Liberty (13-8, 2-4) will be trying to pick up its first win on the road in conference play on Thursday at New Mexico State (9-12, 3-3) in a Conference USA game.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
How to Watch
9:00 p.m. ET | Thursday, February 1
Las Cruces, NM | Pan American Center
TV: ESPN+
Liberty vs New Mexico State Odds (KenPom)
Spread: Liberty -5
Projected score: Liberty 71, New Mexico State 66
Liberty Projected Starters
#0 Colin Porter
Sophomore Guard | 5’9″, 170
8.9 ppg, 4.3 apg
#3 Kaden Metheny
R-Junior Guard | 5’10”, 170
12.1 ppg, 3.0 apg, 3.2 rpg
#23 Joseph Venzant
Junior Guard | 6’3″, 200
5.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg
#22 Kyle Rode
R-Senior Forward | 6’7″, 220
14.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg
#25 Zach Cleveland
Sophomore Forward | 6’7″, 215
11.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.8 apg
Liberty vs New Mexico State History
N/A, first meeting
Liberty vs New Mexico State Storylines
NEW LOOK TEAM
Under first year head coach Jason Hooten, the New Mexico State Aggies completely rebuilt their team entering this season. Coming over from Sam Houston, Hooten and the Aggies do not return a single player that logged any minutes a season ago. Hooten went to the transfer portal and brought in several new faces to help launch his rebuild of this program.
ONE OF THE MORE DOMINANT TEAMS IN RECENT YEARS
New Mexico State is in its first season in CUSA play, but, in the WAC, they were a dominant program. The Aggies won the WAC 10 times since 2006, good enough for the 2nd most conference tournament titles during that time span only trailing Gonzaga who has won the West Coast Conference 14 times. They are a proven program that expects to win.
FLAMES DESPERATE FOR A WIN
After a 2-4 start to league play, the Flames feel desperate for a win. Like the Aggies, Liberty is not used to losing as much as it has to begin CUSA play. The Flames are 0-3 away from home in conference play and are staring two more road contests in their face this week. Certainly the team has the potential to win both of these, but it won’t be easy as both the Aggies and UTEP Miners are also desperate for wins after 0-2 weeks last week and they both have the fortune of getting to play on their home field.
