Liberty (27-4, 13-3) vs. NJIT (9-20, 6-10)
Lynchburg, Virginia – Vines Center (8,500 capacity)
Tuesday, Mar. 3, 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 65-38 in Newark on January 4th and 62-49 in Lynchburg on February 15th earlier this year.
Series History: Liberty leads 4-0.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 10.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.0 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.7 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 6.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 15.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.5 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 11.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.4 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 4.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.2 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 3.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.5 apg

Projected NJIT Starters:

4 Zach Cooks (Jr., 5-9, 155) – 19.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.1 apg
11 Shyquan Gibbs (Sr., 6-1, 150) – 8.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg
14 Reilly Walsh (Sr., 6-3, 180) – 5.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.5 apg
2 San Antonio Brinson (Jr., 6-8, 200) – 10.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.4 apg
21 Souleymane Diakite (So., 6-9, 210) – 7.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.8 apg

Top NJIT Reserves:

5 Diego Willis (So., 6-4, 175) – 3.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.8 apg
0 Levar Williams (Fr., 6-0, 185) – 3.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.4 apg
32 Xavier Mayo (Fr., 6-7, 230) – 1.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.4 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • Liberty ended 2019 with the second highest winning percentage (.882) in Division I going 32-4.
  • The Flames have never won back to back conference tournament titles.
  • 27 wins is the most for a Liberty team during the regular season.
  • The Flames have won back to back regular season titles for the first time in school history.
  • 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.
  • Liberty looks to become the first team since FGCU in 2017 to repeat as ASUN Champions.
  • The Flames have won a program record 20 straight at home, finishing undefeated at home for the regular season, the first time Liberty has ever done that.
  • Liberty is a 16.5 point favorite.

PREVIEW

The Liberty Flames open play in the 2020 ASUN Tournament Tuesday evening against NJIT. The Flames are the 1-seed and will play at home for as long as they remain in the tournament.

Liberty has not been able to play for a conference championship on its home floor since the 2004 season when the Flames defeated High Point, 89-44, to advance to the NCAA Tournament in front of a raucous Vines Center. If the Flames get to Sunday and the ASUN Tournament Championship, it will be the last game played in the Vines Center.

“It doesn’t ensure victory,” McKay said of playing at home. “That’s the thing we’re trying to really dial our guys in on – just because you’re the home team in the tournament, you get to wear the home jerseys, sleep in your own bed, but it has zero impact on the scoreboard. You’ve got to go out and earn victory.”

But the Flames aren’t worried about advancing to Sunday just yet, they have business to take care of and that begins Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against NJIT and the ASUN’s leading scorer Zach Cooks who averaged 19.8 points per game. The 5’9″ guard has struggled against Liberty over the past two seasons tough. He was 3-of-38 from the field through the first three plus games against the Flames, until he finished the second meeting this season by making 3-of-5 and finishing with 14 points. Cooks missed all 12 of his shots from the floor in the first meeting between the two programs back in early January when he finished with just 3 points.

Liberty has won all 4 games against the Highlanders since joining the ASUN, including this year, 65-38 in Newark, and 62-49 in Lynchburg.

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 70, NJIT 52