After more than a week off since last stepping on the court at the ESPN Events Invitational with it wrapping up last Wednesday afternoon, Liberty (5-2) will return to action Saturday afternoon by playing host to Coppin State (2-9).

Here’s what you need to know about the game:

How to Watch

2:00 p.m. ET | Saturday, December 6
Lynchburg, VA | Liberty Arena
TV: ESPN+

Liberty vs Coppin State Odds (KenPom)

Spread: Liberty -25
Projected score: Liberty 86, Coppin State 61

Liberty Projected Starters

#0 Colin Porter

Senior Guard | 5’10”, 170
2025-26 stats: 11.3 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.7 rpg

#3 Kaden Metheny

R-Senior Guard | 5’11”, 170
2025-26 stats: 14.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg

#4 Brett Decker

Sophomore Guard | 6’3″, 190
2025-26 stats: 19.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 58.5% 3-point field goals

#9 JJ Harper

R-Senior Guard | 6’5″, 200
2025-26 stats: 10.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 apg

#25 Zach Cleveland

Senior Forward | 6’7″, 220
2025-26 stats: 10.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 7.7 apg

Liberty vs Coppin State History

Liberty is 2-0 all-time against Coppin State. Both meetings came in 1983 with the Flames beating the Eagles, 52-49, on Dec. 3 and, 65-64, on March 5. Both games were played in Lynchburg.

Liberty vs Coppin State Storylines

FLAMES LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK AFTER TWO STRAIGHT LOSSES

Liberty is looking to snap a two-game losing skid after posting a 1-2 mark at the ESPN Events Invitational as a part of Feast Week last week. The Flames defeated Vermont in the quarterfinals before falling to Towson and then Bradley. This is the first time Liberty has lost consecutive games since January of last season when the Flames lost to Louisiana Tech and UTEP in mid-January.

Few game notables:

  • Brett Decker has stepped up and is the team’s leader in scoring, averaging nearly 20 points per game. He also leads the nation in three-pointers per game (4.43). He has 31 made triples and is shooting at a 58.5% clip from deep, the third best percentage in the country.
  • Kaden Metheny will also have his eyes set on the 1,000 point mark for his Liberty career. Currently sitting at 983 points in a Flames uniform, Metheny needs 17 points to reach that 1,000 point mark. He has 1,610 career points dating back to his time at Bowling Green.
  • Zach Cleveland is third in the country with his average of 7.7 assists per game through the first seven games of the season.

LIBERTY NEEDS TO DEVELOP SOME DEPTH

The two losses last week to good mid major squads showed some cracks in this team, especially after the strong season opening start with wins over Charleston and FAU. With injuries continuing to be an issue, the depth of the team is also stepping into the limelight. Isaiah Ihnen continues to be out while Josh Smith is slowly working his way back to full speed, still playing limited minutes. We also saw Colin Porter exit the Bradley game last Wednesday late and did not return. He was on the bench in the closing minutes of that contest with his left hamstring/thing wrapped.

It will be interesting to see how Coach McKay treats this game Saturday, as well as the rest of the non-conference slate. It’s hard to believe but there are only four more out of conference tune-ups, beginning with Saturday’s contest, before conference play begins in earnest later this month. With those two losses last week, it has become more evident that the goal of these next four games should be to get the team as prepared as possible for conference action. That means Coach McKay should see what he has with some of his bench.

Will either Ihnen or Porter be available? How many minutes can Josh Smith realistically play? Can RJ Jones earn a spot in the rotation? Does Zander Yates earn some playing time in conference play? Can Drew Grimes earn some run? Is there a way to get JJ Harper away from playing so much time in the post and back to his typical wing spot?

EAGLES HAVE STRUGGLED SO FAR THIS SEASON

Coppin State enters Saturday’s game ranked 364 out of 365 teams in Division I according to KenPom. From Baltimore, Maryland, they are just a short bus trek away from Lynchburg. The Eagles are 2-9 on the season with losses this past week to Loyola Maryland (95-84) and West Virginia (91-49). Their wins came over non-Division I opponent Central Pennsylvania (103-62) and Rider (68-65). Their win over Central Penn was their only home game so far this season, and they will not return home for a game until the end of the month as they play 15 of their first 16 games of the season away from home. Under third-year head coach Larry Stewart, Coppin State was 6-24 last year and 4-10 in the MEAC. In Stewart’s first year, they finished 2-27 overall. The Eagles haven’t won double digit games in a season since 2019-20 and haven’t had a winning record since 2010-11.