MBB Game Day: UTEP
1/15/2025 11:24:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- Liberty vs. UTEP (Liberty Arena)
- Tipoff: Thursday at 9:05 p.m. ET
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Radio: LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- Liberty (14-3, 2-2 CUSA) will host UTEP (12-4, 2-1 CUSA) in CUSA action, Thursday night.
- This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs. UTEP was Liberty's most common opponent a season ago, with the two squads squaring off three times (twice in regular season, once in postseason). The Miners claimed two of the three meetings, including a 67-51 victory at Liberty Arena and a 66-57 triumph in the CUSA Championship quarterfinal round. The Flames knocked off the Miners 67-65 on Feb. 3, 2024 in El Paso, Texas behind a game-high 21 points from Kaden Metheny.
- Liberty split a pair of league road games last week, topping Sam Houston 76-68 before falling 79-74 at Louisiana Tech. Meanwhile, UTEP suffered its first CUSA loss this past Saturday, falling 85-57 at home to New Mexico State.
- Taelon Peter led the way against Louisiana Tech, scoring 33 points off the bench. Peter's 33 points are the most of any Liberty player off the bench in the Division I era and tied for the third most of any player this year.
- Thursday's matchup features the top two scoring defenses in Conference USA. Liberty leads the league, allowing 61.0 ppg, followed by UTEP at 67.1 ppg. The Flames rank No. 8 nationally in scoring defense. The Miners lead the country in turnovers forced per game (18.38), while the Flames are No. 40 in the country in fewest turnovers per game (10.4).
- The Flames also continue to rank in the top 10 nationally in fewest fouls per game (No. 5, 12.6), effective field goal percentage (No. 7, 58.7) and scoring margin (No. 9, 18.5).
- Liberty is 75th in the nation in the current NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings. The Flames debuted at No. 53 in the first set of rankings on Dec. 2. Liberty is also No. 70 in the KenPom rankings. UTEP is No. 149 in the NET and No. 161 in KenPom.
- Head coach Ritchie McKay (258-130 at Liberty) is one win from tying the Liberty men's basketball record for victories as head coach. Jeff Meyer (259 wins, 1981-97) holds the record, and McKay's next victory will tie Meyer.
- Kaden Metheny ranks 19th in the nation in threes per game (3.25) and 22nd in total threes (52). He is second in CUSA in both categories.
- Colin Porter ranks 20th in the country and first in CUSA in assist/turnover ratio (3.32).
- Taelon Peter is the Flames' leading scorer (16.3 ppg) in conference play so far. He is shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three-point land in those four games.
- Liberty is 12-0 this season when outshooting its opponent. The Flames are 10-1 this year when they attempt more free throws in a game than their counterparts.
- The Flames' road triumph at Sam Houston snapped a 17-game home conference winning streak for the Bearkats.
- This will be Liberty's 16th all-time game on Jan. 16. The Flames are 6-9 all-time on this date but have won two in a row. The last time Liberty played on Jan. 16 was four years ago in 2021. The Flames topped the Stetson Hatters 68-58 in a road ASUN game. Chris Parker paced a balanced Liberty offense with 12 points. The Flames shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) for the game and held the Hatters to 34.3 percent (23-of-67) shooting.
- Liberty is 64-8 all-time in games at Liberty Arena, including a 7-3 CUSA mark. The Flames are in their fifth season in the facility.
- Liberty is ranked No. 8 in the College Insider Men's Mid-Major Top 25®. The Flames were ranked No. 6 last week and listed at No. 3 in back-to-back weeks prior to that. UTEP is 24th in the Mid-Major Top 25®.
Players Mentioned
Liberty Basketball: The Best of the "Big 3"
Friday, April 03
Taelon Peter: From Liberty to the NBA
Tuesday, March 31
Coach McKay Talks About The Nevada Game
Monday, March 23
Coach McKay, Brett Decker Jr. & Josh Smith Talk About The Win Over George Mason
Wednesday, March 18