jcsYou can catch our initial Radford primer here from prior to the teams’ first meeting.

The Highlanders defeated Liberty in the teams’ initial meeting this season, 72-63, on January 8th in Radford. Can the Flames return the favor en route to their 3rd consecutive win? Here are 5 things to consider for the rematch.

1. Since the previous meeting, Radford is 8-6 while the Flames are 5-9. The Highlanders are locked into the 3 seed from the North Division for next week’s Big South Tournament. Radford is an impressive 5-2 on the road in conference play this season. Liberty is just 3-4 at home in conference play. Liberty has won the past three meetings at the Vines Center.

2. With a win, Liberty will enter the Big South Tournament riding a 3-game winning streak. Last season, the Flames used a regular season finale win over the Highlanders to propel them to a 5 game win streak en route to the 2013 Big South Tournament Championship. Coach Dale Layer & company hopes the same can happen this season.

3. It will be interesting to see how much motivation Radford plays with. The Highlanders are already locked into the 3 seed and will be playing the 6 seed from the South, Presbyterian, in the first round of next week’s Big South Tournament.

Javonte Green scored 12 points against Liberty in January

4. Javonte Green could be named to the first-team All-Big South team next week. He’s averaging nearly 17 points and 8 boards per game, and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and steals. Green had a relatively quiet night against Liberty in January, scoring 12 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in all but 3 games this season with a season-high of 33 points against Charleston Southern February 5th.

5. Radford is 19-11 on the season, and needs just 1 more win to reach 20 wins for the first time under head coach Mike Jones. The Highlanders have not had a 20 win season since the 2008-09 season.

Prediction: Even though it was against Campbell and Longwood, 2 of the worst teams in the conference, Liberty seems to have found their rhythm on offense. The Flames look to ride their recent hot streak to a 3rd consecutive win against Radford who has little to play for in this game. Liberty should get a win on Senior Day. Liberty 77 Radford 73