Liberty (19-11, 14-3) wraps up the regular season with everything on the line at UNC Asheville (22-8, 14-3) Saturday afternoon at 2.
1. The Bulldogs are coming off an 81-76 loss at Gardner-Webb.
With the loss, UNCA no longer controls its own destiny for the Big South #1 seed.
2. Liberty lost to Asheville, 70-57, on January 3rd in Lynchburg.
The Flames were unable to overcome David Robertson’s hot shooting from 3 as he connected on 6 of his 9 long range attempts.
3. The Flames have lost 11 straight to the Bulldogs.
Liberty’s last win over UNCA came on January 27, 2011. The Flames’ last win in Asheville was January 2, 2011.
4. Both teams still have a chance at the #1 seed.
With a win and a little help, Asheville or Liberty could still claim the #1 seed in next week’s Big South Tournament. The #1 seed is so important because it hosts the tournament, and if the #1 seed loses in the tournament, it has an automatic bid to the NIT.
5. The winner of Saturday’s game, clinches at least a share of the Big South regular season title.
The Flames haven’t won a Big South regular season title since 2004, and has only accomplished the feat twice in school history (2004 & 1997).
6. Liberty needs just one more win this season to reach the 20 win plateau.
The Flames last won 20 games in a season during the 2008-09 season when McKay was also the head coach. Liberty has only won 20+ games in a season on 5 previous occasions and only 3 times in the school’s Division I history.
7. KenPom gives Liberty a 19% chance at the win.
The final predicted score is UNCA 70, Liberty 60.
Notable quotes:
John Dawson – “It’s just another game, like I said, I feel blessed to play in every game at Liberty, for Liberty, with Liberty. Our mindset is the same thing it always is. Defense first, outwork them, play hard, play smart, play together, play with toughness, and play with a purpose. That’s just what our mindset is, and keeping those as our foundation.”
John Dawson – “I don’t feel like there’s a monkey on our back. Yeah, they’ve beat us 4 times since I’ve been here, but all 4 times that I’ve played them, they’ve outplayed us, they’ve outworked us. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a monkey, but it is a thing we have to come ready and prepare to play harder than them.”
Coach McKay – “We’re in the last regular season game of the year and we have a chance to tie for the league championship, that’s a successful season. What we do behind that, the Big South is going to be a 1-bid league, so, it’s 3 games and it’s going to be a hard path. We’ll focus on the next 40 minutes at hand, and that’s a chance to share the league championship.”
