Coach McKay and the Flames are in St. Petersburg, Florida as they look to rebound from Tuesday night’s loss at Alabama. Liberty returns to action Friday at noon against Alabama State and will then play at 2:30 Saturday against either Austin Peay or Campbell.
The Liberty women’s team is also participating in the St. Pete Shootout. They face UCF Friday and Duquesne Saturday, both games are 5pm scheduled tips.
This will be the 2nd straight season Liberty faces Alabama State, having defeated them last season, 87-80, in the New Orleans Shootout. The Hornets went 8-23 last season with an 8-10 mark in the SWAC. They are currently 2-7 this season with both of their wins coming against non-Division I opponents. Alabama State is currently ranked 333rd in KenPom with losses to top 100 teams Iowa State, South Dakota State, Iowa, and Utah State. Their closest loss was by 10 points at Boise State. All 7 of their games against Division I teams have come on the road.
The Flames will then face either Austin Peay or Campbell, who meet on Friday, depending on the outcome of both games.
Austin Peay went 19-15 and 12-6 in the OVC last season in head coach Matt Figger’s first season with the Governors, a season he was named the OVC Coach of the Year. The Flames are 1-1 all-time against Austin Peay. They are 6-4 on the season and ranked 169 by KenPom and are winners of 4 straight. Austin Peay and Campbell faced each other previously this season, on November 18th, with Campbell winning, 78-72.
If the Flames and Camels meet, it will mark the first time Liberty has met a Big South school since joining the ASUN. Following two Campbell wins over the Flames during the regular season last year, Liberty eliminated the Camels in the Big South Tournament quarterfinals, 73-59. Kevin Anderson, in his first season as an assistant coach at Liberty, was at Campbell last year as an assistant director of basketball operations. The Flames are 18-13 all-time against Campbell. Chris Clemons leads the country in scoring at 31 points per game. Campbell is 5-5 on the year and ranked 238 by KenPom.
There will be no video stream of this weekend’s games, so be sure to follow along on the radio with Alan York. We will also be providing updates on twitter and on the website following the games.
