The Flames finished with a split week after their road trip out west, falling to New Mexico State in OT on Thursday, before defeating UTEP on Saturday night. Let’s take a look at the current condition of Liberty Basketball after the first week of February.
Record:
The Flames are currently 14-9 overall with an 11-9 record over Division I opponents. Liberty is 3-5 in Conference USA play.
Last Week’s Recap:
To say Liberty’s game against New Mexico State was physical would be an understatement. Aggies forward Robert Carpenter punched Liberty’s Shiloh Robinson with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half. This incident ejected Carpenter from the game and Robinson, who suffered a broken nose, did not return as well. Zach Cleveland and Femi Odukale also received offsetting technical fouls in the final minutes of the game.
Three-pointers were hard to come by last Thursday night, as the Flames went just 6-31 from three-point range (19.4%) and four of those threes were made by Kaden Metheny, who finished with 16 points. Zach Cleveland did a little bit of everything for the Flames, scoring 23 points as well as securing 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, nearing a triple double. Neither Liberty or New Mexico State led by more than seven points, as the game was tight from start to finish and ended up going into overtime.
The Flames could only manage two made baskets in the overtime period and a jump shot from Aggies’ guard Christian Cook gave New Mexico State a two-possession lead with just 26 seconds to play. That proved to be the nail in the coffin as the Flames fell, 79-73. Liberty is now 0-2 in overtime games this season, and both have ended regulation with a 69-69 score, and have been on the road.
Liberty returned to action on Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center to face UTEP. Liberty shot much better than just 48 hours earlier, as the Flames shot 48% from the field and 38.1% from three. They were led by Kaden Metheny, who scored his Liberty career-high with 21 points to go along with five rebounds.
Zach Cleveland had another impressive performance, scoring 18 points, dishing out 7 assists, and securing 3 rebounds. Brody Peebles also made positive contributions off the bench, tacking on 10 points. Peebles is quietly becoming an offensive difference-maker for the Flames as he has scored in double-figures in the past three games. Despite being known as a three-point shooter, Peebles has averaged over 12 points in the last three games while only making one three-pointer in all three games combined.
UTEP took the lead with just under 7 minutes to go, but the Flames went on a 9-0 run to take a five-point lead at the 3.27 mark. Liberty would not relinquish that lead as the Flames earned not just their first-ever road win in Conference USA, but their first win on the road in 2024. Liberty’s last (and only other) road win came against Utah Valley in December. Road wins have been tough to come by for all Conference USA teams, as Liberty became just the fourth CUSA team to win a conference game on the road with their win over UTEP.
Rankings Roundup:
Here’s where the Flames currently stand in current credible national rankings:
NET: 118 (-8)
KenPom: 107 (-5)
ELO Rankings: 140 (-7)
SOS (Strength of Schedule): 168 (+2)
BPI (Basketball Power Index): 87 (-8)
Best Win: vs #95 Charlotte (Quad 2)
Worst Loss: at #250 New Mexico State (Quad 4)
CUSA Standings: Tied for 5th
Statistical Leaders:
Points per game: Kyle Rode – 13.3
Rebounds per game: Joseph Venzant – 7.0
Assists per game: Colin Porter – 4.1
Steals per game: Joseph Venzant – 1.1
Blocks per game: Zach Cleveland – 0.9
Field Goal Percentage: Zach Cleveland – 61.5%
Up Next:
This week, the Flames return to Lynchburg for a two-game homestand. The Flames will begin the week on Thursday night versus co-preseason favorite Middle Tennessee. Despite the preseason hype, the Blue Raiders currently sit dead last in Conference USA, at 2-5 on CUSA play and 8-14 overall. MTSU looked to be turning things around after winning two consecutive games against Jacksonville State and FIU but got crushed by rival Western Kentucky last weekend.
The Flames will go from playing the last place team in the conference on Thursday to the first-place team on Saturday when Louisiana Tech comes to town. The Bulldogs dropped their conference opener to Sam Houston but have since won six consecutive games to stand at 6-1 in CUSA play and atop the conference standings. The Flames fell to Louisiana Tech 80-76 in overtime last month.
The Flames are currently in the middle of the pack in the conference standings. With eight games remaining, Liberty is 3.5 games out of first place. The Flames will have five remaining home game and two out of the three away games are versus the two worst rated teams in the league (according to KenPom). Every night is a fight in conference play, but it is not unrealistic to say that the Flames could have a strong finish to the year and end up near the top of the standings when it is all said and done. Hopefully, the Flames can get some home cooking going to their advantage this week and start a new win streak. Conference USA home teams are a staggering 28-7 this season during conference play.
