Liberty (20-3, 6-2) vs. FGCU (7-16, 4-4)
Lynchburg, Virginia – Vines Center (8,500 capacity)
Saturday, Feb. 1, 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 59-46 in Fort Myers on January 2nd.
Series History: Liberty leads 3-0.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 9.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.1 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.4 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 8.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 12.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.3 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 10.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.2 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 5.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 3.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.4 apg

Projected FGCU Starters:

2 Caleb Catto (So., 6-5, 190) – 12.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.8 apg
1 Zach Scott (So., 6-4, 173) – 10.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.9 apg
32 Justus Rainwater (Jr., 6-8, 230) – 6.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.2 apg
13 Tracy Hector (Sr., 6-5, 232) – 3.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg
15 Sam Gagliardi (Jr., 6-4, 199) – 6.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.9 apg

Top FGCU Reserves:

5 Jalen Warren (Jr., 6-3, 167) – 9.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.6 apg
0 Dakota Rivers (Fr., 6-8, 230) – 4.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.2 apg
11 Qwanzi Samuels (Fr., 6-8, 196) – 2.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.5 apg
4 Cyrus Largie (Fr., 6-1, 212) – 2.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.8 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • Liberty has won 16 consecutive home games, which is currently tied for the longest home winning streak in school history set in 1983-84. A win on Saturday and the Flames will set a new record.
  • The Flames have won 20+ games for the fourth consecutive season and Liberty is 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 11 games this season.
  • The Flames lead the country in turnovers, commuting just 9.7 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.
  • Liberty is a 17 point favorite.

PREVIEW

Liberty will look to remain in a tie for first place in the ASUN Conference as they host FGCU at the Vines Center. This will be the fourth meeting between the Flames and Eagles as Liberty has won all three previous meetings, including a 59-46 win in Fort Myers a month ago. In that game, Liberty was led by Caleb Homesley who had 24 points and 6 rebounds.

Florida Gulf Coast concluded the first half of conference play at 4-4, tied for 5th place in the ASUN and just two games behind the first place Flames and North Florida Ospreys.

The Eagles are coming off a 53-51 win at Jacksonville on Thursday night. Caleb Catto paced the effort with 20 points while Jalen Warren added 18.

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 66, FGCU 48