The Liberty Flames improved to 22-5 overall and 11-2 in ASUN play following the team’s wins over 8-seed Kennesaw State and 7-seed Stetson to advance to Sunday’s ASUN title game. Liberty will be facing 5-seed North Alabama after the Lions defeated 4-seed North Florida and 6-seed Florida Gulf Coast.
UNA is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament as the Lions are in the third year of a four year transition from Division II to Division I. The ASUN has elected to award the regular season champion the league’s automatic bid to the Big Dance if an ineligible team wins the conference tournament, so Liberty has already secured its 6th NCAA Tournament bid in school history.
As the Flames have become the first team to officially punch its ticket to the big stage of March Madness, let’s take a look at where Liberty is currently being projected by Bracketologists.
The NCAA recently announced it will hold the entire 2021 men’s basketball tournament in the state of Indiana, with the majority of the tournament’s 67 games taking place in Indianapolis. Selection Sunday is still currently scheduled for March 14 and plans remain to hold the Final Four on April 3 and 5. March Madness will be hosted by Ball State, Butler, the Horizon League, Indiana, IUPUI, and Purdue, which are lending their facilities and staffs to assist with tournament operations. The Indiana Convention Center will be used as a practice facility with multiple courts set up inside the venue.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Liberty as a 13-seed and facing 4-seed Texas with the winner facing Colorado or the First Four winner of Xavier and Boise State.
For a fourth straight week, the NCAA’s Andy Katz has Liberty in his bracket as a 14-seed and facing Kansas this week with the winner moving on to play the winner of Virginia Tech and St. Bonaventure.
CBS Sports continues to have Liberty as a 13-seed and facing 4-seed Texas. The winner would then face either Missouri or Loyola Chicago.
Watch Stadium has bumped Liberty up to a 14-seed after two weeks on the 15 line. This projection also has the Flames facing Kansas, who is a 3-seed in this projection.
SBNation has Liberty as a 13-seed and facing 4-seed Oklahoma State.
Bracketville has Liberty as a 13-seed and facing 4-seed Purdue.
BracketMatrix.com currently has the Flames as a 14-seed while being projected into the field by 115 of the 116 bracket projections ranging from an 13 to a 16 seed with an average of 13.72.
