Liberty (22-3, 8-2) vs. North Alabama (10-13, 5-5)
Florence, Alabama – Flowers Hall (4,000 capacity)
Saturday, Feb. 8, 4:30 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 63-52 in Lynchburg on January 9th earlier this season.
Series History: Liberty leads 3-0.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 9.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.4 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 7.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.3 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 12.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.4 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 10.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.3 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 4.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.2 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 3.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.5 apg

Projected North Alabama Starters:

3 Jamari Blackmon (So., 6-1, 205) – 12.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.5 apg
11 CJ Brim (Jr., 5-9, 170) – 8.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.9 apg
2 Christian Agnew (So., 6-2, 190) – 13.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.7 apg
5 Mervin James (Fr., 6-7, 215) – 9.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.8 apg
21 Emanuel Littles (So., 6-7, 215) – 7.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 0.6 apg

Top North Alabama Reserves:

13 James Anderson (Jr., 6-5, 200) – 6.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.3 apg
14 Payton Youngblood (Jr., 6-5, 200) – 6.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.2 apg
15 Cameron Diggs (Sr., 6-8, 220) – 2.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.3 apg
1 Tavon King (Jr., 5-11, 175) – 1.7 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.6 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • Since dropping consecutive games at the end of January, Liberty has responded to win three straight and have not trailed for a single second of the 120 minutes played.
  • Liberty ended 2019 with the second highest winning percentage (.882) in Division I going 32-4.
  • The Flames have 11 wins away from home this season, tied with San Diego State and Hofstra for the most of any team in Division I.
  • Liberty is ranked No. 2 in the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to 52.1 points per game.
  • Liberty has three 1,000 career point scorers on the team, 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 ended non-conference play with 6 neutral court wins, the most Liberty has ever had in a single season.
  • Liberty looks to become the first team since FGCU in 2017 to repeat as ASUN Champions.
  • Since the start of 2019, Liberty is 40-6.

PREVIEW

Liberty concludes a brief 2-game road trip at North Alabama Saturday afternoon. The Flames are 3-0 all-time against the Lions, coming off a 63-52 win at home last month. It was a game where Liberty jumped out to a 32-17 lead late in the first half, but UNA would close the opening 20 minutes on a 10-2 run stay within striking distance. A 9-0 spurt in the 2nd half would cut the Liberty lead to 3 with just over 6 minutes to play, but North Alabama would miss two three-point attempts that would have tied the game as Liberty was able to cruise to the victory.

Wearing a protective facemask, Myo Baxter-Bell led the team with 16 points as he made 5-of-7 field goals and all 6 of his free throws. Scottie James and Caleb Homesley had 14 points each. James also added 7 rebounds. Pacheco-Ortiz added 9 points despite missing 7 of his 10 field goal attempts.

North Alabama is coming off back-to-back losses, each by 2 points, as they lost at Jacksonville, 85-83, and at home against Lipscomb, 73-71, on Thursday night. Christian Agnew scored 20 points in the losing cause against Lipscomb, his 2nd consecutive 20 point game.

They are 5-5 in ASUN play and currently in 4th place just ahead of the logjob from 5th-8th, who are all separated by half a game. The Flames are looking to keep pace with North Florida, both teams are 8-2 in league play. The Ospreys are at Florida Gulf Coast Saturday night at 7.

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 66, North Alabama 57