Liberty (15-5, 6-2) vs. North Florida (7-11, 5-3)
Lynchburg, Virginia – Liberty Arena
Friday, Feb. 12, 6:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 13, 5:00 p.m. ET
ESPN+

Last Meeting: Liberty split the two meetings with the Ospreys last season, with the home team winning each contest. The Ospreys won, 71-70, on Jan. 23 and the Flames won, 82-77, on Feb. 20.
Series History: The Flames and Ospreys are tied, 3-3, in the all-time series and Liberty is 3-2 against UNF since the Flames joined the ASUN prior to the 2018-19 season.

Projected LU Starters:

1 Chris Parker (Sr., 6-1, 170) – 10.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.9 apg
2 Darius McGhee (Jr., 5-9, 150) – 13.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.8 apg
10 Elijah Cuffee (Sr., 6-4, 200) – 10.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg
22 Kyle Rode (So., 6-7, 220) – 6.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.5 apg
32 Blake Preston (R-So., 6-9, 225) – 9.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.4 apg

Projected North Florida Starters:

15 Jose Placer (RSo., 6-1, 174) – 14.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg
0 Emmanuel Adedoyin (So., 6-2, 161) – 9.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.0 apg
5 Dorian James (R-So., 6-7, 202) – 9.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg
3 Carter Hendricksen (Jr., 6-7, 217) – 15.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.4 apg
4 Josh Endicott (Jr., 6-8, 190) – 9.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.1 apg

QUICK FACTS

  • The Flames have a 32-game winning streak at home which is the second longest streak in the country, trailing only Gonzaga. Liberty has gone two full years without a home loss, with the last loss coming on Jan. 29, 2019.
  • Liberty ranks No. 92 in the NET Rankings, the highest in the ASUN.
  • Elijah Cuffee has played in 126 career games, which ranks No. 3 in Division I.
  • Liberty has made 201 three-pointers this season which ranks No. 6 in Division I.
  • Darius McGhee currently ranks No. 15 in the country with 56 made three pointers this season.
  • Chris Parker ranks No. 67 in the country with 77 assists this season.
  • Blake Preston ranks No. 9 in the country shooting 67.3% from the field.
  • Liberty ranks No. 6 as a team in assist turnover ratio. The Flames are No. 14 in the country with 312 assists as a team this season.

PREVIEW

In a series that was originally supposed to be played last weekend, Liberty and North Florida have now been rescheduled to play a pair of games this weekend in Lynchburg.

The Flames and Ospreys have developed a nice rivalry over the past two seasons since Liberty joined the ASUN. The five games between the two teams have been decided by an average of five points with neither team winning back-to-back games. Liberty will look to keep its home winning streak in tact by doing just that this weekend at Liberty Arena.

North Florida and Liberty shared the regular season title a season ago at 13-3. The Ospreys lost on their home floor to Lipscomb in the semifinals of the ASUN Tournament while the Flames won a second straight tournament title by defeating the Bisons in the championship game.

“I have a ton of respect for Matt Driscoll and their program,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “Very unconventional style of play, their zone, they really take away three point opportunities and they really do a great job of rim protecting. They dove and are fully committed to the analytics. I admire their system.”

Both teams were led by a talented group of seniors last year and combined to win 51 games. UNF has had to replace the production from departing seniors Ivan Gandia-Rosa, Garrett Sams, Wajid Aminu, and JT Escobar from the 2020 ASUN co-regular season championship squad.

“The names have changed,” said McKay. “There’s not Sams or Gandia-Rosa or Escobar, Aminu, but they got a really good backcourt Placer and Adedoyin. (Ryan) Burkhardt off the bench is having a terrific year, that kid is a sniper. Then, the usual suspects, Carter Hendricksen has continued to get better and better. We obviously have familiarity with him, and then I really like (Jonathan) Aybar and James, and I think Endicott has had a really good season for them, as well.”

North Florida is one of only three ASUN teams Liberty has lost to since joining the league a couple years ago, as the Flames have also lost to Lipscomb and Stetson during their time as an ASUN member. Liberty is 13-7 against those three teams and 26-0 against all other ASUN members.

This season North Florida got off to a rough start, dropping their first 7 games of the season before picking up a win at home against Florida International, 80-77. The Ospreys followed that up with a loss to non-Division I program Flagler College. UNF became ASUN play splitting series’ on the road to Jacksonville and Lipscomb before sweeping Kennesaw State and earning a split against North Alabama at home.

Preseason all-ASUN performer Carter Hendricksen missed 7 games early in the season, but he has returned for conference play. The 6’7″ junior forward provides some stability and experience for a young team, similar to what Darius McGhee and Elijah Cuffee do for the Flames.

“This is a tall task for us,” McKay said. “We’d be remiss if we think just by playing at home we’re going to have a win notched under the win column. Victory is earned. You can see it all around the country, throw out any of the analytics or the rankings or whatever, you got to play the 40 minutes at hand, and hopefully we’re prepared to do that.”

KENPOM PREDICTION

Liberty 75, North Florida 62
Liberty 75, North Florida 62