Liberty (29-4, 15-3) vs. Lipscomb (16-15, 11-7)
Lynchburg, Virginia – Vines Center (8,500 capacity)
Sunday, Mar. 8, 3:00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN
Radio: Alan York will have the Liberty radio network call on 107.5 FM in Lynchburg or also streaming online.
Last Meeting: Liberty defeated Lipscomb in Lynchburg, 67-60, on January 18th and Lipscomb won in Nashville, 77-71, on February 29th.
Series History: Lipscomb leads 4-3.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 10.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.7 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 6.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 15.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.4 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 10.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.4 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 4.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 2.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.5 apg

Projected Lipscomb Starters:

0 KJ Johnson (Fr., 6-1, 154) – 11.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.8 apg
1 Greg Jones (So., 6-3, 195) – 8.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.6 apg
2 Andrew Fleming (Sr., 6-5, 205) – 9.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.5 apg
3 Michael Buckland (Sr., 6-5, 197) – 10.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 apg
23 Ahsan Asadullah (So., 6-8, 265) – 18.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 4.0 apg

Top Lipscomb Reserves:

13 Parker Hazen (Jr., 6-7, 201) – 4.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.9 apg
25 Miles Miller (Fr., 6-2, 168) – 3.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.3 apg
12 Carson Cary (Fr., 6-0, 158) – 3.1 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 0.3 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • Liberty is playing in its 3rd straight conference championship (Big South in 2018) and second straight in the ASUN.
  • The Flames are hosting a conference title at home for the first time since 2004 (Defeated High Point 89-44)
  • Liberty has never won back-to-back conference tournament titles.
  • The Flames have tied its school record for most wins in a season (29 in 2019).
  • Liberty has won back-to-back conference regular season titles for the first time in school history.
  • For the first time in school history, Liberty ended the regular season with an undefeated record at home. The Flames have won 22 straight at home, the 6th longest in the country.
  • Liberty is one of three schools (Cincinnati & Michigan State) to have two current players with 100 career wins in Myo Baxter-Bell and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz.
  • Liberty is a 12.5 point favorite.

PREVIEW

Liberty and Lipscomb will meet in a rematch of the 2019 ASUN Championship Game. This one will be much different though as it will be played on the Flames’ home court, and the Bisons have a new head coach and new look roster.

Lipscomb is probably the hottest team in the conference, having won three straight, 8 out of 9, and 10 out of 12. During the 12 game stretch, they have two wins over North Florida and one over Liberty. The Bisons are the only team in the ASUN to defeat both Liberty and North Florida this season.

First-team all-ASUN representative Ahsan Asadullah has been a one man wrecking crew during the ASUN Tournament. In Lipscomb’s win over Florida Gulf Coast, 68-63, in the quarterfinals, Asadullah had 40 points and 14 rebounds as he made 18-of-29 field goals. In Thursday night’s 73-71 win at North Florida, he scored 27 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. He’s averaging 33.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game during the tournament.

The Bisons advanced to the championship game thanks to an upset of the 2-seed North Florida. In the back and forth game, Asadullah found a cutting Andrew Fleming who hit the game winning jumper in the lane with 3 seconds remaining. The Ospreys were unable to get a shot off. Fleming scored 26 points as he shot 12-of-16 from the floor.

“We lived first hand their offensive prowess,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said of the Bisons. “They are a very underrated defensive team. It’s the third year in a row they’ve played in a conference championship game and same for us. I’m not sure how much of an advantage it is. Our advantage is we’re playing in the Vines, hopefully that crowd will be worth a few more points like they were (Thursday night).”

The Flames and Bisons have split the regular season series, each winning on their own home floor. Liberty won, 67-60, in Lynchburg on January 18th while Lipscomb got the win last Saturday, 77-71. In that game, the Bisons made its first 10 field goals as they jumped out to a 23-point lead at 29-6 midway though the first half. The Flames responded with a 13-0 run to get back into the game but could never get over the hump.

“It’s two teams that deserve to be here,” said McKay. “I’m excited to see the result on Sunday.”

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 72, Lipscomb 58