: 148
The Radford Highlanders and the UNC Asheville Bulldogs meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Kimmell Arena. Here’s a Radford vs UNC Asheville prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Radford vs UNC Asheville pick. We will examine:
The Radford Highlanders’ recent form and player performance
The UNC Asheville Bulldogs’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Radford Highlanders
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Recent betting trends in games played between Radford and UNC Asheville
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Radford vs UNC Asheville game
Radford Highlanders Betting Preview
The Highlanders opened up the season on a pretty nice run through their first 11 games, but it’s been a sketchy stretch since mid-December. Radford lost to only Pitt and Clemson in their first 11 outings, beating William & Mary, Old Dominion, Evansville, Southern Virginia, Chicago State, Fort Wayne, St. Francis PA, NC Central, and Bucknell otherwise in that time. The Highlanders would go 1-4 in the next five with losses to Utah, Colorado State, South Carolina, and High Point. Since then it’s been a 4-2 run with losses to Charleston Southern and Longwood alongside wins over Winthrop, USC Upstate, Gardner-Webb, and Presbyterian, giving Radford a 14-8 overall run through 22 games so far.
In the Presbyterian game over the weekend, the Highlanders held a 44-27 edge at the break. Radford was outscored 42-38 the rest of the way but held on for the win 82-69 without too much difficulty. Tops in scoring was Jarvis Moss with 24 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Truth Harris added 15 points with two rebounds and one assist as well.
UNC Asheville Bulldogs Betting Preview
Over on the Bulldogs’ side, they came out of the gate this year on a spotty run themselves, but to their credit, UNC Asheville has cleaned up their act since early December. The first seven games were a 3-4 run featuring losses to Alabama, Ohio, Central Arkansas, and George Mason. A 7-1 run came next with wins over St. Andrews, Bluefield University, Western Carolina, North Florida, Virginia Lynchburg, Columbia International, and High Point. Following a loss to Longwood, UNC Asheville has since taken out Presbyterian, USC Upstate, Winthrop, Gardner-Webb, and Charleston Southern for a 15-6 record so far through the first 21 games this year.
Matched up against Charleston Southern in their Saturday outing, the Bulldogs hit a 38-22 edge in the first half. UNC Asheville posted a 39-31 deficit the rest of the way but still powered out the victory 69-61 in the end. Jordan Marsh led the team with 28 points, four steals, three rebounds, and two assists. Toyaz Solomon put up 13 points with five rebounds as well.
Why the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs will win
- North Carolina-Asheville has won each of its last 17 night games at Kimmel Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Radford has lost four of its last five games at Kimmel Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Radford has lost the first half in each of its last five night games.
Why the Radford Highlanders will win
- North Carolina-Asheville has lost the first half in each of its last three night games against the Big South Conference.
Radford vs UNC Asheville Prediction
I’ll probably just stay with Radford. This should be a fun matchup, though. The Highlanders notched a nice shooting outing versus a middling Presbyterian team in their last outing, hitting 59.6 percent from the field with 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from 3-point range. Radford stayed competitive on the boards 25-25 and had just nine turnovers in the road win also. During this current 4-2 run, the Highlanders have notched 74 or more points in five of the six games, and 79 or more in all four wins.
As for UNC Asheville, they’re sitting on a nice five-game win streak right now. The Bulldogs scored 93 or more points in the first three installments of that run, but they’ve since cooled with fewer than 70 points in each of the last two outings. That said, UNC Asheville is coming back home after four road games in the past six overall, so the home environment should help. It’s close, but I think Radford can eke one out on the road here. It should be a good one.