The Liberty Flames (16-3, 8-0) will look to continue its strong start to conference play on Saturday afternoon against Delaware (5-13, 1-6).
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
How to Watch
1 p.m. ET | Saturday, January 24
Lynchburg, Virginia | Liberty Arena
TV: ESPN+
Liberty vs Delaware Odds (KenPom)
Spread: Liberty -15
Projected score: Liberty 77, Delaware 62
Liberty Projected Starters
#0 Colin Porter
Senior Guard | 5’10”, 170
2025-26 stats: 11.4 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.8 rpg
#3 Kaden Metheny
R-Senior Guard | 5’11”, 170
2025-26 stats: 13.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.1 apg
#4 Brett Decker
Sophomore Guard | 6’3″, 190
2025-26 stats: 17.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 50.0% 3-point field goals
#9 JJ Harper
R-Senior Guard | 6’5″, 200
2025-26 stats: 10.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.5 apg
#25 Zach Cleveland
Senior Forward | 6’7″, 220
2025-26 stats: 11.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 7.0 apg
Liberty vs Delaware History
Series tied, 1-1. The two meetings happened over a decade ago, with a home and home series over the course of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons when Liberty was in the Big South and coached by Dale Layer. On Jan. 1, 2014, Delaware knocked off Liberty, 77-64, in Delaware. The following season, the Flames defeated the Blue Hens, 61-55, at the Vines Center.
Liberty vs Delaware Storylines
IT’S BEEN A TOUGH TRANSITION TO CUSA FOR THE BLUE HENS
They may not be a household name, but Delaware has quietly become a very respectable program at the mid-major level under 10th year head coach Martin Inglesby. Under his guidance, the Blue Hens have won 20 games a couple of times and have frequently been in the mix in the CAA. In 2022, Inglesby and Delaware cut down the nets after winning the conference tournament, advancing to the Big Dance as a 15-seed before falling to 2-seed Villanova. In 2024, they won 19 games and were in the mix in the conference race. Last year, the Hens struggled in conference play but figured things out in time for an improbable run winning four-straight in the CAA Tournament to reach the title game, falling to UNC Wilmington, 76-72.
This year, Delaware started the season with a loss at Bucknell (who is just 6-14 on the season) before losing at home to non-Division I foe Wilmington. The Blue Hens finished non-conference at 4-7 and had a nice win at George Washington, a KenPom top 75 team. After dropping their first two CUSA games at home, they bounced back with a win over Kennesaw State, 67-52. Since then though, the Hens have dropped four-straight to slip to 1-6 in conference play. They are just 1-5 in road games with the only win being that one at George Washington back in December.
HENS RELY ON STARTERS
Just like Liberty, Delaware relies largely on its group of starters. The Blue Hens have four players who have started every game this season, and three of them lead CUSA in minutes played. Between the Flames and Blue Hens, the two teams account for 8 of the CUSA’s top 10 players in terms of minutes played.
Projected starters:
- 6’4″, JR, Christian Bliss
- 6’5″, SR, Justyn Fernandez
- 6’8″, SO, Macon Emory
- 6’8″, FR, Jayden Taylor
- 6’9″, SR, Tyler Houser
As you can see, Delaware does have some size in their starting group with all five players going 6’4″ or taller. It should be interesting seeing how that matches up against Liberty’s small backcourt. Bliss, a transfer from Virginia who didn’t play in his two seasons in Charlottesville, is averaging over 39 minutes per game. He’s the team’s leading scorer at 15.1 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists each contest.
Fernandez is a transfer from Providence who is averaging 14.5 points per game. Houser, in his second year at UD after transferring from VMI, is averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Emory, also in his second year with the Blue Hens, is averaging 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Taylor is a freshman who is emerging recently. He has played 18+ minutes in each of the last seven games. He’s currently averaging 3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
WINTER WEATHER ON THE MIND
This game got moved up from its original time of 6 p.m. due to the pending winter weather storm looming for much of the country. Delaware hasn’t played since this past Saturday as they have been preparing for the Flames all week, the first time since CUSA play began where that has been the case for Liberty. The Blue Hens plan to bus to Lynchburg and return following the game, hopefully before the storm becomes a major factor on travel.
