Liberty (4-5) returns to action Saturday afternoon in the Vines Center at 2pm as they play host to Princeton (3-4).
1. The Tigers are coming off a 1-1 mark in the Pearl Harbor Invitational.
Princeton beat Hawaii, 75-62, on Wednesday after falling to California, 62-51. Both games were played in historic Bloch Arena at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
2. Princeton has faced one common opponent as Liberty, losing to VCU, 81-70, in Richmond.
Liberty fell to the Rams, 64-59, in Lynchburg on November 15th.
3. The Tigers are 3-4 on the season.
In addition to the games mentioned above, Princeton has also lost to BYU and Lehigh and defeated Lafayette and non-Division I Rowan.
4. The Flames are 0-3 all-time against Princeton.
The teams have squared off in each of the previous 3 seasons, with the Tigers winning each game by an average of 9.7 points.
5. Princeton defeated Liberty, 77-72, last year in Princeton, New Jersey.
It was John Dawson’s debut with the Flames after having to sit out the Fall semester due to NCAA transfer rules. Dawson scored 15 points in the game.
6. Princeton employs a balanced attack with 5 players averaging double figures so far this season.
6’5″ senior forward Steven Cook leads the way at 13.3 points per game.
7. KenPom gives the Flames a 23% chance at the win.
The predicted score is Princeton 72, Liberty 63.
Notable quotes:
John Dawson – “Princeton’s a very disciplined team. They play smart, they play hard, they play disciplined. That’s what we need to do. We have to out-tough them with energy and effort. Our guys got that, and then we need to out-execute them on the offensive and defensive end, rebound, and keep them off the line.”
Ryan Kemrite – “A lot of history behind Princeton basketball. It’s good we got to play William & Mary, and face the Princeton before. (Now) we’re facing the founders of it, actually running the Princeton. So, we’re going to have to be really locked in, really prepared to be able to prepare for them and the Princeton.”
Coach McKay – “We played William & Mary, they have a similar offense. We played Princeton last year. Our issue isn’t the other team, our issue is us. We’ve got to keep believing in this process. If you don’t, if you’re just wins-oriented or results-oriented, you’ll lose them. So, I know there’s some good that’s out there that’s happening, but I want better. We’ll keep working on it to get there. We have a hard schedule in the non-conference. That was intentional, but I didn’t know it would be this good. I think it’s really important for us to remember since we’re not going to get an at-large bid and there’s no one in our league that’s going to get an at-large bid, we got to keep working towards the conference season that will be real competitive. That’s our M.O., and we’ll see if we can’t get a little bit closer Saturday.”
