Liberty (1-0) plays host to VCU (1-0) for an in-state, non-conference game tonight at 8pm.
1. It’s the first time the Rams have visited the Vines Center in over 20 years.
Liberty defeated VCU in its last visit to the Vines Center, December 2, 1995, when the Flames downed the Rams 86-71 in the Vines Center. Peter Aluma led the Flames with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
2. VCU leads the all-time series, 6-1, including an 85-57 victory in the Siegel Center on December 27, 2015. 
Kemrite led all players with 17 points, while John Dawson scored 14 points in his 3rd game as a Flame.
3. Liberty and VCU both bring 1-0 records into tonight’s contest.
The Flames downed Cairn, 81-53, on Friday night, and the Rams defeated Big South opponent UNC Asheville, 80-65, Friday in Richmond.
4. Mo Alie-Cox led the Rams with 15 points and 6 rebounds in the win.
The 6’7″, 250 pound senior, averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game a season ago while shooting over 61% from the field.
5. Justin Tillman added 14 points and 6 boards against UNCA.
Tillman is a 6’7″, 220 pound junior from Detroit, Michigan.
6. The Rams started 3 seniors, 1 junior and 1 freshman in their season opener.
They brought an additional 2 seniors and 1 junior off the bench. The Flames have just 2 seniors and 2 juniors on their roster.
7. Liberty has lost 13 consecutive non-conference games against Division I opponents.
The last win came agaisnt Furman on December 1, 2014. The Flames have also lost 17 out of 18 non-conference games against Division I opponents and 20 out of 22 dating back to the 2013-14 season.
Notable quotes:
Myo Baxter-Bell – “VCU is a really good team. They’re going to try to get in the paint, touch the paint, and that’s one thing we stress is not letting teams in the paint. So, I think it’s going to be a great test for us defensively. Offensively, I think we’re really unselfish. We get in the paint. We share the ball. I think the test for us is keeping teams out the paint defensively and imposing our will.”
John Dawson – “They got off to a really good start last year against us, and they put it on us. That’s really like a nightmare replaying in my head right now, but (this time) I’m looking to go ahead and make that into a good dream and come out on top. We’re focusing on controlling what we can control. Last year we were worried about the external factors instead of controlling our defense, our tempo, our stats. We have to worry about us before we can beat anybody.”
