The Liberty Flames (9-1) men’s basketball team is back in action on Saturday night at Liberty Arena against North Carolina A&T (3-7).
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
Liberty vs North Carolina A&T How to Watch
7 p.m. ET | Saturday, December 14
Lynchburg, Virginia | Liberty Arena
TV: ESPN+
Liberty vs North Carolina A&T Odds (KenPom)
Spread: Liberty -20
Projected score: Liberty 82, North Carolina A&T 62
Liberty Projected Starters
#0 Colin Porter
Junior Guard | 5’10”, 170
7.2 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.4 rpg
#3 Kaden Metheny
R-Senior Guard | 5’11”, 170
13.7 ppg, 43.3% from 3
#32 Jayvon Maughmer
Senior Guard | 6’6″, 205
8.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg
#25 Zach Cleveland
Junior Forward | 6’7″, 220
10.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 5.5 apg
#8 Owen Aquino
Junior Forward | 6’8″, 230
9.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Liberty vs North Carolina A&T History
Liberty trails the all-time series, 0-1
Liberty vs North Carolina A&T Storylines
REMATCH OF NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME
Saturday’s game between Liberty and North Carolina A&T will be a rematch from the First Four NCAA Tournament game in 2013 when Liberty lost to the Aggies, 73-72. The game was played in Dayton as the two 16-seeds as conference champions were playing for a spot in the first round against No. 1 seed Louisville.
It was a close contest throughout the evening in Dayton. Liberty trailed by just one at 73-72 with 11.1 seconds left following a Trap Speaks bucket. The Flames would then foul and the Aggies would miss the front end of the one-and-one with 7 seconds left on the clock. Tomasz Gielo would grab the rebound of the missed free throw and quickly hand the ball to JC Sanders. Sanders would race the length of the floor, knifing through the A&T defense to get to the basket, forcing up a shot as time expired. Sanders missed the shot through contact. Despite that contact no foul was called on North Carolina A&T as they held on to win.
Davon Marshall led the team with 22 points on 6 of 15 from three while Sanders added 21 points and 9 assists. Speaks had 17 points.
The two teams, despite being separated by only about a two-hour drive, have only met once previously in that 2013 NCAA Tournament game. It was North Carolina A&T’s first ever win in the Big Dance while the Flames would have to wait six more years to pick up their first ever win in the Tournament.
AGGIES HAVE LOST 5 STRAIGHT
North Carolina A&T have lost five straight, including Thursday night at Virginia Tech, 95-67. The Aggies have slipped to 3-7 on the year under second year head coach Monte Ross. NC A&T went 7-25 in Ross’ debut season a year ago, finishing 5-13 in CAA play before being knocked out by William & Mary in the first round of the CAA Tournament.
6’4″ guard Ryan Forrest is currently leading the Aggies in scoring as he is right at 20 points per game. He’s a second-year player and spent his first collegiate year at Northwestern State a season ago. Forrest is one of six different players averaging at least 9 points per game so far this season for the Aggies.
FLAMES OFF TO GREAT START
At 9-1, Liberty is off to the second best start in program history through 10 games. The 2019-20 team is the only one to have a better start as they began the year at 14-0 and 19-1 before finishing at 30-4.
The Flames will be looking to extend a current six-game winning streak that began on Nov. 17 when Liberty defeated Charleston on its home floor by 21 points. Saturday’s game against North Carolina A&T is the third straight at home as Liberty is currently in the midst of a 7-game homestand that extends into the first week of January and conference play.
