Liberty (21-3, 7-2) vs. Jacksonville (11-13, 4-5)
Jacksonville, Florida – Historic Swisher Gymnasium (1,500 capacity)
Thursday, Feb. 6, 7:00 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: Flames won 54-37 in Lynchburg on January 11th.
Series History: Liberty leads 4-0.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 10.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.0 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.4 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 8.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.3 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 12.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.4 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 10.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.3 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 5.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.3 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 3.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.5 apg

Projected Jacksonville Starters:

10 Aamahne Santos (Sr., 5-10, 165) – 8.5. ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.8 apg
5 DeAnthony McCallum (Sr., 6-4, 180) – 7.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 apg
14 Mo Arnold (Fr., 6-2, 180) – 5.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg
23 Destin Barnes (Jr., 6-7, 215) – 11.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.0 apg
3 David Bell (Sr., 6-10, 225) – 11.8 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 0.9 apg

Top Jacksonville Reserves:

13 Bryce Workman (So., 6-7, 230) – 6.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.6 apg
22 Diante Wood (Fr., 6-4, 210) – 5.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.8 apg
0 Kevin Norman (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 7.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.9 apg
11 Trey Sides (Fr., 6-1, 170) – 2.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.0 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • Liberty has set a new program record with 17 consecutive home games.
  • The Flames have won 20+ games for the fourth consecutive season and Liberty was just the third team in Division I to reach the 20-win plateau joining Gonzaga and San Diego State.
  • Liberty has held an opponent under 50 points in 12 games this season.
  • The Flames are second in the country, committing just 9.8 turnovers per game.
  • Scottie James has 26 career double-doubles which is fourth all-time in school history, trailing Alex McLean for third who has 27.
  • The Flames are ranked No. 2 in the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to 51.9 points per game.
  • The Flames have 10 wins away from home this season, tied with San Diego State for the most in Division I.
  • Liberty currently has five players on the school’s top 50 all-time scoring list, while three have reached 1,000 career points , the most of any team in school history. Richmond is the only other Division I team in the country that has three 1,000 point scorers on their team.
  • The Flames are a 9 point road favorite.

PREVIEW

This is the first game of a two-game road trip for the Flames, and it may be the toughest road trip remaining on the schedule as the Flames face Jacksonville prior to North Alabama on Saturday, both are fighting for a first round home game in next month’s ASUN Tournament.

Jacksonville has won 3 out of 4 games to move out of 8th place in the ASUN standings and into the jumbled middle of the pack. This came directly on the heels of a 3-game losing streak against Liberty, North Florida, and Stetson, which, looking back on it, doesn’t look that bad as those three teams are currently at the top of the conference standings.

With a good showing in the 2nd half of conference play, the Dolphins could crack the top 4 in the ASUN and get a first round home game in the conference tournament. The Dolphins have pulled off an overtime win at LIpscomb and a two point home win against North Alabama. Their only loss in the past two weeks came by 2 points against Florida Gulf Coast.

David Bell and Destin Barnes continue to be a formidable tandem for ASUN teams to handle. Bell is averaging a double-double and making a serious case for first-team all-ASUN. The Dolphins have struggled to score though.

In the first matchup this season, Liberty held Jacksonville to a season-low 38 points. The Flames were led by Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz who scored 8 points in the first 9 minutes of the game. Liberty utilized a 13-0 run midway through the opening half as the Dolphins had just 4 points in the opening minutes. Jacksonville didn’t reach double figures until the 5:27 mark of the first half. Darius McGhee would then get hot in the second half as he scored a team-high 14 points thanks to 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc.

For the Dolphins, David Bell led the way with 16 points and 13 rebounds as Liberty didn’t have much of an answer for the Ohio State transfer. Diante Wood added 13 points, as those two combined to score 29 of the team’s 37 points. Only four players scored in the game for Jacksonville.

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 60, Jacksonville 53