Liberty begins its quest for its 4th Big South Tournament Championship on Thursday afternoon at 3:30 against 6-seed Radford. The game will be carried on ESPN3. Here’s what you need to know about the game:
1. The Highlanders ended the regular season with a 13-17 overall record and 8-10 mark in the Big South.
This is their first losing season since the 2012-13 year.
2. Radford has won 4 of their last 6 games.
They are coming off a 3 point loss at Campbell on Saturday, but prior to that had won 4 out of 5 with their only loss coming at Gardner-Webb.
3. The Flames swept the regular season series against the Highlanders.
Liberty won in overtime, 71-64, in Radford on January 14th, and AC Reid’s banked in 3 pointer at the buzzer helped beat the Highlanders, 57-54, in Lynchburg on February 4th.
4. Radford leads the Big South in rebounding margin.
The Highlanders out rebound their opponents by 5 boards per game. Liberty is 9th in the conference in rebounding margin, only ahead of Longwood, being out rebounded by 5.1 boards per game.
5. Ed Polite, Jr leads the Big South with 9.7 rebounds per game.
He’s also Radford’s top scorer at 11.7 points per game.
6. The Flames are 1-2 all-time in the Tournament against Radford.
The last meeting came in the 2003 semifinals in the Vines Center, with the Highlanders pulling off the 55-52 victory. Liberty beat Radford in the 1997 semifinals and lost to the Highlanders in the 1993 quarterfinals.
7. Liberty has lost 3 straight Big South Tournament games.
The Flames have lost in each of the past 2 seasons in the first round against UNC Asheville and lost to Winthrop in the first round in 2014. Liberty has not win a Big South Tournament game since it reeled off 4 straight to win the 2013 Tournament Championship.
