No. 1 Liberty (22-5, 11-2) vs. No. 5 North Alabama (13-10, 7-8)
Jacksonville, Florida – UNF Arena
Sunday, Mar. 7, 2:00 p.m. ET
ASUN Championship Game
ESPN

Last Meeting: Liberty swept the season series just a couple weeks ago with the Flames winning both games at Liberty Arena, 74-54, on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23.
Series History: The Flames lead the all-time series 6-0 with all of the meetings coming during the past three seasons since both teams joined the ASUN.

Projected LU Starters:

1 Chris Parker (Sr., 6-1, 170) – 10.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.4 apg
2 Darius McGhee (Jr., 5-9, 150) – 15.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.1 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Sr., 6-4, 200) – 9.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.8 apg
22 Kyle Rode (So., 6-7, 220) – 7.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.9 apg
32 Blake Preston (R-So., 6-9, 225) – 8.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.3 apg

Projected North Alabama Starters:

3 Jamari Blackmon (Jr., 6-1, 205) – 10.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.2 apg
1 Detalian Brown (Fr., 6-3, 195) – 7.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.1 apg
14 Payton Youngblood (R-Sr., 6-5, 200) – 9.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.2 apg
21 Emanuel Littles (Jr., 6-7, 215) – 9.8 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 1.1 apg
5 Mervin James (So., 6-7, 215) – 14.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.0 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • Liberty has won 11 straight games, which is tied for the third longest winning streak in the country.
  • The Flames are a perfect 8-0 in ASUN Tournament games and 10-1 in conference tournament games dating back to the 2018 Big South Tournament.
  • Liberty is trying to become the first program in ASUN history to win six ASUN championships in three consecutive years (three regular season and three tournament).
  • The Flames can become the second team in ASUN Conference history to win three straight Tournament titles. Belmont did so from 2006-08.
  • Liberty has extended its school record with 20 wins for a fifth consecutive season.
  • Elijah Cuffee has played in 132 career games, which ranks No. 3 in Division I. He’s won 103 games with the Flames, becoming Liberty’s all-time winningest player breaking Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz’s mark of 102 wins.
  • Darius McGhee has made 89 three-pointers which is the fourth most in a single season in program history.
  • For the first time in program history, Liberty has back-to-back Conference Player of the Year honorees in McGhee and Caleb Homesley.

PREVIEW

5-seed North Alabama has had a nice three-year in their first few seasons in the ASUN and Division I. Their success has been overshadowed by what Bellarmine accomplished during the regular season this year in its first year at the DI level, but the Lions have been the 5-seed in each of the past two ASUN Tournaments and were the 6-seed in their first season in the league.

North Alabama has regular season conference records of 7-9, 8-8, and 7-8 over their first three seasons in the ASUN as head coach Tony Pujol has built a very solid program in Florence, Alabama.

This season the Lions have been a very streaky team, winning six straight league games to jump out to an early first place lead at 6-1 in conference play. UNA then limped through a seven game losing streak, but they have rebounded and enter Sunday’s game on a three game winning streak.

The Lions defeated Lipscomb, 73-66, on their home floor in the regular season finale to clinch the 5-seed in the conference tournament. On Thursday, UNA dispatched 5-seed North Florida, 68-60, and then knocked off 6-seed Florida Gulf Coast, 96-81, in Friday’s semifinal game. The two wins are the first two ASUN conference tournament wins for the Lions.

Emanuel Littles and Mervin James provide one of the more athletic interior combos in the conference, and they have been a tough tandem to begin the conference tournament. Littles scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win against North Florida, and followed that up with nearly another double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds against FGCU. Second-team all-ASUN selection James had 17 points and 11 rebounds against North Florida and 20 points and 6 rebounds against FGCU.

Payton Youngblood exploded for a career-high 26 points in Friday’s win over FGCU, making 8 of 11 field goals and 5 of 7 from three point range. Detalian Brown was named to the ASUN’s all-freshman team, and Jamari Blackmon is just two seasons removed from being named ASUN Freshman of the Year.

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 75, North Alabama 61