Liberty (12-7, 1-3) takes on Sam Houston (10-8, 3-0) at Liberty Arena on Saturday evening.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
How to Watch
7:00 p.m. ET | Saturday, January 20
Lynchburg, VA | Liberty Arena
TV: ESPN+
Liberty vs Sam Houston Odds (KenPom)
Spread: Liberty -10
Projected score: Liberty 75, Sam Houston 65
Liberty Projected Starters
#0 Colin Porter
Sophomore Guard | 5’9″, 170
8.4 ppg, 4.1 apg
#3 Kaden Metheny
R-Junior Guard | 5’10”, 170
12.3 ppg, 3.1 apg, 3.4 rpg
#23 Joseph Venzant
Junior Guard | 6’3″, 200
5.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg
#22 Kyle Rode
R-Senior Forward | 6’7″, 220
13.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.7 apg
#25 Zach Cleveland
Sophomore Forward | 6’7″, 215
11.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.8 apg
Liberty vs Sam Houston History
The series is tied at 1. Liberty defeated Sam Houston, 62-58, on Nov. 30. 2013. Antwan Burrus led the team with 15 points in the win. The prior year, Sam Houston picked up the win, 64-50, on Nov. 20, 2012.
Liberty vs Sam Houston Storylines
HUGE GAME FOR FLAMES
The 0-3 start for Liberty in conference play got a lot of attention and understandably so. The fact is that the Flames lost two one-possession games on the road against two of the better teams in the league against Western Kentucky and Louisiana Tech. Those two teams won’t lose many on their home floor this season, if any. There is the 10-point loss at home to Jacksonville State though that is hard to overlook even if the Gamecocks finish in the top half of the CUSA.
That hole the Flames found themselves in, leaves little room for margin for the team to fight back towards the top of the conference standings. It’s not impossible to do so, but it will require the team to win some tough games, beginning with Saturday night against Sam Houston.
QUICK TURNAROUND VS REST
Liberty is coming off a game 48 hours prior to Saturday night’s game against Sam Houston. The Flames defeated FIU on Thursday night to pick up the program’s first ever win in conference play as a CUSA member. It was a game that was fast paced, with more possessions in a game than the Flames are used to, and very competitive. Several Liberty players had to play long minutes. The entire starting lineup played at least 30 minutes with Colin Porter and Kyle Rode playing 38 and 37 minutes, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Bearkats will enter Saturday night’s contest well rested. They haven’t played in a week, having defeated Middle Tennessee this past Saturday. How will this impact the game? Will Liberty’s tired legs catch up to them by the end of the night? Will Sam Houston be slightly rusty to begin the game? Did the week off throw off some of their strong momentum to begin conference play?
GOOD START TO LEAGUE PLAY FOR BEARKATS
The Bearkats have been a really strong mid-major program for the majority of this century. They win 20 games a year more often than not and their transition to Conference USA has gotten off to a strong start. At 3-0, Sam Houston is currently the last remaining unbeaten team in CUSA play and they’ve knocked off the same Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky teams Liberty fell to, albeit on their home floor. The Bearkats picked up a win in their last outing, knocking off Middle Tennessee, 60-51, on the road.
Chris Mudge is in his first year as head coach at Sam Houston, but he has been with the program since 2010 as an assistant. He takes over for Jason Hooten who left for in-conference rival New Mexico State after 13 years with Sam Houston.
They entered conference play with a 7-8 record. Sam Houston played two similar opponents as the Flames in the non-conference slate, Utah Valley and Grand Canyon. The Bearkats lost both of those contests, falling to Utah Valley, 79-73, in overtime on their home floor way back on Nov. 9. They fell at Grand Canyon, 76-64, on Dec. 20. Liberty knocked off Utah Valley, 79-63, and fell to Grand Canyon, 69-64.
“They are really well coached,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “Coach Mudge has done a terrific job. They have really good players. They have an inside-outside presence. They’ve had a week to prep for us, it’s their only game this week. We will have to have a mentally tough approach. We are who we are. We don’t change much defensively. We don’t have a lot of gimmicks or tricks, but we do have a belief. It will be a real challenge with the way they are playing. The are the top of the league. We will see how it goes.”
