The South Carolina State Bulldogs take on the Louisville Cardinals in Louisville, KY. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
Louisville is favored by -34.5 points on the spread, and the total is set at 157.5 points.
Here’s my South Carolina State vs. Louisville predictions and college basketball picks for November 3, 2025.
South Carolina State vs Louisville Prediction
My Pick: South Carolina State +34.5
My South Carolina State vs Louisville best bet is on the Bulldogs on the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
South Carolina State vs. Louisville Odds
| South Carolina State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+34.5 -110 | 157.5 -110o / -110u | OFF |
| Louisville Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-34.5 -110 | 157.5 -110o / -110u | OFF |
- South Carolina State vs Louisville spread: Louisville -34.5
- South Carolina State vs Louisville over/under: 157.5 points
South Carolina State vs Louisville College Basketball Betting Preview
South Carolina State Basketball
In 2024-25, the South Carolina State Bulldogs narrowly missed out on a trip to the Big Dance after losing by just one point (66-65) to Norfolk State in the MEAC Tournament final.
The Bulldogs entered the second half with a nine-point (34-25) lead, only for Norfolk State to climb back, tie the game and take a 10-point (61-51) lead at the two-minute mark.
Nonetheless, South Carolina State still managed to claw its way back and tie the game 65-65 with 10 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, a Caleb McCarty foul just two seconds later sent Norfolk State's Christian Ings to the foul line, where he'd sink one of two attempts.
McCarty is no longer in Orangeburg after transferring to Cal State Bakersfield. The backup forward is one of eight players who are no longer on the South Carolina State roster.
However, Bulldogs head coach Erik Martin did manage to retain sophomore point guard Jayden Johnson, who was named the conference's Preseason Player of the Year.
Martin hit the junior college ranks to bolster his squad with the likes of forward Chris Parker (Atlantic Cape Community College), guard Owen Bronston (Edison State Community College) and center Tim Okojie (St. Petersburg Junior College).
The Bulldogs' roster also includes some talented freshmen: guards Noah Treadwell (Middle Georgia Prep) and Braden Moore (Lee County High School), and forward Derwin Hodge Jr. (Peachtree Ridge High School).
With South Carolina State finishing third in the MEAC Preseason Poll, it's clear this team is ready to contend for the conference title.
Louisville Basketball
Despite finishing the regular season as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25 rankings, the NCAA committee handed Louisville a No. 8 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
However, the committee was somewhat vindicated when the Cardinals lost in the first round to a ninth-seeded Creighton team.
Nonetheless, it was a successful first-year campaign for head coach Pat Kelsey. The Cardinals enter this season ranked 11th, and you'd have to go back to 2019 to find the last time they were ranked in the preseason poll.
Kelsey will have his share of turnover to deal with, as 10 newcomers are joining his program. Guards Mikel Brown Jr. (freshman) and Ryan Conwell (senior) are highly touted, as both were named to the preseason All-ACC first team.
Brown is a five-star recruit at point guard, while Conwell averaged 16.5 points per game in his junior year at Xavier.
Both could slot into the lineup alongside the 6-foot-7 forward J'Vonne Hadley, who's the lone returning starter from a season ago.
Other transfers include guards Isaac McKneely (Virginia) and Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State). McKneely is a high-volume perimeter shooter with a career mark of 42.2% from beyond the arc, while Wooley was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year with 18.8 points per game.
Kelsey's recruitment also spanned international waters, landing junior forwards Vangelis Zougris (Greece) and Sananda Fru (Germany), along with freshman Mouhamed Camara (Senegal) in the frontcourt.
The Cardinals will hope to have a healthy Kasean Pryor available for the whole season after the forward tore his ACL just seven games into the campaign.
As a result, you can't deny that the Cardinals have put together a talented roster. The only question is how long it will take for all the parts to gel together.
South Carolina State vs. Louisville Betting Analysis
The Bulldogs are no strangers to playing top competition. Last season, they faced South Carolina (86-64), Georgia (79-72), and a 22nd-ranked Xavier team (71-68). While all three games resulted in losses, the margins suggest they can hang with the big boys in the power conferences.
It's worth noting that the MEAC champion Norfolk State managed to hang around against Florida and cover the 28.5-point spread in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
According to our Action Labs database, opposing teams fare much better against the ACC compared to other conferences when facing a line of 34.5 points or more, as they're 8-10 against the spread.
With the Cardinals having a ton of moving parts to integrate this season, I prefer to back the underdog Bulldogs, who are dealing with less turnover on their roster.
My Pick: South Carolina State +34.5
