UNC-USC Upstate Preview: Tuneup for Tar Heels

No. 14 North Carolina (8-1) vs. USC Upstate (6-5)
Chapel Hill, N.C. — Smith Center
Saturday, Dec. 13 — 2 p.m.
The CW (Tom Werme, Mike Gminski)

Quotables 
“I believe that we have the ability to really shoot the basketball… More and more teams are doubling, holding Henri and obviously Caleb, in a way that we handled it and passed the ball out to the perimeter, made the extra pass. I thought even when we missed it, I felt like we made the right play.” — Hubert Davis after Sunday’s win over Georgetown

“I want to win. I know they want to win. (My teammates) know I’m not mad at them, and it’s just love for the game, love for the team… I feel like I wasn’t even playing angry, just playing with emotion and heart, and having passion for the game.” — Henri Veesaar after the Georgetown game 

Pregame Notes

Frontcourt Duo Powers Tar Heels past Hoyas: North Carolina handled business in its first game back in the Smith Center since mid-November, defeating Georgetown 81-61 on Sunday evening. UNC’s frontcourt of Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar continued to dominate, combining for 38 points and 29 rebounds, while the Tar Heel defense held the Hoyas to 8-of-36 (22.2%) shooting in the second half. 

The Tar Heels didn’t have a midweek game due to the University’s final exam schedule — a break that affords Seth Trimble to continue to progress well from his broken arm, according to Davis, and is likely to return later this month. 

Looking at USC Upstate: Picked to finish last in the Big South preseason poll, South Carolina Upstate has exceeded early expectations with a 6-5 record. This includes a notable 67-66 win at Fresno State and a 5-1 record at home. The Spartans also challenged Nebraska, which is ranked No. 23 with a 10-0 record, falling by single digits on the road, 72-63.

North Carolina and USC Upstate both faced N.C. Central this season. UNC recorded its largest win of the year against the Eagles, 97-53, while the Spartans defeated Central, 82-67. 

Head coach Marty Richter is in his second season leading Upstate. Before arriving in Spartansburg, Richter spent six years as an assistant coach under Darian DeVries at Drake, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Stout Rim Protection and Three-Guard Scoring Attack: Despite having only three players taller than 6-foot-6, USC Upstate has exhibited elite rim protection. The Spartans average 5.5 blocks per game — the 18th-best mark in the nation — helping hold opponents to under 70 points per game this season and notch a top-50 opponent field goal percentage (39.6).

Offensively, the Spartans are led by a trio of dynamic guards in Mason Bendinger, Karmani Gregory and Carmelo Adkins, who combine for 45 points per game. Bendinger leads the group with a scoring average of 16.1 points on an efficient 51.1 percent field goal percentage, while Gregory plays a more traditional point guard role and tallies three assists a game to go along with his 15.1 points. 

Perhaps the most dangerous of the three, Adkins adds 14.7 points per game off the bench and provides the most explosive perimeter threat. He shoots the three at a 42 percent clip and has drilled two or more 3-pointers in seven of his eleven games this season, including a career-best against Southern Virginia, where he made seven threes. 

UNC has held opponents below 30 percent from beyond the arc this season, and held Georgetown to 1-for-14 (7.1%) from three in the second half on Sunday. Still, the Tar Heels will have to prioritize guarding Adkins, who poses the most potent threat within USC Upstate’s three-headed scoring attack. 

Last Meeting: North Carolina will face USC Upstate for the first time in program history. The Spartans moved to Division I in 2007, competing in the A-Sun conference for 11 years before joining the Big South in 2018. 

UNC has already played one Big South opponent this season, defeating Radford 89–74. 

Projected UNC Starters: 
0 Kyan Evans (Jr., 6-2, 175) — 7.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4 apg
8 Caleb Wilson (Fr., 6-10, 215) — 19.3 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 2.4 apg
13 Henri Veesaar (Jr., 7-0, 225) — 16.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.6 bpg
15 Jarin Stevenson (Jr., 6-10, 215) — 6.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg
44 Luka Bogavac (Jr., 6-6, 215) — 12.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.0 apg

Projected USC Upstate Starters:
0 Tyler Smith (Jr., 6-0, 152) – 4.6 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.0 spg
1 Karmani Gregory (Jr., 6-1, 175) – 15.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3 apg
7 Coen Collier (Jr., 7-1, 226) – 1.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 bpg
9 Mason Bedinger (Jr., 6-4, 210) – 16.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg
11 Learic Davis (Jr., 6-6, 195) – 8.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 1.0 spg

Top Upstate Reserves: 
4 Carmelo Adkins (So., 6-4, 185) – 14.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 42% 3FG
12 Jafeth Martinez (Jr., 6-9, 238) – 4.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg

UNC Info:
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats

USC Upstate Info:
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats