Liberty (20-13, 14-4 Big South) faces Samford (20-15, 8-10 Southern Conference) Monday night at the Vines Center in the 2nd round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Tip is scheduled for 7pm. The game will be televised live via Facebook Live.
1. The Bulldogs defeated Canisius, 78-74, in the first round of the CIT Tuesday night.
The win clinched Samford’s first 20 win season since the 2005-06 season which was also the last time they had a winning record.
2. Samford lost to ETSU in the semifinals of the SOCON Tournament.
East Tennessee State went on to win the tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Florida in the first round.
3. The Bulldogs are led by 3rd year head coach Scott Padgett.
Padgett starred with the Kentucky Wildcats in the late 1990s. He then went on to play in the NBA for nearly a decade. Padgett is 47-53 in his 3rd season at Samford.
4. Samford is led by 6’5″ guard Demetrius Denzel-Dyson.
Denzel-Dyson is a transfer from UMass. In his first season with the Bulldogs, he leads the team in scoring at 16 points per game while shooting 46.6% from 3. Denzel-Dyson was named 3rd team All-Socon.
5. Wyatt Walker was also named 3rd team All-Socon.
The 6’9″ sophomore center is averaging 13 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
6. The Flames are 0-4 all-time against Samford.
The teams haven’t faced each other since the 1990-91 season.
7. Liberty is 0-12 this season against teams ranked in the top 175 of KenPom.
The Bulldogs enter the game ranked #154. The KenPom projected score is Liberty 67, Samford 66 with the Flames having a 52% chance at the win.
