Liberty (18-1, 4-0) vs. Lipscomb (7-11, 2-3)
Lynchburg, Virginia – Vines Center (8,500 capacity)
Saturday, Jan. 18, 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 lost 79-59 in Lynchburg on January 29th and defeated Lipscomb, 74-66, on February 13th in Nashville. Liberty also defeated Lipscomb, 74-68, in the ASUN Championship game on March 10th in Nashville.
Series History: Lipscomb leads 3-2.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 8.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.2 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 8.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 12.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.4 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 10.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.2 apg

Top LU Reserves:

0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 8.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 5.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.5 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 3.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.5 apg

Projected Lipscomb Starters:

0 KJ Johnson (Fr., 6-1, 154) – 12.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.9 apg
1 Greg Jones (So., 6-3, 195) – 6.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.5 apg
2 Andrew Fleming (Sr., 6-5, 205) – 9.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg
3 Michael Buckland (Sr., 6-5, 197) – 10.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.5 apg
23 Ahsan Asadullah (So., 6-8, 265) – 16.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.3 apg

Top Lipscomb Reserves:

13 Parker Hazen (Jr., 6-7, 201) – 3.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.6 apg
25 Miles Miller (Fr., 6-2, 168) – 3.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.5 apg
12 Carson Cary (Fr., 6-0, 158) – 3.7 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 0.4 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • The Flames have won 14 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 51.1 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 15 point favorite.

PREVIEW

It’s the rematch from last year’s ASUN Tournament Championship game, but the only team that remotely resembles last year’s squad is Liberty. Lipscomb lost 4 of the 5 starters and 6 of the 10 players that played in that game, where as the Flames returned 4 starters and 6 of the 9 players from the game. Not to mention the coaching change for the Bisons who turn to Lennie Acuff to replace Casey Alexander.

Losing so much, not much was expected of Lipscomb, but they have proven they will be a respectable ASUN program this season. Ahsan Asadullah is arguably the best big man in the league while KJ Johnson is arguably the league’s best freshman. Behind those two, the Bisons are challenging for a home game in the first round of the ASUN Tournament.

“He’s really good,” Scottie James said of Asadullah. “He’s different than a lot of bigs because he’s a solid body. He’s hard to move. He’s a really good passer. If you bring the double teams, he’s a really good passer. It will be a good challenge for us.”

Asadullah is in the early running for first-team all-ASUN honors and  you could see his potential even last year behind the upperclassmen of Mathews, Marberry, and Pepper.

“They have a new coach and some graduates, but the misnomer in it is that they’re not a really good team,” McKay said of Lipscomb. “Ahsan Asadullah is having a fantastic season. He’s been as good as any player in our league. When you can play through him, and they do, I think his usage rate is in the top 15 percentile in America. We will have to have a good plan for him, but they have other players that are good. Buckland is terrific, Fleming is having an outstanding year, and their little freshman guard, KJ Johnson, is an excellent player. They present a lot of challenges for any team.”

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 72, Lipscomb 54