Liberty (19-3, 5-2) vs. Kennesaw State (1-19, 0-7)
Lynchburg, Virginia – Vines Center (8,500 capacity)
Thursday, Jan. 30, 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 won both meetings last year, defeating KSU Stetson in Kennesaw, 62-41, on January 16th and also in Lynchburg on February 26th, 76-59.
Series History: Liberty leads 2-0.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 9.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.0 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.4 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 8.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.4 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 12.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.4 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 10.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.2 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 5.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 3.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.4 apg

Projected Kennesaw State Starters:

4 Tyler Hooker (Sr., 5-10, 147) – 14.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.6 apg
13 CJ Washington (Fr., 6-4, 208) – 4.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.3 apg
15 Ugo Obineke (So., 6-6, 191) – 9.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.6 apg
24 Bryson Lockley (Sr., 6-8, 208) – 7.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.2 apg
23 Antonio Spencer (So., 6-9, 233) – 3.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.4 apg

Top Kennesaw State Reserves:

12 Jamie Lewis (Fr., 6-4, 175) – 12.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 apg
3 Adili Kuerban (So., 6-2, 183) – 3.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.6 apg
45 Pietro Agostini (So., 6-9, 224) – 2.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.2 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • The Flames have won 15 straight home games, just shy of the program record of 16 set in 1983-84.
  • Liberty ended 2019 with the second highest winning percentage (.882) in Division I going 32-4.
  • The Flames have 10 wins away from home this season, the most of any team in Division I.
  • Liberty is ranked No. 2 in the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to 52.4 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.
  • The Flames are a 24.5 point favorite.

PREVIEW

The Flames and Owls meet in Lynchburg in what is a matchup of teams in vastly different places as a program. Liberty is looking to wrap up its 4th straight 20 win season while Kennesaw State tries to avoid its 12th losing season in the past 13 years.

Under first year head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, KSU enters the game 1-19 overall and 0-7 in ASUN play. They are currently ranked 346th in the KenPom rankings out of 353 Division I programs.

The Owls one win came on December 13th, when they defeated Gardner-Webb, 85-61, on their home floor in Kennesaw. Only two of their first 20 games have been decided by single digits.

Meanwhile, Liberty looks to get back in the win column after dropping consecutive games for the first time as an ASUN member. The Flames are still in first place in the conference, tied with Stetson and North Florida at 5-2 in league play. The Hatters an Ospreys face one another Thursday night.

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 73, Kennesaw State 46