Liberty (28-4, 14-3) vs. Stetson (16-16, 10-7)
Lynchburg, Virginia – Vines Center (8,500 capacity)
Thursday, Mar. 5, 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: Liberty lost at Stetson, 48-43, and then defeated the Hatters, 77-49, in Lynchburg in the teams meeting earlier this season.
Series History: Liberty leads, 3-2.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 10.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.6 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 14.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.4 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 11.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.4 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 4.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.2 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 2.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.5 apg

Projected Stetson Starters:

10 Kenny Aninye (Jr., 6-1, 185) – 4.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.7 apg
2 Rob Perry (Fr., 6-3, 210) – 15.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.6 apg
0 Christiaan Jones (Jr., 6-5, 195) – 10.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg
35 Joel Kabimba (Fr., 6-8, 210) – 5.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.5 apg
15 Mahamadou Diawara (Fr., 6-10, 235) – 12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.7 apg

Top Stetson Reserves:

3 Terry Ivery (Fr., 5-9, 170) – 2.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.4 apg
4 Jahlil Rawley (Sr., 6-4, 185) – 7.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.7 apg
1 Wheza Panzo (Fr., 6-7, 190) – 4.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.8 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • Liberty is one win away from tying its school record for most wins in a season (29 in 2019).
  • The Flames have won back to back conference regular season titles for the first time in school history.
  • For the first time in school history, Liberty ended the regular season with an undefeated record at home. Liberty has won its last 21 home games, breaking the school record (16 wins) set in the 1983 and 1984 season.
  • Liberty has posted 100 wins in the last four seasons, which ranks 23rd in Division I and 9th among non-power five schools.
  • Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz is the 9th active Division I player to win 100 career games.
  • Liberty has held an opponent under 50 points in 15 games this season.
  • Liberty has five players that have played at least 100 career games.
  • Liberty looks to become the first team since FGCU in 2017 to repeat as ASUN Champions and win back to back conference tournament titles for the first time in school history.

PREVIEW

Liberty will attempt to become the first team in school history to advance to three consecutive conference championship games when the 1-seed Flames play host to 4-seed Stetson Thursday night in the ASUN semifinals.

The Hatters advanced to thanks to a 10-point win over North Alabama in the quarterfinals behind a career-high 21 points from Kenny Aninye. He scored 15 of those points in the second half to lead Stetson in a come from behind win. UNA led by as many as 12 in the first half, before the Hatters went on a 19-0 run to storm back into the lead.

That win stopped a four-game losing skid for Stetson as they limped down the stretch. Under first year head coach Donnie Jones, the Hatters were 9-3 in ASUN play before their skid and within one game in the loss column of both Liberty and North Florida for first place.

The Flames and Hatters split the regular season series, with each team winning on their home floor. Stetson is led by a freshman combo that were each named to the ASUN’s All-Freshman Team and Rob Perry was named the league’s Freshman of the Year and second-team all-conference.

“I like our group,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “We’re 40 minutes away from playing in the final for a third consecutive year.”

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 67, Stetson 51