#1E Liberty (21-10, 12-4) vs. #4W Lipscomb (14-18, 6-10)
ASUN Quarterfinals
Lynchburg, Virginia – Liberty Arena (Capacity: 4,000)
Thursday, Mar. 3, 7:00 p.m.
ESPN+
Last Meeting: Liberty won, 78-69, on Feb. 8, 2022 at Liberty Arena
Series History: Liberty leads 6-5
Projected LU Starters:
2 Darius McGhee (Sr., 5-9, 150) – 24.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.6 apg
23 Joseph Venzant (Fr., 6-3, 170) – 3.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.6 apg
20 Keegan McDowell (R-Sr., 6-6, 180) – 10.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.9 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Jr., 6-7, 220) – 9.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.3 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (R-Jr., 6-7, 200) – 9.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.2 apg
Projected Lipscomb Starters:
0 KJ Johnson (So., 6-3, 165) – 6.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.9 apg
1 Greg Jones (Jr., 6-3, 200) – 9.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.2 apg
2 Will Pruitt (Fr., 6-3, 195) – 9.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.7 apg
13 Parker Hazen (Sr., 6-8, 210) – 8.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.5 apg
23 Ahsan Asadullah (Jr., 6-9, 275) – 15.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 4.7 apg
PREVIEW
Liberty and Lipscomb will meet on Thursday night in the ASUN quarterfinals after the Bisons knocked off North Florida, 74-65, on Tuesday night from Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. First-team all-conference big man Ahsan Asadullah paced Lipscomb in the win with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Flames and Bisons met less than a month ago at Liberty Arena, with Liberty coming out on top, 78-69, on Feb. 8. Liberty was led by Kyle Rode’s career-high 24 points and Darius McGhee who posted his first career double-double with 29 points and 10 assists while also adding 8 rebounds.
Since falling at Liberty, Lipscomb went on to win three out of their last five games of the regular season to enter the ASUN Tournament 13-18 overall and 6-10 in conference play. Their only two losses during that span came against the top two teams in the West Division, Jacksonville State and Bellarmine. The Bisons finished third in that division, earning the right to play at home in the first round on Tuesday night against North Florida.
Prior to last year’s first round loss to FGCU, Lipscomb has been one of the league’s most successful teams in the ASUN Tournament in recent years. The Bisons advanced to the conference championship game three straight years from 2018-2020. They won the conference championship in 2018 before falling to Liberty in both 2019 and 2020. Lipscomb had advanced to the semifinals six straight years before having that streak snapped a season ago.
“I think the world of Lennie Acuff,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “I think he’s just a fabulous coach. They really do some fabulous things offensively that really puts your defense at a disadvatnage occasion after occasion. When they don’t have their first action, they get to the next action. It’s inbred in their program. They get to that next action so quickly, and even a third action, in a give possession. You add that, combined with the best interior scorer that’s not in a high major, in my opinion, East of the Mississippi in Ahsan Asadullah, who is a great passer, presents a lot of challenges. We have a ton of respect for Lipscomb.”
The Flames and Bisons are no strangers to meeting in the ASUN Tournament, as Thursday’s game will be the third meeting in four years between the two schools in the tournament. Liberty won the first two contests, both coming in the championship round.
“They are going to be a tough out,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said of the Flames following their loss to Liberty last month. “They will be a real tough out. I think it’s the best team they’ve had for the three years I’ve been here, for sure the best offensive team. They are big. They are physical. They are experienced. They are tremendously well coached. They’ve got everything you need. They are a great team. They’ve got a good thing going here, a lot of respect for them.”
KENPOM PREDICTION
Liberty 82, Lipscomb 69
