Liberty (27-3, 13-2) vs. Lipscomb (13-15, 8-7)
Nashville, Tennessee – Allen Arena (5,028 capacity)
Saturday, Feb. 29, 2:00 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 the ASUN Championship game rematch in Lynchburg, 67-60, on January 18th.
Series History: Series tied 3-3.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 10.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.7 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 7.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 15.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.4 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 11.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.4 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 4.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.2 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) – 11.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 apg
1 Greg Jones (So., 6-3, 195) – 8.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.6 apg
2 Andrew Fleming (Sr., 6-5, 205) – 8.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.4 apg
3 Michael Buckland (Sr., 6-5, 197) – 10.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.6 apg
23 Ahsan Asadullah (So., 6-8, 265) – 17.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.9 apg

Top Lipscomb Reserves:

13 Parker Hazen (Jr., 6-7, 201) – 4.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.8 apg
25 Miles Miller (Fr., 6-2, 168) – 3.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.2 apg
12 Carson Cary (Fr., 6-0, 158) – 3.1 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 0.3 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • 27 wins is the most for a Liberty team during the regular season.
  • Liberty has never won a conference regular season title outright.
  • The Flames have won a school record 8 straight ASUN games which is the 10th longest winning streak in the country.
  • The Flames have won 20 consecutive games at home, a school record and the 5th longest in the country.
  • For the first time in school history, Liberty ended the regular season with an undefeated record at home.
  • Liberty has posted 99 wins during the last four seasons which ranks 23rd in Division I and 9th among non Power Five schools.
  • Liberty ended 2019 with the second highest winning percentage (.882) in Division I going 32-4.
  • Liberty looks to become the first team since FGCU in 2017 to repeat as ASUN Champions.

PREVIEW

Liberty returns to Allen Arena in Nashville for the first time since March 10, 2019 when the Flames defeat Lipscomb, 74-68, to win the ASUN Tournament Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Liberty has already wrapped up the No. 1 seed and home court advantage throughout next week’s ASUN Tournament, but a win against the Bisons will secure the Flames’ first ever outright conference championship in school history.

Despite the string of success the Flames have been on in recent seasons, Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay says his team doesn’t set out at the beginning of the season with specific goals. Instead, his team focuses on daily improvement.

“In year five, we’re pursuing trying to improve upon what we did last year,” he said. “It might not mean more wins or further in the tournament, but it would mean a chance to compete against the best if we keep going in the right direction. I think our guys are pretty confident, in that each night out we will have a chance if we’re right. We will have a chance to win the game, and that’s a really healthy place for your program to be in.”

Lipscomb still has a chance at the 3-seed in the ASUN Tournament, provided they beat Liberty and Stetson loses to Jacksonville on Saturday. Since dropping to 2-5 in league play in late January, the Bisons have been on a tear. They’ve won 6 out of 8 games with their only losses coming against the Hatters and North Florida. Lipscomb hasn’t played since last Saturday when they fell to the Ospreys in Jacksonville.

Sophomore big man Ahsan Asadullah has a very compelling argument for the ASUN Player of the Year as he is averaging 17.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 51.6% from the field. He has reached double figures in each of his last 14 games, including 8 which he has scored over 20.

“I thought he was really good last season,” McKay said. “They just had Rod Marberry. I think the emphasis that Lennie (Acuff) is putting on getting him the ball, his usage rate is high, it’s one of the highest in the country, that has led to his number improvement, but he’s really good. He has great hands. He’s a lot quicker than he looks to be. His footwork is terrific, good vision, he’s a really good player. We got our work cut out for him.”

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 69, Lipscomb 59