#1 Liberty (27-6, 13-5 CUSA) will take on #2 Jacksonville State (22-11, 12-6) on Saturday night in the CUSA Title Game.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
How to Watch
8:30 p.m. ET | Saturday, March 15
Huntsville, AL | Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center
TV: CBS Sports Network
Liberty vs Jacksonville State Odds (KenPom)
Spread: Liberty -6
Projected score: Liberty 70, Jax State 64
Liberty Projected Starters
#0 Colin Porter
Junior Guard | 5’10”, 170
9.2 ppg, 4.2 apg, 42.9% from 3
#3 Kaden Metheny
R-Senior Guard | 5’11”, 170
13.2 ppg, 38.5% from 3
#32 Jayvon Maughmer
Senior Guard | 6’6″, 205
8.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg
#25 Zach Cleveland
Junior Forward | 6’7″, 220
11.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.2 apg
#8 Owen Aquino
Junior Forward | 6’8″, 230
8.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Liberty vs Jax State History
The Gamecocks lead the all-time series, 4-3. The two teams split the season series, with both winning on their home floor. Jax State won, 72-61, on Feb. 1 in Alabama, and Liberty won, 59-55, on Feb. 27 in Virginia.
Liberty vs Jax State Storylines
TOP TEAMS ADVANCE TO FINALS
Top-seeded and CUSA regular season champion Liberty will meet No. 2 seed Jacksonville State in Saturday’s CUSA Championship title game. After rolling to a comfortable win over UTEP in the Quarterfinals on Wednesday, the Flames overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat No. 4 Kennesaw State, 81-79, in Friday’s semifinal round. Kaden Metheny scored 24 points on 7 of 13 shooting from long distance in the comeback win while Colin Porter added 15 points and 5 boards.
For the Gamecocks, they defeated No. 10 seed FIU, 65-56, on Wednesday in the Quarterfinals. In the Friday Semifinals against No. 3 seed Middle Tennessee, Jax State got a pair of free throws from freshman guard Quel’Ron House with 22 seconds remaining to give the Gamecocks the two-point lead, then they got a big defensive stop, keeping the Blue Raiders from even attempting a shot on the final possession. House finished with a career best 20 points while CUSA Player of the Year Jaron Pierre scored 14 of his 19 points in the 2nd half.
These two teams have been at the top of the CUSA standings for much of the conference season with Liberty overtaking Jax State in the final two weeks of the regular season for the regular season title. The teams split the regular season series, with both teams winning at home. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 4-3, but this is the first time the two have met in a conference tournament game.
LIBERTY AIMING TO GET BACK TO BIG DANCE
Under head coach Ritchie McKay, the Flames have become a fixture in the conference championship race three different conferences now – the Big South, ASUN, and CUSA. Saturday, McKay and Liberty will be making their sixth conference title game appearance in the last eight years. The Flames have nine total titles (three tournament, six regular season crowns) over the last seven years. Liberty is 3-2 in their previous five conference title games during this span.
Liberty won three straight automatic berths to the Big Dance through the ASUN in 2019, 2020 (NCAA Tournament cancelled due to COVID), and 2021. Since that three-peat, the Flames have been in the mix but came up just short on getting back to the NCAA Tourney including just a one-point loss to Kennesaw State in the 2023 ASUN Championship. With a win Saturday night, the Flames will stop that streak of three years missing the Tournament and will be dancing once again.
FLAMES ON REVENGE TOUR
Speaking of that three year absence from the Big Dance, Liberty has been on somewhat of a revenge tour in Huntsville this week. Last year, it was UTEP who eliminated the Flames in the CUSA Quarterfinals. Liberty defeated the Miners in this year’s Quarterfinals on Wednesday. Two years ago, the Flames lost a heart-breaker to Kennesaw State in the final. Liberty got a bit of a payback for that loss on Friday with a 14-point comeback win in the Semifinals.
In 2022, with Liberty looking for a four-peat, it was Bellarmine who upset the Flames on their home floor in the ASUN Semifinals, but Jacksonville State was the team that kept Liberty from reaching the NCAA Tournament. Earlier that season on January 29th, the Gamecocks stopped Liberty’s 45-game home winning streak. That win ultimately ended up helping Jax State to the Tourney as they finished one game ahead of the Flames in the regular season standings. Bellarmine would go on to win the ASUN Tournament that season, but, as a transitioning Division II member, the Knights were ineligible to play in the NCAA Tournament. The ASUN awarded their automatic bid to Jacksonville State as the regular season champ. Now, the Flames have a chance to pull the ultimate revenge tour on Saturday night against the Gamecocks.
