Liberty (11-5, 0-1) returns to Liberty Arena to play its first ever Conference USA game on its home floor, taking on Jacksonville State (9-7, 1-0) on Wednesday evening.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
How to Watch
7:00 p.m. ET | Wednesday, January 10
Lynchburg, VA | Liberty Arena
TV: ESPN+
Liberty vs Jacksonville State Odds (KenPom)
Spread: Liberty -9
Projected score: Liberty 68, Jacksonville State 59
Liberty Projected Starters
#0 Colin Porter
Sophomore Guard | 5’9″, 170
8.5 ppg, 3.7 apg
#3 Kaden Metheny
R-Junior Guard | 5’10”, 170
11.7 ppg, 3.1 apg, 3.4 rpg
#23 Joseph Venzant
Junior Guard | 6’3″, 200
5.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg
#22 Kyle Rode
R-Senior Forward | 6’7″, 220
13.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.8 apg
#25 Zach Cleveland
Sophomore Forward | 6’7″, 215
11.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.8 apg
Liberty vs Jacksonville State History
Liberty is 2-1 all-time against Jacksonville State with the three previous meetings coming over the past two seasons as ASUN members. The Flames won both games last year, 75-41 and 79-55.
Liberty vs Jacksonville State Storylines
ASUN MOVES TO CUSA
The Flames and Gamecocks both spent the past two seasons as conference rivals in the ASUN. Liberty dominated that league for its five year tenure, winning three conference tournament championships and advancing to the conference title game in four of those years. JSU won the regular season title in their first year in the ASUN and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
It was a bit of a let down for Jacksonville State last season, but now both teams move into Conference USA and will be looking to compete for a conference title. It is certainly a step up in competition for both programs, but they have the tradition, talent, and coaching staff in place prepared to handle the move.
MUST WIN FOR LU?
It’s difficult to call any game a must win in early January, but this one is about as close to that as you can get for Liberty. The Flames lost the conference opener on Saturday night at Western Kentucky by just two points to fall to 0-1 in CUSA play. Following Wednesday’s game against Jacksonville State, Liberty heads on the road to take on arguably the top team in CUSA so far this season in Louisiana Tech.
Playing at home and sandwiched in between two very difficult road matchups, the Flames need to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them Wednesday night at Liberty Arena. Losing wouldn’t end the season, but it would put the team in a difficult place entering another tough road test on Sunday.
GAMECOCKS HAVE WON 5 STRAIGHT
Expectations were low entering the season for Jacksonville State under head coach Ray Harper. Coming on the heels of a 13-18 season last year where they finished 6-12 in ASUN play, many pegged the Gamecocks to finish near the bottom of their new league this season.
Jax State opened the year at 1-4, dropping its first four contests against Division I opponents this season. They then won three straight before losing three straight, but they have rebounded to win five straight entering Wednesday’s contest. This includes a win over FIU, 70-63, on Saturday on their home floor to open CUSA play.
Xavier transfer, KyKy Tandy, is the engine that runs the Gamecocks this season. He scored 35 points while making 7 of 12 from three in the win over FIU. The 6’2″ Tandy leads CUSA in scoring this season at 19.4 points per game.
