Liberty at Missouri Preview

Liberty (4-2) vs. Missouri (3-0)
Columbia, Missouri – Mizzou Arena (Capacity 15,061)
Wednesday, Dec. 9, 8:00 p.m. ET
SEC Network

Last Meeting: Liberty lost, 87-76 on Dec. 19, 1995
Series History: Missouri leads 1-0

Projected LU Starters:

1 Chris Parker (Sr., 6-1, 170) – 10.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 5.3 apg
2 Darius McGhee (Jr., 5-9, 150) – 16.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.2 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Sr., 6-4, 200) – 10.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 apg
22 Kyle Rode (So., 6-7, 220) – 6.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.0 apg
24 Micaiah Abii (Fr., 6-7, 250) – 8.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.3 apg

Projected Missouri Starters:

1 Xavier Pinson (Jr., 6-2, 170) – 14.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.3 apg
12 Dru Smith (R-Sr., 6-3, 203) – 13.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.7 apg
13 Mark Smith (Sr., 6-5, 220) – 17.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.0 apg
24 Kobe Brown (So., 6-7, 240) – 8.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.0 apg
23 Jeremiah Tilmon (Sr., 6-10, 260) – 8.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.3 apg

QUICK FACTS

• Liberty has defeated seven Power Five opponents under McKay and six in the last four seasons.
• The Flames are 4-1 in its last five games against SEC opponents.
• Liberty has moved up to No. 8 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
• The Flames have two wins over top 100 opponents in the KenPom rankings surpassing last season’s total of 1.
• Liberty has made 74 three pointers this season which ranks No. 1 in Division I.
• Keegan McDowell was named ASUN Player of the Week. Liberty has claimed the award the first two weeks of the season as Darius McGhee claimed the honor a week ago.
• McGhee leads the country with 22 made three pointers this season.

PREVIEW

The Liberty Flames return to action Wednesday night for the final, and only, road game of the team’s non-conference slate against the Missouri Tigers of the SEC. The Flames have won four of five games against SEC opponents including both games this season with wins over Mississippi State and South Carolina.

The Tigers are currently 3-0 on the season with wins over Oral Roberts, 91-64, Oregon, 83-75, and Wichita State, 72-62. Missouri is currently among the others receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls following their strong start to the season.

“The opponent that we are facing represents a humongous challenge,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “Cuonzo Martin is really one of the best guys in college basketball and he is a fabulous coach. This year’s version of the Tigers can make someone lose sleep, very concerned about their offensive prowess.”

It’s difficult to think about Liberty men’s basketball and the hopes to improve an NCAA Tournament resume with a possibility for an at-large bid, if needed, but this game is critical for the Flames’ hopes in that regard. With a 2-2 mark against Top 100 teams so far this season, a win against Missouri to get above .500 would go a long way to helping the Flames if the team falls in the ASUN Tournament.

“They have a point guard in Xavier Pinson who is playing as good as any P.G. I’ve watched this season,” McKay continued. “The wings with the Smith’s and inside they’ve got Tillmon. They pose a lot of problems for our defense. Their size, their strength, their athleticism, their quickness, and they play at a pace that is really hard to play against, but I like our team. I think it will be a great challenge, another opportunity for us to play against a quality opponent and see where we are.”

This will be the only true road game the Flames will play in the non-conference schedule as Liberty will not play in a road venue again until conference play starts in Nashville against preseason ASUN favorite Lipscomb. Of course, this season will be different with limited and even no fans in some venue, but this game does provide a valuable experience for a young Liberty team.

“I want all the reps we can get against the quality opponents that are out there that are willing to play for our group to get ready for conference play,” said McKay.

This is the first of three scheduled games over the next three seasons between Missouri and Liberty, with the Tigers scheduled to play at Liberty Arena next season.

“Scheduling in the last couple of years has been difficult for us,” McKay said. “The fact that they were willing to play a series, two for one, we had to take it. We took it before we had all those other Power Five games. Our guys, I think they want to see how we fare against some of the best. The Tigers pose a great challenge. They play at a breakneck pace. The M.O. against us is we’re going to slow the game down. That’s really not what we try to do, we just try to value the ball. I think we will be really challenged against the tempo in which they pursue.”

Liberty redshirt-junior guard Keegan McDowell will get to play in a familiar gym as his older sister Kayla played for the Tigers’ women’s basketball team from 2013-2018.

“We lost two big games,” said Liberty senior guard Elijah Cuffee. “We still have something to prove. We want to come out this year having a winning record against the Power Five teams.”

KENPOM PREDICTION

Missouri 72, Liberty 61