Liberty (12-0) vs. Towson (5-5)
Washington, DC – The Entertainment and Sports Arena (14,316 capacity)
Friday, Dec. 20, 5:00 p.m. ET

TV: Flo Hoops
Radio: Matt Warner will have the Liberty radio network call on 107.5 FM in Lynchburg or also streaming online.
Last Meeting: Liberty lost to the Tigers, 75-57, on December 16, 2000
Series History: Towson leads 9-3.

Projected LU Starters:

11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 8.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.3 apg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 9.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 9.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg
1 Caleb Homesley (R-Sr., 6-6, 205) – 11.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 9.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.1 apg

Projected Towson Starters:

23 Brian Fobbs (Sr., 6-5, 210) – 16.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg
2 Allen Betrand (So., 6-5, 200) – 11.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.1 apg
11 Dennis Tunstall (R-Sr.., 6-9, 225) – 5.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.4 apg
5 Jakigh Dottin (S0., 6-2, 211) – 5.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.7 apg
32 Charles Thompson (Fr., 6-7, 235) – 4.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.2 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • Liberty received 25 points in the AP Top 25 poll, the most in school history.
  • In the first edition of the NET rankings, Liberty was ranked #19 this week.
  • The Flames are on a seven game road trip where Liberty will travel to seven different states and travel 9,035 miles.
  • Liberty’s season opening 12 game win streak is the longest winning streak in school history, surpassing the 1980 team which wom 11 games in a row.
  • Of the 440 minutes Liberty has played this season, the Flames have trailed for just 37 minutes and 57 seconds.
  • Liberty is ranked #2 in the country in scoring defense, allowing 50.2 ppg. The 602 points allowed in the first 12 games in the fewest Liberty has ever allowed through the team’s first 12 games of the season.
  • Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz is 2 victories away from becoming Liberty’s all-time winningest player in school history, surpassing Lovell Cabbil who set the record last year with 85 wins.
  • Liberty is a 7 point favorite.

PREVIEW

Liberty is in Washington, DC to take part in the two game tournament in the DC Hoops Fest Tournament. The Flames take on Towson in the opener on Friday night at 5 p.m. The entire tournament will be televised on FloHoops.

The Tigers are from the CAA, they have wins this season over George Washington, Saint Joseph’s, Morgan State, UMBC, and Bryn Athyn. Their losses have come against Kent State, Florida, Xavier, Buffalo, and Vermont.

Towson is ranked #151 in KenPom, and they are the third highest opponent the Flames have faced this season behind #141 Radford and #134 Vanderbilt.

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 64, Towson 58