Liberty (7-8, 2-0) opens up the home portion of its conference schedule with a big game Tuesday night against UNC Asheville (9-6, 1-1). Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm.
1. Asheville opened conference play with two overtime games.
The Bulldogs lost at Radford, 80-77, before defeating Gardner-Webb, 90-85, on Saturday.
2. UNCA is the defending Big South champions.
They beat #5 Liberty, #1 High Point, and #2 Winthrop to win the conference tournament in Buies Creek, North Carolina last March.
3. The Bulldogs feature two of the top 5 scorers in the Big South.
6’3″ junior guard Ahmad Thomas ranks 3rd in the league at 16 points per game. True freshman MaCio Teague is 4th in the Big South averaging 15 points per game.
4. UNCA has won 10 straight games against the Flames.
Liberty lost all 3 meetings last year, including an 80-49 blowout in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament. The Flames’ last win over UNCA came January 27, 2011.
5. Coach McKay is 2-5 against the Bulldogs during his time at Liberty.
This includes two Big South Tournament losses to Asheville.
6. Asheville has 3 players ranked in the top 5 in the Big South in minutes played per game.
MaCio Teague, Ahmad Thomas, and Kevin Vannatta are all averaging over 32 minutes per game.
7. KenPom gives Liberty a 45% chance at winning the game.
The predicted final score is Asheville 68, Liberty 67.
