Liberty (19-13, 14-4 Big South) opens play in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament Monday night against Norfolk State (17-16, 12-4 MEAC). Tip is scheduled for 7pm in the Vines Center. The game will be televised live via Facebook Live.
1. This is Liberty’s 5th all-time postseason tournament appearance as a Division I member.
It’s the program’s first appearance since the 2013 NCAA Tournament, and 2nd appearance in the CIT having advanced to the quarterfinals of the event in 2009.
2. Monday night’s game is the 2nd annual Coach John McLendon Classic.
The CIT began the event a year ago to honor Coach McLendon, and at least one historical black college or university is paired with another team in this event.
3. A win would clinch Liberty’s first 20 win season since the 2008-09 season.
The Flames have 5 previous 20 win seasons in program history with just 3 of those coming at the DI level.
4. The Spartans lost to North Carolina Central in the MEAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday.
After defeating South Carolina State and Howard to advance to the championship game, Norfolk State was unable to knock off the top seed NC Central to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
5. Norfolk State won 10 straight games from January 16-February 18.
The were 11-2 in MEAC play at the end of their winning streak, and just 1 game behind first place NC Central. The Spartans lost 2 of their last 3 games to conclude the regular season at 15-15 and 12-4 in the MEAC.
6. NSU has just 1 non-conference Division I win this season.
They defeated Eastern Kentucky in overtime back in December, but was just 1-11 against non-conference Division I opponents.
7. Jonathan Wade leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game.
The 6’4″, redshirt-senior guard also averages 6.8 rebounds per game.
8. Former Liberty signee Stavian Allen plays for the Spartans.
We’ll give you a bonus thing to know with this matchup, as 6’7″ forward Stavian Allen plays for Norfolk State after signing with Liberty. In November of 2013, Allen signed with former Liberty head coach Dale Layer. He was not eligible academically for the 2014-15 season, and enrolled at Tallahassee Community College. In his first season with Norfolk State, Allen is averaging 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in 26 games played.
