South Carolina Upstate Spartans (5-14, 1-3 Big South) at Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs (7-11, 2-3 Big South)

Boiling Springs, North Carolina; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Runnin’ Bulldogs -8; over/under is 158.5

BOTTOM LINE: South Carolina Upstate visits Gardner-Webb after Mister Dean scored 25 points in South Carolina Upstate’s 93-92 loss to the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs have gone 3-2 in home games. Gardner-Webb has a 4-8 record against teams over .500.

The Spartans have gone 1-3 against Big South opponents. South Carolina Upstate ranks third in the Big South with 24.1 defensive rebounds per game led by Carmelo Adkins averaging 4.2.

Gardner-Webb’s average of 5.9 made 3-pointers per game is 2.3 fewer made shots on average than the 8.2 per game South Carolina Upstate gives up. South Carolina Upstate has shot at a 46.2% rate from the field this season, 1.3 percentage points above the 44.9% shooting opponents of Gardner-Webb have averaged.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs and Spartans match up Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Darryl Simmons II averages 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, scoring 15.8 points while shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc.

Dean is scoring 16.4 points per game and averaging 5.7 rebounds for the Spartans.

LAST 10 GAMES: Runnin’ Bulldogs: 3-7, averaging 73.4 points, 31.8 rebounds, 10.4 assists, 4.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.7 points per game.

Spartans: 3-7, averaging 71.5 points, 31.1 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 8.5 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.