Liberty (7-0) vs UMKC (4-3)
the Bahamas – Islands of the Bahamas Showcase Championship Game
Sunday, Nov. 24, 8 p.m. ET
TV: FloSports
Radio: Nick Pierce will have the Liberty radio network call on 107.5 FM in Lynchburg or also streaming online.
Last Meeting: N/A
Series History: First meeting between the two programs.
Projected LU Starters:
11 Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (Sr., 6-1, 175) – 7.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
2 Darius McGhee (So., 5-9, 150) – 11.3 ppg, 3.3
10 Elijah Cuffee (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 8.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg
22 Kyle Rode (Fr., 6-7, 220) – 9.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg
31 Scottie James (R-Sr., 6-7, 230) – 10.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg
Projected UMKC Starters:
25 Javan White (Sr., 6-10, 230) – 13.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg
4 Jahshire Hardnett (Sr., 5-11, 193) – 6.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg
5 Jordan Giles (Sr., 6-7, 225) – 6.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg
33 Marvin Nesbitt, Jr. (So., 6-4, 180) – 9.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg
3 Brandon McKissic (Jr., 6-3, 195) – 10.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg
PREVIEW
Liberty and the University of Missouri Kansas City will meet on Sunday night in the championship game of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase.
The Kangaroos (no, really that’s their nickname) have advanced thanks to wins over George Washington and East Carolina by identical scores of 74-68.
They entered the tournament with a record of 2-3 and no Division I wins with their losses coming against Oklahoma State, Drake and Milwaukee. Milwaukee is the same team that lost to Rice on Friday to open the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase. Liberty beat Rice, 71-59, Saturday night.
The Roos are led by first-year head coach Billy Donlon who was previously the head coach at Wright State from 2010-2016. UMKC competes in the WAC and are coming off three consecutive losing seasons, including an 11-21 mark a season ago.
KENPOM PREDICTION
Liberty 66, UMKC 56
