# 2018–19 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team

The 2018–19 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina Upstate during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by first-year head coach Dave Dickerson, played their home games at the G. B. Hodge Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina as first-year members of the Big South Conference.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2017–18 season 7–25, 2–12 in ASUN play to finish in last place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Florida Gulf Coast.
After the season, USC Upstate fired head coach Kyle Perry on March 1, less than five months after being named full-time head coach of the Spartans. On March 30, the school hired former Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson for the job.
This season marked the final season for USC Upstate as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, as the school announced on November 15, 2017 that they will be moving to the Big South Conference for the 2018–19 season.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | at South Carolina | L 52–65 | 0–1 | Colonial Life Arena (10,145) Columbia, SC |
| Nov 10, 2018* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Brevard Portland Classic | W 86–43 | 1–1 | G. B. Hodge Center (781) Spartanburg, SC |
| Nov 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at VMI | L 72–78 | 1–2 | Cameron Hall (826) Lexington, KY |
| Nov 21, 2018* 10:00 pm, TheW.tv | | at Portland Portland Classic | L 56–73 | 1–3 | Chiles Center (1,249) Portland, OR |
| Nov 23, 2018* 7:30 pm | | vs. Texas State Portland Classic | L 50–82 | 1–4 | Chiles Center (1,320) Portland, OR |
| Nov 24, 2018* 5:30 pm | | vs. Cal Poly Portland Classic | L 74–75 $^{OT}$ | 1–5 | Chiles Center (1,303) Portland, OR |
| Nov 28, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Gardner–Webb | L 61–74 | 1–6 | G. B. Hodge Center (635) Spartanburg, SC |
| Dec 1, 2018* 2:00 pm | | at Western Michigan | W 71–66 | 2–6 | University Arena (1,845) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Dec 5, 2018* 7:00 pm | | at Eastern Kentucky | L 77–79 | 2–7 | McBrayer Arena (2,640) Richmond, KY |
| Dec 8, 2018* 4:30 pm | | No. 25 Furman | L 60–74 | 2–8 | G. B. Hodge Center (833) Spartanburg, SC |
| Dec 15, 2018* 4:00 pm | | South Carolina State | W 88–84 | 3–8 | G. B. Hodge Center (665) Spartanburg, SC |
| Dec 19, 2018* 11:00 am | | Truett McConnell | W 85–54 | 4–8 | G. B. Hodge Center (557) Spartanburg, SC |
| Dec 22, 2018* 12:00 pm, ACCRSN | | at NC State | L 71–98 | 4–9 | PNC Arena (14,877) Raleigh, NC |
| Dec 29, 2018* 4:00 pm | | Coker | W 89–69 | 5–9 | G. B. Hodge Center (338) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 2, 2019* 7:30 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Georgia Tech | L 63–79 | 5–10 | McCamish Pavilion (4,397) Atlanta, GA |
| Big South Conference regular season ||||||
| Jan 5, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Presbyterian | L 61–64 | 5–11 (0–1) | Templeton Physical Education Center (406) Clinton, SC |
| Jan 10, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Radford | L 72–79 | 5–12 (0–2) | G. B. Hodge Center (394) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 12, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Gardner–Webb | L 59–64 | 5–13 (0–3) | Paul Porter Arena (1,750) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Jan 16, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at High Point | L 54–71 | 5–14 (0–4) | Millis Center (1,486) High Point, NC |
| Jan 19, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Winthrop | L 72–82 | 5–15 (0–5) | G. B. Hodge Center (767) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 21, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Presbyterian | L 59–68 | 5–16 (0–6) | G. B. Hodge Center (644) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 24, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Hampton | L 70–88 | 5–17 (0–7) | Hampton Convocation Center (3,123) Hampton, VA |
| Jan 26, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Longwood | W 80–63 | 6–17 (1–7) | G. B. Hodge Center (564) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 30, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UNC Asheville | L 62–71 | 6–18 (1–8) | Kimmel Arena (1,816) Asheville, NC |
| Feb 2, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Charleston Southern | L 71–90 | 6–19 (1–9) | G. B. Hodge Center (809) Spartanburg, SC |
| Feb 9, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Campbell | L 66–82 | 6–20 (1–10) | Gore Arena (2,575) Buies Creek, NC |
| Feb 13, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UNC Asheville | L 53–57 | 6–21 (1–11) | G. B. Hodge Center (550) Spartanburg, SC |
| Feb 16, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Longwood | L 79–83 $^{OT}$ | 6–22 (1–12) | Willett Hall (1,378) Farmville, VA |
| Feb 21, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | L 60–92 | 6–23 (1–13) | CSU Field House (812) North Charleston, SC |
| Feb 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Campbell | L 73–85 | 6–24 (1–14) | G. B. Hodge Center (727) Spartanburg, SC |
| Mar 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Hampton | L 71–92 | 6–25 (1–15) | G. B. Hodge Center (717) Spartanburg, SC |
| Big South tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (11) | at (6) Charleston Southern First round | L 52–71 | 6–26 | CSU Field House (757) North Charleston, SC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||
Despite both being members of the Big South, their meeting with Gardner–Webb on November 28 will be considered a non-conference game. The game was scheduled prior to USC Upstate joining the conference. Their meeting on January 12 will be a conference game.