Liberty (23-3, 9-2) vs. NJIT (7-17, 4-7)
Lynchburg, Virginia – Vines Center (8,500 capacity)
Saturday, Feb. 15, 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 65-38 in Newark on January 4th earlier this year.
Series History: Liberty leads 3-0.
Projected LU Starters:
11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 10.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.4 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 7.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 13.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.4 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 10.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.3 apg
Top LU Reserves:
0 Myo Baxter-Bell (R-Sr., 6-5, 255) – 7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 4.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.2 apg
33 Shiloh Robinson (Fr., 6-7, 200) – 3.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.5 apg
Projected NJIT Starters:
4 Zach Cooks (Jr., 5-9, 155) – 19.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 apg
11 Shyquan Gibbs (Sr., 6-1, 150) – 9.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.2 apg
14 Reilly Walsh (Sr., 6-3, 180) – 5.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.6 apg
2 San Antonio Brinson (Jr., 6-8, 200) – 11.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.6 apg
21 Souleymane Diakite (So., 6-9, 210) – 7.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.9 apg
Top NJIT Reserves:
22 Byron Breland (Fr., 6-3, 180) – 2.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.2 apg
5 Diego Willis (So., 6-4, 175) – 3.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.7 apg
0 Levar Williams (Fr., 6-0, 185) – 3.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.3 apg
32 Xavier Mayo (Fr., 6-7, 230) – 1.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.3 apg
QUICK FACTS
- Since dropping consecutive games at the end of January, Liberty has responded to win three straight and have not trailed for a single second of the 160 minutes played.
- Liberty ended 2019 with the second highest winning percentage (.882) in Division I going 32-4.
- The Flames have 12 wins away from home this season, tied with San Diego State for the most of any team in Division I.
- Liberty is ranked No. 2 in the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to 52.1 points per game, holding opponents under 50 points on 12 occasions.
- 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 have won a program record 17 straight at home, breaking the school record of 16 wins set in the 1983 and 84 season.
- Liberty has posted 95 wins in the last four seasons which ranks 23rd in Division I and 9th among non-Power Five schools.
- The Flames are a 16.5 point favorite.
PREVIEW
Liberty will look for its fifth straight win in conference as the Flames host NJIT on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Vines Center. Liberty also is looking to extend its school-record winning streak at the Vines Center, winning its last 17 games at home.
When these two teams met in early January in Newark, Liberty jumped all over the Highlanders, utilizing a 13-0 run midway through the first half to seize control and never look back. The Flames pushed the lead to double figures by halftime at 29-18, and the Highlanders were never able to get closer than 10 points the rest of the way with Liberty leading by as much as 27 points. Liberty was led by Homesley’s 20 points while Kyle Rode also reached double figures with 10.
NJIT’s Zach Cooks continues to lead the ASUN in scoring, by a wide margin, but Liberty has seemed to find the kryptonite against the scoring guard. In three games against the Flames, Cooks has scored just 11 points and is 3-of-34 from the field (8.8%).
The Highlanders are currently on a 4-game losing streak and have lost 5 out of 6 games. NJIT lost to Lipscomb in Nashville Thursday night, 77-63. With the loss, they have fallen into 8th place in the ASUN standings, just half a game out of a 3-way tie for 5th place with Jacksonville, North Alabama, and FGCU.
KENPOM PREDICTION
Liberty 69, NJIT 51
