USC Upstate vs North Carolina Prediction 12/13/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The South Carolina Upstate Spartans and the North Carolina Tar Heels meet Saturday in college basketball action from SHM Memorial Center in Orangeburg. Here’s a USC Upstate vs North Carolina prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best USC Upstate vs North Carolina 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.

USC Upstate Spartans Betting Preview

The Spartans opened on a 3-1 run this year, losing to Cal Baptist before wins versus Fresno State, Southern Virginia and Bob Jones. USC Upstate would go just 1-4 in the next five games, beating NC Central ahead of losses to UNC Wilmington, Tennessee Tech, West Georgia and Nebraska. Since then it’s been wins over Coastal Carolina and Western Carolina, giving the Spartans a 6-5 overall run across their first 11 outings this year.

In the Western Carolina matchup last weekend, the Spartans came out of halftime with a 40-38 edge. USC Upstate hit 38 more points from there in a 78-67 win. Leading the way in scoring were Mason Bendinger (six rebounds) and Karmani Gregory (six assists). Carmelo Adkins chipped in with 14 points and seven boards over 26 minutes of action on the court during the win as well.

North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Preview

Over on the North Carolina side, they kicked off the season with a series of wins. The Tar Heels took out Central Arkansas, Kansas, Radford, NC Central, Navy and Saint Bonaventure ahead of their first loss to Michigan State. Since then North Carolina has a pair of wins over Kentucky and Georgetown. Over nine games so far that gives the Tar Heels a nice 8-1 record this year.

In the Georgetown game on Sunday, the Tar Heels were up by five points at the break. North Carolina hit a 37-22 run in the second half, rolling to an 81-61 win in the end. Tops in scoring was Caleb Wilson with 20 points and 14 boards. Also doubling up was Henri Veesaar with 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Luka Bogavac had 14 points with four rebounds in the win.

USC Upstate Spartans @ North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Trends: December 13, 2025

Why the North Carolina Tar Heels will win

• USC Upstate has lost each of its last 12 road games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• North Carolina has won each of its last 10 games at Dean E. Smith Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• North Carolina has won the first half in 24 of its last 25 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the USC Upstate Spartans will win

• USC Upstate has won three of its last four games against non-Conference opponents.

USC Upstate vs North Carolina Prediction

I’ll stick with North Carolina I suppose. The Tar Heels dispatched of a decent Georgetown team pretty easily in their last game, hitting 48.3 percent from the field with a 42-33 rebounding edge and just nine turnovers. North Carolina did miss a few free throws (14-of-21 for 66.7 percent) and got outmuscled in the paint 32-26, though. The Tar Heels are looking pretty good in two games since their latest loss but they’ve been below 68 points in two of the last three outings as well.

As for USC Upstate, they handled a middling Western Carolina team pretty well themselves in their latest game. The Spartans hit 45.1 percent from the field and 24-of-30 (80 percent) from the line along the way. That makes 163 points combined over the last two games for USC Upstate, but they likely won’t score as easily on Saturday.

Andrew Jett's Pick: North Carolina Tar Heels -27.5