The Liberty Flames (16-4, 4-3 CUSA) are back in action on Thursday night at Kennesaw State (12-8, 4-3) to continue conference play.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
Liberty at Kennesaw State How to Watch
8 p.m. ET | Thursday, Jan 30
Kennesaw, Georgia | KSU Convocation Center
TV: CBS Sports Network
Liberty at Kennesaw State Odds (KenPom)
Spread: Liberty -5
Projected score: Liberty 72, Kennesaw 68
Liberty Projected Starters
#0 Colin Porter
Junior Guard | 5’10”, 170
8.6 ppg, 4.4 apg, 45.2% from 3
#3 Kaden Metheny
R-Senior Guard | 5’11”, 170
13.4 ppg, 41.7% from 3
#32 Jayvon Maughmer
Senior Guard | 6’6″, 205
9.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg
#25 Zach Cleveland
Junior Forward | 6’7″, 220
11.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 4.9 apg
#8 Owen Aquino
Junior Forward | 6’8″, 230
9.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Liberty at Kennesaw State History
Liberty leads the all-time series, 9-2.
Liberty at Kennesaw State Storylines
FLAMES RETURN TO KENNESAW
Liberty heads back to Kennesaw for the first time since March 5, 2023. That game was in the ASUN Tournament final where Liberty lost, 67-66, on a final second free throw by the Owls. It came mere seconds after Colin Porter, as a freshman, hit a three pointer to tie the game at 66. In one of his final games in a Liberty uniform, Darius McGhee was 0 for 11 from three-point range while Kyle Rode paced the Flames with 23 points.
The Flames and Owls finished the 2023 season tied at 15-3 in first place in the ASUN Standings. Kennesaw got the tiebreaker due to winning the regular season series between the two, 1-0. The only previous game between the two teams that season was also in Kennesaw, a 88-81 Owls win on February 16. KSU used a late 16-3 run in that game to overcome a nine-point deficit in the final 7 minutes.
The Owls got the upper hand in those two games in 2023, but, prior to that, Liberty completely dominated the series against Kennesaw. The first meeting came during the 2018-19 season, Liberty’s first in the ASUN. Liberty won the two meetings that season and went on to win the first nine meetings in the series, only two of them being decided by less than 10 points.
“Anytime you lose a game of such significance, that game was for an NCAA Tournament bid and we had a really good team, that was Darius and Kyle, Colin’s first year,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “To lose that one was tough, but, in retrospect, I’m really blessed that Amir (Abdur-Rahim) got to experience the NCAA Tournament – and he went again at South Florida. We kinda developed a rivalry. We had won every time before that year. They beat us twice in a row at their place. This is a third time in a row that we’ve gone to Kennesaw, that doesn’t happen much. They’ve got a really good team. Coach (Antoine) Pettway has done a nice job. I think for us, we’ve been in the mode of just taking one day at a time, sorry for the coach speak. We realize the talent and the system is formidable that we will face.”
COTTLE, WOOLEY TOP DUO IN CUSA
Simeon Cottle and Adrian Wooley combine to form the top scoring duo in Conference USA. Cottle is a 6’2″ junior who is in his third season at Kennesaw while Wooley is a 6’5″ freshman. Cottle is averaging 18.4 points per game while Wooley is just behind him at 18.1 points per game. Cottle has posted 12 straight double figures scoring games including four 20-point games and another 30-point output. Wooley has reached the 20-point mark eight times in the past 11 games including a season-high 32.
Those two lead the way but the Owls have a talented group behind them, as well. In addition to Wooley, Kennesaw has two other freshmen who are key members of their team and rotation. Braedan Lee is currently averaging 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a 6’8″ freshman. Jamil Miller, a 6’6″ freshman, is averaging 8.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. The Owls also get production from SMU transfer Ricardo Wright. The 6’4″ senior is averaging 6.6 points per game.
“Adrian Wooley, he’s a freshman, but he doesn’t play like one,” said McKay. “Dude’s legit. He’s a high-major player. We pay no respect to his class because he’s one of the best players in the league. Simeon Cottle, we knew it when we played him as a freshman that he was going to be good. They present a ton of challenges, but they have some other players that make Kennesaw who they are. You’ve gotta guard the whole group. You can’t just focus on those two.”
PETTWAY LOOKING TO GUIDE OWLS BACK TO NCAAT
After the program’s best-ever season in 2023, when Kennesaw finished 26-9 and 15-3 in the ASUN while winning the conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament, head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim left the Owls for South Florida. KSU would replace him with former Alabama assistant Antoine Pettway. In his first season at the helm of the Owls, Pettway guided Kennesaw to a 15-16 season and 6-10 finish in the ASUN. This year, Pettway has brought in a talented freshman class aided by a couple of transfers to have his team currently competing at the top of the CUSA. This has came as somewhat of a surprise as the Owls were picked to finish in the CUSA basement, pegged for a 9th place finish, tied with FIU, in the preseason poll.
Pettway and the Owls have been very good at home this season, posting a perfect 9-0 mark on their home floor including a 3-0 mark in conference play. This includes wins over Jax State, Sam Houston, and Louisiana Tech in conference action and also a win over a then-top 25 Rutgers team in the non-conference.
“Our guys are going to be up for the challenge,” said McKay. “Whether or not we can execute better than they do, that’s what will be determined Thursday night. I love c competition. I’m old enough in this that if you’re gonna experience all that you want in a season. Games like this, it exposes you for what you need to work on and that’s a good thing. Hopefully we can learn from it after a W than the alternative, but I welcome it. I think our guys welcome it. I’m sure their battle cry – ‘You don’t want to go to war’ – I’m sure we will hear that playing once or twice from the band.”
