WBB Game Day Central: FGCU
1/3/2019 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Day Central Links:
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Live Stats
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FGCU Women's Basketball Webpage
ASUN Women's Basketball Webpage
Game Time:
Saturday - 4 p.m.
TV Coverage:
ESPN+ (Subscription Required)
Radio Coverage:
Liberty Flames Sports Network - Radio
WQLU 90.9 FM The Light
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Jamie Hall
The Starting 5 - Liberty's Top Storylines
• Liberty (4-9, 0-0 ASUN) will play its inaugural ASUN Conference game at defending conference champion FGCU (9-4, 0-0 ASUN), Saturday afternoon.
• FGCU is the ASUN's preseason favorite. Liberty, which also made the 2018 NCAA Tournament in its final season of Big South Conference play, was picked second in the ASUN by the head coaches and third by the conference's media members.
• Both teams' head coaches (Liberty's Carey Green and FGCU's Karl Smesko) are ranked among the NCAA's top 25 active coaches for winning percentage and both own exactly 444 wins at their current school.
• FGCU set an NCAA Division I record with 431 three-pointers last season and ranks No. 2 nationally with 157 triples this year. Liberty's last three opponents have shot just 5-of-49 from long range.
• KK Barbour, the lone senior in Liberty's youthful starting lineup, has scored in double figures in three of her last four games. She fashioned a double-double (10 points, 15 rebounds) during Wednesday's win over West Chester.
Notes and Anecdotes - Liberty vs. FGCU
• Liberty's ASUN Conference debut will pit the Lady Flames against the ASUN's defending regular-season and tournament champion, FGCU.
• FGCU was the ASUN's consensus preseason favorite, while the Lady Flames were picked second by the head coaches and third by the media.
• Liberty represented the Big South Conference in the NCAA Tournament 17 times in the last 22 years, while FGCU has earned the ASUN's automatic NCAA bid five times in the last seven seasons. Both teams have recorded a pair of NCAA Tournament victories.
• Both teams' head coaches (Liberty's Carey Green and FGCU's Karl Smesko) enter Saturday's game with 444 coaching victories at their current school and both rank among the NCAA's top 25 active coaches for winning percentage.
• The two teams play contrasting styles of basketball. FGCU set an NCAA Division I record by making 431 three-pointers last season. Meanwhile, Liberty ranked among the nation's top 20 rebounding teams for the 16th straight season.
• Liberty has played strong defense in recent weeks, allowing only 48.5 ppg over its last four games. The Lady Flames will try to slow down FGCU's three-point shooting, after holding their last three foes to 5-of-49 from beyond the arc.
Liberty in the Sunshine State
• Liberty is 4-11 all-time when playing in Florida, including 1-2 this season. The Lady Flames lost their season opener at Bethune-Cookman by an 81-76 score in overtime on Nov. 9. They then split their two games at the St. Pete Shootout, including a 53-45 loss to UCF (Dec. 21) and a 55-51 victory over Duquesne (Dec. 22).
• The Lady Flames are playing more games in the Sunshine State this season (7) than in Carey Green's first 19 seasons combined (4). After Saturday, Liberty will return to the state for ASUN Conference games at Stetson (Jan. 8), Jacksonville (Jan. 26) and North Florida (Feb. 23).
• Liberty is 3-7 all-time when facing teams from Florida, including 0-2 this season (Bethune-Cookman and UCF).
• The Lady Flames have lost three straight meetings with Sunshine State foes since a 70-42 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 8, 2002. All three of Liberty's wins over Florida opponents have come at the Wildcats' expense.
Liberty vs. the ASUN
• Liberty is 7-8 all-time versus ASUN Conference opponents (at the time of the meeting), having won its last three games against conference foes.
• The Lady Flames' most recent ASUN matchup was a 70-27 victory over Lipscomb on Nov. 26, 2011 at the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
• Liberty owns a 1-1 record against current ASUN members, including its previously mentioned win against Lipscomb and an 82-68 home loss to Stetson on Dec. 6, 1996.
